Article content continued

He said about 10 per cent of doctors are comfortable prescribing marijuana; 10 per cent are against it; and 80 per cent are interested but lack the education they need to make an informed decision.

Some doctors may be concerned that they are jumping on a “marijuana bandwagon,” he said, in light of mistakes made in the past: For example, the liberal prescription of OxyContin, an addictive opioid drug.

“The medical establishment is a bit scared we’re going to make the same mistakes,” he said.

Still, a lot of research has already been done on marijuana, said Philippe Lucas, who conducts research on cannabis therapy for the Center for Addictions Research of British Columbia. He sits on the board of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition and is a vice-president at one of Canada’s licensed medical marijuana producers, Tilray.

“It’s the most studied herb in history,” he said. “This is an incredibly active research area.”

More than 33,000 peer-reviewed articles have been published about marijuana, he said, and his company is starting an “aggressive research strategy.” Still, more research needs to be done, he said.

According to Lucas, marijuana could be a good alternative to opioid drugs such as OxyContin for those with chronic pain.

“There’s a big difference between the stance of the CMA and the reality on the street,” said Lucas. “More and more physicians are willing to consider cannabis as an additional tool in their toolbelt. We need to move away from policies and statements that are based on fear and misinformation.”

msmith@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/mariedanielles