DOC GROUP NOT 'BEHIND ON MEDICINAL POT'

Dear Editor: The Wisconsin Medical Society is not
"behind on medicinal pot" as is implied in the June 1
letter from Gary Storck.

The society adopted a comprehensive position statement
calling for "adequate and well-controlled studies of
smoked marijuana" and for increased federal funding
for such research. Marijuana was not included in the
recent pain guidelines from the society because there
is insufficient scientific and medical evidence for
its effectiveness and safety as an analgesic.

As Mr. Storck wrote, opioids can cause side effects, but most of these
diminish within a few days; otherwise they can be treated. When
opioids are needed for relief of chronic pain, effective analgesia
with minimal side effects can best be obtained by combining them with
other pain medicines of proven effectiveness.

There are interesting preliminary reports of the analgesic effects of
oral cannabinoids (chemicals similar to the active ingredient in
marijuana); it is our hope that additional studies will prove their
benefit in the management of certain chronic pain problems.

Sridhar V. Vasudevan, M.D. chair, Task Force on Chronic Pain Management,
Wisconsin Medical Society

June Dahl, Ph.D. professor of pharmacology, UW-Madison consultant, Task
Force on Chronic Pain Management, Wisconsin Medical Society