Michigan: Plant Offers Alternative to Medicine

By LIZ SHEPARD, Times Herald

Doctors are sorting through the state's medical marijuana law.

Some believe it is beneficial. Others say it's not for everyone.

Dr. Paul A. Meyer has worked at The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation clinic in Southfield for six months.

Meyer, who also runs a private practice in Saginaw, said he sees patients from throughout the metro area and as far away as Port Huron.

He said the plant can be used for multiple symptoms, including nausea, pain and seizures.

"I've never seen any individual plant or medicine that has such a wide range of effectiveness," Meyer said.

He said patients are screened by clinic staff before they reach him. Meyer evaluates them and decides if they qualify.

He started working at the clinic six months ago after seeing positive results with a few patients in his private clinic.

"I see many people who have been on dozens of medications and have not had relief, and yet cannabis helps with their problems," he said.

Meyer said medical marijuana patients are not using the drug to get high. His patients' average age is in the early 40s.

He said parts of the plant don't contain delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol -- referred to as THC for short -- which causes the psychological effects associated with marijuana. Some patients choose to use the THC-free part to avoid those effects.

Some of his patients turn to cannabis because it doesn't have the side effects and psychological effects that strong pain medications can carry, he said.

Meyer advises his patients to ingest or use a vaporizer instead of smoking marijuana because inhaling it could be bad for the lungs.

Dr. Samir Alsawah, an oncologist who works at Huron Medical Center in Port Huron, has prescribed medical marijuana to a few patients.

He said the drug is not for every cancer patient he sees.

"You can't say, 'I have cancer. I don't feel good about my cancer. I want marijuana," Alsawah said.

It can be beneficial for patients with severe nausea and vomiting, he said, but in most cases there are other medications that can be used.

Alsawah said doctors have been using a medication derived from marijuana for several years. The drug, Marinol, controls nausea but is very expensive, he said.

Alsawah said it also isn't as potent as the plant.

"It has that ability to improve somebody's sense of well-being temporarily ... but it's certainly not for every patient," he said.

Alsawah said the law makes it slightly cumbersome for physicians to prescribe the drug.

He said doctors have to fill out a form that is submitted it to the state and explain why the patient would benefit.

"It's a very tightly controlled program," Alsawah said.

Patients, physicians and the government still are trying to figure it all out, he said.

# Contact Liz Shepard at (810) 989-6273 or lshepard@gannett.com.


Source: http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20100509/NEWS01/5090318/Plant+offe...