OUR DRUG PRIORITIES NEED TO CHANGE

The federal government has it half right. We have a drug problem. But
it's not marijuana, which has never killed anyone. It's the abuse of
prescription drugs which kills hundreds of Canadians annually.

Whether it's because of ongoing pain, depression or the urge to get
high, more and more people are heading to their doctors - not the
neighbourhood pusher - for a fix.

As the International Narcotics Control Board noted in its 2009 annual
report, the abuse of prescription drugs in North America is second
only to the abuse of cannabis.

We love our pills. North America has the world's highest consumption
of prescription opioids, such as OxyContin, and we're gobbling them up
faster than ever.

Nevertheless, there are six million Canadians suffering from chronic
pain who aren't being treated properly, says Dr. Mary Lynch, president
of the Canadian Pain Society.

Many doctors aren't knowledgeable about managing the complexities of
chronic pain and patients are often reluctant to ask for medication
because of the fear of addiction to powerful opioids, she says.

Yet another study has emerged, however, that demonstrates that pot can
be an effective pain reliever.

Patients who inhaled pot once three times a day for five days reported
less pain, improved mood and better sleep, according to the study
published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

The study participants all suffered from nerve pain related to traffic
accidents or surgery. Conventional medications had failed them. And,
no surprise, there were no terrible side-effects.

This was, after all, marijuana, not some seriously addictive
prescription drug.

As it happens, thousands of delegates are in Montreal this week for
the 13th World Congress on Pain to discuss best treatment practices
for what they pointedly describe as a "throbbing" public health issue.

A recent national survey revealed 85% of Canadian adults have suffered
from acute or chronic pain within the last three months.

So Lynch is delighted about the latest study on the medical use of
pot. "I'm not surprised to learn that cannabis has an analgesic effect
in a controlled trial because it's certainly consistent with other
evidence that's already out there," she says.

"We need more (pot) studies and we need longer studies to add to the
literature."

Existing treatments for serious pain "are far from perfect," according
to a companion commentary to the main CMAJ study, noting that the
regulatory hurdles for the trial must have been a nightmare.

"If patients are not achieving a good response with conventional
treatment of their pain," writes U.K. physician Dr. Henry McQuay,
"then they may, reasonably, wish to try cannabis." For some, however,
that will mean breaking the law, he adds.

Meanwhile, as the federal government ramps up the war on pot, consider
a 2009 study comparing the risks of harm and costs to society of pot,
tobacco and booze.

In Canada, more than 21 million low-to moderate-risk drinkers account
for 40% to 60% of alcohol-related health and social harms, according
to the report by B.C.'s Mental Health and Addictions Journal.

Tobacco-related health costs work out to $800 per user and
booze-related health costs add up to $165 per user. Pot-related health
costs? A mere $20 per toker.

Why, again, are we spending tens of millions of dollars waging a war
on a drug that's relatively harmless? Where are our priorities?