Nexus - 0305 - New Times Magazine-pages

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emment representatives and other people in powerful positions is of Massachusetts has introduced a bill to do just this; to make it the way. ‘ possible for people to use cannabis as a medicine. He needs co- People are learning about cannabis as a medicine. Anybody sponsorship and support for this bill. People who are interested in who knows a person with AIDS who is dealing with the wasting this can contact Barney Frank or even their own representatives syndrome probably knows someone who has discovered that and ask them to support HR 2618, the Bill for medical cannabis cannabis not only retards his weight-loss but maybe helps him to __ use for those in medical need. regain weight. People who know patients with multiple sclerosis, JR: Is this a similar bill to what Newt Gingrich and others had migraine, glaucoma who are using cannabis, begin to see that itis introduced into Congress in the early 1980s? a very useful medicine and they Dr G: It's the same bill. It is begin to wonder what all the fuss the McKinney bill. I had sug- is about. So I think people are : . < ic gested to Congressman Frank to getting educated. "People who know patients with #@ expand the number of symp- The other thing that is happen- * . ’ * toms and syndromes for which ing that I think is very hopeful is multiple sclerosis, migraine, cannabis can be used. We that doctors are getting educated. glaucoma who are using cannabis, know more about it than we did You see, doctors usually get their in 1982, but it is the same bill. drug education from drug compa- begin to see that it isa very useful Gingrich supported it then, but nies or from pharmaceutical not now. company sales people who go medicine and they begin to wonder JR: In February 1994 you around to doctors' offices, as well | what all the fuss is a So | think § and James Bakalar wrote, "The as from journal articles, adver- it War on Drugs: A Peace tisements and promotional cam- people are getting educated. Proposal", published in The paigns from these drug compa- New England Journal of nies. There are no drug compa- Medicine. In it you talk about nies interested in cannabis, so doc- harm-reduction strategies in the tors don't learn much about it. In my view, doctors have not only Netherlands and other countries. What do you think is holding been miseducated like so many other people, but they have also back these governments in North America from making the been agents of that miseducation. What is happening now is doc- changes necessary for a truce in the drug war, specifically in tors are learning from patients. This is anew way for doctors to _ regards to medicinal cannabis use? learn about a new medicine. They learn lots of things from their Dr G: Unfortunately, it is attitudes and fears that are unwar- patients, but generally not about new medicines. ranted. Take one harm-reduction approach; namely, clean nee- An example of this would be an AIDS patient who started using dies. Now, we've been saying for years that clean needles will cannabis for his wasting syndrome. Imagine him going into his _ reduce the spread of AIDS among drug users. The IV drug users doctor's office and getting on the scales. The doctor knows he's are the group spreading it the most. There are people who are been losing weight all along and nothing that the doctor has given afraid of needle-exchange programs because they think it will him has helped. Suddenly, the doctor sees his patient has gained —_ cause an increase in the use of intravenous drugs. I would say this weight since the last visit and he asks, “What's going on?” The has been going on now for four or five years. Now the data is patient says, "It is the cannabis I've been smoking: it has helped overwhelming. It clearly demonstrates that exchanging needles me put on some weight." This makes a powerful impressionona does cut down the spread of AIDS and it does not cause an doctor who has been struggling to help his patient gain weight. increase in the use of these drugs. It is so convincing that some Once this happens to a doctor, his attitude begins to change. local municipalities have gone ahead with needle exchanges, but JR: How can the average person work for changes in the drug _ the Federal government and President Clinton are all dead set laws? against it. We could have saved a lot of people from AIDS by Dr G: Well, right now in the US, Congressman Barney Frank _ instituting this policy of clean needles early on. Even now we are dragging our feet because of this misapprehension about giving needles out. Ignorance and fear are not always corrected by data. The data on needle exchange is compelling whether it's from Australia, New Haven or wherev- er. There is no question. You would think when you have this kind of data it would be translated into social policy, considering the cost of AIDS in human suffering. But we're having an awful tough time persuading the authorities that we should go full steam ahead with needle exchange. There is an attitude here in the US that the only way to treat any- one using a drug not approved of 18 ¢ NEXUS AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 1996