DOCTORS NOT EAGER TO SUPPLY MARIJUANA

Local Doctors Say They Won't Be Happy If Ottawa Forces Them To Start Doling
Out Medical Marijuana From Their Offices.

Health minister Anne McLellan announced July 9 the government will start
shipping marijuana to doctors who prescribe it, so they can supply it to
patients.

The decision is in response to a court ruling that it's unconstitutional
for people who qualify for the federal government's medical marijuana
program to have to buy the drug illegally.

No patients here qualify so far, but Dr. Geoff Appleton says that day may
not be far off.

"I think at some point in time people are going to come in asking if they
can qualify for it," he said. "I think doctors are going to be really
unhappy prescribing it until the legal stuff is sorted out."

Appleton says many doctors feel there needs to be more scientific research
and testing on the effects of using marijuana as a treatment before
prescribing it.

"It's not been used as a medication very long, yet all of a sudden there it
is -- we should prescribe it. It doesn't make a lot of sense," he said.

Most drugs go through rigorous testing for up to 10 years before they're
approved, he said.

Doctors are also concerned about untested effects of marijuana if used with
other medications.

Also unclear is how much weed doctors would prescribe, due to varying
potencies of differing marijuana strains.

"How would I know how many grams per day we should prescribe?" Appleton
said. "Here, for the first time, you've got a government saying, 'This is a
medication you will prescribe.' And we have nothing to go by."