EDUCATING VOICES                                

Grassroots Drug Prevention Group Joins With Congress to Warn Doctors about "Medical Marijuana"

Washington, D.C. July 23, 2003- The grassroots drug prevention group Educating Voices joined with members of Congress today to warn doctors about the medical liability problems doctors face if they recommend marijuana as a medicine. Although several states have passed ballot initiatives permitting physicians to recommend marijuana for their patients, the group and its supporters reject that approach. "Politics is not good medicine," said U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, (R-IN) Chair of the Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources Subcommittee. "To recommend the use of marijuana as medicine exposes a physician to serious ethical and legal questions," he said. U.S Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA) said "Allowing marijuana to be prescribed as medicine undermines medical integrity and safety standards established by the FDA."

Judy Kreamer, President, and Peter Bensinger, a member of the Board of Directors, accompanied Representatives Souder and Davis. " The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should decide whether marijuana is a safe and effective drug," Bensinger said. Bensinger served as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration in the Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations. "Insurance companies are looking to limit their malpractice exposure by excluding claims arising from non-FDA-approved medication," Bensinger said.

Marijuana is currently listed as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act. That means marijuana has a high potential for abuse and that it has no currently accepted medical use for treatment in the United States. Physicians have a duty to provide a standard of care commensurate with accepted medical practice, and to inform a patient of the risks and side effects associated with a particular treatment. But marijuana is not listed in the Physician's Desk Reference, nor is it accompanied by warnings from drug companies. 

There is no scientific research from the FDA to prove the effectiveness of marijuana as a drug, and there are no quality controls in the manufacturing process. Without guidance from the FDA, insurance companies may refuse to pay malpractice damages. Jurors who are investigating a liability suit against a physician may reject his prescription of a non-FDA approved drug. The fact that a physician has recommended a non-FDA approved drug could prejudice jurors in a liability trial against the physician.

Educating Voices is an all-volunteer organization that opposes recommending marijuana as a medicine. It is concerned that recommending marijuana endangers patients and places physicians at risk for malpractice suits. The group has distributed a white paper, "The Potential Medical Liability for Physicians Recommending Marijuana as a Medicine," in conjunction with today's news conference. It is available on the group's website, www.educatingvoices.org.

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