Should the federal government fund medical marijuana research?

In this Feb. 1, 2011 file photo, medical marijuana clone plants are shown at a medical marijuana dispensary in Oakland, Calif. (Jeff Chiu, file/Associated Press)Members of the Canadian Medical Association are refusing to sign patients' declarations for legal access to marijuana for medical use, citing a lack of proper medical research despite proposed changes in how Health Canada regulates the drug.

The National Post reports that Health Canada has proposed removing itself as the ultimate authority in approving or rejecting applications to possess marijuana for medical use. Instead, doctors alone would sign off on requests.
    
Dr. John Haggie, president of the 75,000 member CMA, says the research about the drug is inadequate to properly inform doctors who should or should not receive it as medication, or the appropriate dosages for individual cases.

The Conservative government in 2006 terminated a medical marijuana research program. According to Health Canada, the government believes clinical research is "best undertaken by the private sector, such as pharmaceutical companies."

A small study by the Canadian Medical Association Journal last year found that small doses of marijuana could reduce the symptoms of neuropathic pain without making people high.

Should the federal government fund research into the medical use of marijuana? Who should shoulder the responsibility of prescribing proper use of the drug to those suffering from chronic pain?


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