Marc Yacht
Marijuana remains an illegal drug that has criminalized millions of Americans for decades. Our crowded jails are filled with people convicted of selling and using “Mary Jane.”
Marijuana physician prescriptions have proven their value in pain management, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and an array of chronic and acute illnesses. Allowing physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients makes sense.
Every state should allow marijuana’s medical use. The larger issue, particularly in Florida, is for legislators to step aside and allow physicians to practice their craft.
Legalizing the drug for recreational use is fraught with controversy and rightly so. Government has tried – and failed — to prohibit gambling, alcohol consumption and the use of certain pain medications.
Banning a wanted substance or a desired activity plays well into criminal hands. Most likely, the staunchest opponents of legalizing weed would be those whose underground businesses serve eager customers.
Other political interference relates to the current state of pain management. Well-meaning elected officials have restricted physicians from prescribing certain pain medication. The result leaves many suffering patients unable to afford needed prescription drugs.
Abusers are the target, but most people who require pain medication are not abusing the medication. There are 50 million uninsured and millions more inadequately insured who can’t afford pain clinics. In the past, people suffering from pain could find relief in their general practitioner’s office at reasonable cost. That may no longer be the case.
Physicians now are wary of prescribing medications that allowed many chronic pain patients to work and go about their daily routines. Free clinics for the most part will not treat chronic pain, so the needy suffer. Many who can afford pain clinics may find themselves treated as before but at enormous cost.
Yes, there are doctors and patients who have abused the system, but the vast majority have not. Practitioners, fearing sanctions, can no longer comfortably address chronic pain in primary care practice.
A medical marijuana bill now offers legislators an opportunity to “do the right thing.” State Rep. Joe Saunders, D-Orlando, and state Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Palm Beach, are sponsoring the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act that makes medical marijuana legal for certain patients with chronic health conditions. Cathy Jordan suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease and marijuana eased her symptoms.
The pharmaceutical industry continues to manufacture drugs for debilitating chronic conditions. Scientists and research centers are discovering new treatments to improve quality of life.
Elected officials rarely have expertise in medical care. They should not interfere with physician medical management. They should legalize medical marijuana and reconsider pain management restrictions for primary care physicians.
Marc Yacht is a semi-retired physician living in Hudson, Florida.
One comment
OnlyExistingLostEverything
October 8, 2014 at 9:13 pm
I was in a wheelchair for 15 years & I could only walk in my dreams. I have chronic pain along with 2 other health conditions that make normal weight without rigorous exercise impossible. I have EOE and all the nsaids I couldnt take but regardless my pain was over them. I was given everything from Vicodine to Morphine and everything made me so sick. If I got rid of my Chronic pain, I vomited and had pain in my esophagus. Finally a doctor prescribed 80mg of oxycodone a day. Most doctors do not even understand pain. There were days I had to take 80mg, but there were days I only needed 20mg. It all depended on my activity. More activity made me have more pain. I was 120lbs and I moved to get married and my meds continued, I had my life dreams come true..I had a child and then I moved to Florida. Now 2 and a half years later, I am over 400lbs and almost in a wheelchair. I have been denied meds and there is NO MEDICAID pain management here that will prescribe medications. I am almost 50. I already years ago had different treatments that made me sick or worse. I have a right to quality of life. I have just one life. I lost 15 years already. I can’t play or run with my child. I can barely move. This is not a life. Florida is so worried about drug addicts overdosing. I don’t care if they all overdose. Why should people intentionally damaging their lives and the lives of others be valued more than me committing suicide. If I did not have my son, that is exactly what I would do. I paid for my reconstructive surgery. I almost died in South America to get it and my life back. I have lost everything almost. I do not want doctors forcing me to try risky and painful treatments. I just want my oxycodone. I am willing to take continual tests to monitor my usage, any other drugs or alcohol because I AM NOT A DRUG ADDICT. I do not drink at all. I do not do any drugs. I am not out to get high. I just want to live again and not exist. I do have a high tolerance to meds and alcohol which is good because thats probably another reason I am not a drug addict, but bag because when I was in the wheelchair my pain was often compared to others. Everyone’s pain is different. When I was ten years old, the dentist started having to give me two shots when he finally realized I was taking a lot of pain because one shot didn’t cover the pain. Right now I am in severe pain but I never cry. I was raised as a boy. I was born after my brother died and I am Autistic. I see my child losing a lot and I can’t do anything to lift us up without medication so I can move again. I would do anything to have my life back. What can I do? I have lost all hope.
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