POT REQUESTS FOR ARTHRITIS SKYROCKETING

Applicants Claiming Chronic Pain

The federal government has seen a staggering increase in the number of
requests for medical marijuana authorizations from applicants claiming
they have severe arthritis to legally obtain the drug.

Applications to Health Canada based on severe arthritis claims jumped
2,400 per cent between 2008 and 2010, far outstripping the number of
claims for cancer, HIV/AIDS and other serious diseases, an Ottawa
Citizen analysis has found.

The spike in arthritis claims was part of an overall rise in
applications over the past three years, as more private clinics
specializing in marijuana began referring patients to pot-friendly
doctors willing to sign their forms.

But unless there has been an enormous, undocumented surge in arthritis
rates in Canada over the past three years, the data suggests that
patients or their doctors may be gaming the government's rules to
obtain medical marijuana more easily.

Arthritis was listed as the reason for 40 per cent of all applications
under the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations received so far in
2011. That was double the rate seen in 2008, according to electronic
records released to the Citizen under the Access to Information Act.

Severe arthritis is one of the Category 1 illnesses that require
patients to obtain the signature of just a single doctor under Health
Canada rules. Cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS infections and
spinal cord injuries and disease and are also listed in Category 1,
but often have more obvious visible symptoms than arthritis

Patients with other Category 2 illnesses such as hepatitis, glaucoma
or ulcerative colitis must go through the additional step of getting a
specialist to sign their applications, a process that can take many
months and does not always succeed.

Some marijuana advocates believe that patients are asking doctors to
sign off on the faster Category 1 condition of severe arthritis to
speed their applications.

"oeI think a lot of people are applying under arthritis even if they
may have a different condition," says Scott Gilbert, who runs the
Hamilton Medical Marijuana Centre. "oeThey are going with whatever is
the easier one to get approved on."

Although a .patient might otherwise qualify for authorization based on
a Category 2 illness such as fibromyalgia or Crohn's disease, a
savvy doctor familiar with the MMAR program might ask if the patient
also has arthritis, too.

Health Canada is conducting a review of MMAR and plans to overhaul the
way the program works, in part by transferring more authority to
doctors. The department says it is required to approve applications
that have been signed by a doctor and meet the conditions of the MMAR.

It has noticed the sharp increase in marijuana applications but
doesn't know why, exactly, the numbers are rising so sharply.

"oeIncreasing awareness of the program among patient groups and
treating physicians is likely a key contributing factor," said
Health Canada spokesman Gary Holub in an email.

The department is also aware of the increase in arthritis claims,
Holub said.

"oeThe risk of abuse exists within the current system. That's why
changes are being proposed that will balance the legitimate needs of
patients, while reducing the risk of abuse."

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MARIJUANA RULES

Who can get it?

Under the MMAR, people who are classified as Category 1 can apply to
relieve symptoms of these diseases: Cancer, multiple sclerosis,
HIV/AIDS infection, spinal cord injury or disease, severe form of
arthritis, and seizures caused by epilepsy.

Category 1 patients need their doctor to fill out a form recommending
their treatment with medical marijuana. Then their application must be
approved.

Category 2 patients have one or more debilitating symptoms of another
illness not covered in Category 1. They require a specialist to attest
that conventional treatments have failed or are not appropriate to
relieve their symptoms.

- - Ottawa Citizen