SEMINAR EXAMINES MEDICAL MARIJUANA

U of I Plans Conference On Medical Marijuana

The University of Iowa will be host to a conference in April designed
to re-educate doctors and nurses about the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes.

Speakers at the National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics
on April 7 and 8 include the organizer of a medical marijuana market
in Los Angeles, the lead attorney in a class-action lawsuit seeking
the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and two Iowans who have
federal permission to treat their illnesses with the drug.

Literature about the conference points out that health-care
professionals have no formal training in the therapeutic use of
cannabis, as marijuana also is known, "despite its illegal use by tens
of thousands of patients throughout the country."

"The content and presenters have been chosen to provide the
fundamental knowledge essential for clinicians to ensure safe and
appropriate care of patients who may benefit from its use," the
document says.

The conference is being staged by the U of I College of Nursing and
the College of Medicine, in cooperation with Patients Out of Time, a
nonprofit group dedicated to education on medicinal marijuana.

Nursing Dean Melanie Dreher said Al Byrne and Mary Lynn Mathre, the
husband-and-wife founders of Patients Out of Time, approached her
about a conference. Dreher has done extensive research on medical
marijuana use.

"Other cultures have been using marijuana in a non-recreational
atmosphere" for decades, she said.

The program is designed to follow up on a report by the Institute of
Medicine a year ago that said marijuana's active components have
potential for treating some conditions.

Bruce Upchurch, director of the Governor's Alliance on Substance
Abuse, has his doubts about the real cause of those backing the
medicinal use of cannabis.

"The medical marijuana movement in this country mostly is supported by
people who have an agenda of getting marijuana legalized," said
Upchurch, a former federal Drug Enforcement Administration officer.
The movement has 'sucked in people who believe they're doing the right
thing or who believe there's some use for this . . . to alleviate pain
and suffering."

Upchurch said if there is some therapeutic use for the chemicals in
marijuana, "Research will find a way to deliver it other than smoking.
We don't smoke our medicine in this country."

Byrne, from his office in Virginia, said marijuana is "the most
studied plant on earth."

He charged that Upchurch doesn't know what he's talking about.
Upchurch is "a cop. I don't think he's been to medical school," Byrne
said.

Upchurch said he's not opposed to the conference. He and Byrne also
agreed on the need for more research.