DOCS LEERY OF PRESCRIBING POT

The federal health minister is being told to count doctors out as pot
police.

The Canadian Medical Protective Association has written to Allan Rock
telling him the Marijuana Medicinal Access Regulations, introduced in
July, place an unfair responsibility on physicians.

Patients who want marijuana have to get a doctor to sign a declaration
approving the use of the drug and setting a dosage.

"The CMPA believes the medical declarations required under the
regulations place an unacceptable burden on member physicians to
inform themselves as to the effectiveness of medicinal marijuana in
each patient's case, as well as the relative risks and benefits of the
drug and what dosage would be appropriate," said Dr. John Gray, the
association's secretary treasurer in his letter to Rock.

"This information is simply not available. "In medicine, knowledge is
typically derived from clinical trials, of which we understand there
are very few for marijuana."

The association has sent its 60,000 members an information sheet
telling them what to do if a patient comes to them asking to be
prescribed marijuana for medicinal purposes.

"The CMPA's general advice is that any physician who does not feel
qualified to make any of the declarations required should not feel
compelled to do so," cautions the association advisory.

It warns doctors could find themselves in trouble with their
professional associations if they make statements beyond their area of
expertise on the forms.

The Alberta Medical Association has already warned its members to be
cautious about approving the use of pot.

"We are asking where is the evidence. There haven't been the
controlled studies on the side-effects," said AMA spokesman Ron
Kustra. "Doctors can't be sure what they are prescribing."