Jump to content

Very Small Number Of 'legitimate' Patients Using Cannabis


Recommended Posts

Just thought I would share a response I put up to an MLive Story. Some good information and arguments to use in your own responses to stories....

 

It was just a quick response fired off as I was getting ready for work, but a good way to respond to a common theme from the antis. Here is the link and the response to a poster talking about the 'very small number of legitimate patients'...

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/07/day-care_parents_complain_to_b.html

 

It always amazes me when folks like to talk about the 'very small number' of people that use it for 'legitimate' reasons. Lake, I am not picking on you, this is a common theme, you are just the lucky 'repeater' that used it. Just to make full disclosure, I am a physician, I treat pain and do marijuana certifications, but I think anyone will see the point I am making.

 

First of all, what exactly are your 'legitimate medical reasons'? Since I am sure we all have our own opinion of what is reason to use a schedule 1 controlled substance, what do you say we just stick with what the LAW says is a 'legitimate medical reason'?

 

Take chronic severe pain. How many of the adults that go to a physician are seen for chronic severe pain? About 1 in 5. There are 30,000 active physicians in this state, assume about 1/2 are primary care docs seeing about 20 patients a day (believe it or not, that is pretty average- I've been in practice since the early 90's and know). The math is simple 4 pain patients per day, 200 working days a year, 15,000 doctors. That is 1.2 MILLION office visits in Michigan for chronic pain per year.

 

If each of those 15,000 doctors only found ONE patient to certify a month, we would have 180,000 card holders in Michigan for chronic pain alone. At ONE CERTIFICATION PER MONTH PER DOCTOR.

 

Shall we look at the numbers of cancer patients on chemotherapy in Michigan? Or the number of patients actively treated for Crohn's or Glaucoma? How about those on seizure medicine?

 

Are you getting the point yet? One last statistic for you- a chronic pain patient may get 4 vicodin a day for their pain. Going back to the 4 patients a primary care physician sees with a chief complain of chronic pain per day, that means that an average physician prescribes 24,000 doses of pain medication per month. Nearly 300,000 tabs of vicodin per year, per doctor. For those with more than 1/5 of their patients getting pain meds (like pain clinics) you can multiply that number by up to 5x.

 

Hopefully that addressess the 'legitimate' issue. I don't use cannabis myself, I voted for the Act and would do so again.

 

Dr. Bob

drbobmmj.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In a debate like that with a true believer you are not going to change their minds. The point of putting up the posted responses (there are more, they keep changing the question and saying I didn't answer....sound familiar...lol) is not to convince THEM, it is to educate the folks following it.

 

The story was about a dispensary that opened near a day care center. And you wonder why we have an uphill battle?

 

Dr. Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In a debate like that with a true believer you are not going to change their minds. The point of putting up the posted responses (there are more, they keep changing the question and saying I didn't answer....sound familiar...lol) is not to convince THEM, it is to educate the folks following it.

 

The story was about a dispensary that opened near a day care center. And you wonder why we have an uphill battle?

 

Dr. Bob

 

I did not think of it that way Dr. Bob. You are correct you will not convince them but the others reading may learn something.

See I just learned something new lol....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did not think of it that way Dr. Bob. You are correct you will not convince them but the others reading may learn something.

See I just learned something new lol....

 

Sometimes the most effective learning is not giving the best answers, but asking the best questions and letting folks reason through them on their own. Appreciate your compliment.

 

Dr. Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...