Frank H. Lucido  M.D.
                                   2300  Durant Avenue
                                      Berkeley, Ca, 94704
                                           510-848-0958
                                    [email protected]
                                      www.DrLucido.com
                                  www.MedBoardWatch.com
                                     www.AIMLegal.org



11/4/05

Members of the Medical Board of California Division of Medical Quality:

As I said at my last appearance before you, in May, I will work to
promote standards of practice that are most appropriate MEDICALLY, and
that are also safest MEDICAL-LEGALLY, for patients to protect
themselves from overzealous law enforcement, and for doctors to protect
themselves from overzealous law enforcement by the MBC, AG’s office, or
the DEA.

I have surveyed the practice standards of about 2 dozen medical
cannabis physicians, and find the vast majority to be knowledgeable,
ethical, and credible.  (Remember: according to California NORML, over
1500 doctors in California have written at least one recommendation.)

Unfortunately, as in any field, whether medicine, politics, business,
journalism, there are a few “low standard” members.
(As I have pointed out before, cannabis is so safe and effective that
even the lowest standard doctor I have heard of has not harmed a
patient, and probably never will.)

I will post a summary of the range of standards I surveyed on my NEW
website: AIMLegal.org,
to help patients, caregivers, and patient advocates see the difference
between:
--- “A” standards:  good MEDICAL and good MEDICAL-LEGAL consultation,
and
--- “C” standards, or a “fig-leaf”, which probably barely covers the
doctor, but gives even legitimate patients scant medical-legal care.

Since the survey was taken with the promise of confidentiality of
individual answers, I won’t be mentioning individual doctors, but will
have a more general list of qualities for legitimate patients to seek
out in a cannabis consultant.

I believe that this approach will do more to improve the standards of
California doctors than overly aggressive and/or illegal collusion with
the dishonest DEA.


Lastly:
The Autumn, 2005 O’Shaughnessy’s (Journal of the Society of Cannabis
Clinicians) just came out, and I brought you each a copy.
I don’t believe it has any stories about pending doctors cases, so I
believe your attorneys will approve of you each receiving a copy after
they vet it.

The lead story is
“Smoking Cannabis Does Not Cause Cancer of Lung or Upper Airways,
Tashkin Finds:  Data Suggest Possible Protective Effect”-reported by
our editor Fred Gardner
(Fred deserves a Pulitzer Prize for this scoop.)

Other stories:
Cannabis Alleviates Symptoms of Crohn’s Disease, by Jeff Hergenrather MD
JAMA Acknowledges the Endocannabinoid System
Marijuana and Impairment, by Richard Bayer MD
Rational Guidelines for Dosing, by Gregory Carter MD, Patrick Weydt MD,
Muraco Kyashna-Tocha, Ph.D., and Donald Abrams MD
Implications of Early Cannabis Initiation, by Tom O’Connell MD
Use by Teens Declines in States with Medical Marijuana Laws, by
Katherine O’Keefe and Mitch Earlywine
Addiction and Learning
Don’t Lie to Your Doctor, by Frank Lucido MD

Available online at www.ccrmg.org


Thank you,



Frank H. Lucido MD
 

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