Patients who use medical marijuana regularly discuss their use with their doctors, according to a recent survey reported by the Australian Associated Press.
“Th[is] shows that general practitioners don’t fly into a rage and chuck people out of their room when a patient talks about cannabis use,” said researcher David Helliwell, who authored the survey.
Helliwell analyzed responses from more than 200 medical marijuana users from Australia and overseas. He found that 63 percent of respondents had discussed their medical marijuana use with a health worker, and 50 percent had spoken to their local doctor. Patients in the survey reported using marijuana to treat conditions like nausea, chronic pain, muscle spasms, digestive disorders, glaucoma, AIDS wasting syndrome, depression, and pre-menstrual tension.
A previous survey of AIDS specialists conducted by South Australia Drug and Alcohol Services Council found that 85 percent of them were aware of their patients medical marijuana use.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of The NORML Foundation @ (202) 483-8751.