Docs’ opposition to SQ 788 says much

DEFENDERS of State Question 788, which would legalize medical marijuana, argue the decision to prescribe marijuana will be left in the hands of physicians. This is why the measure states there will be no qualifying conditions required for medical use of marijuana.

In short, SQ 788 supporters argue we should trust doctors. So it’s worth noting where Oklahoma medical officials stand on SQ 788.

SQ 788 opponents now include the Oklahoma State Medical Association, the Oklahoma Hospital Association, the Oklahoma Academy of Ophthalmology, the Oklahoma Behavioral Health Association, the Oklahoma County Medical Society, the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, the Oklahoma Pharmacists Association, the Oklahoma Psychiatric Physicians Association, the Oklahoma Society of Anesthesiologists and the Tulsa County Medical Society.

It’s at this point that SQ 788 supporters shift from defending the professionalism of Oklahoma’s doctors to dismissing them as entrenched supporters of a status quo that supports expensive pharmaceuticals over cheap herbal remedies.

In other words, SQ 788 supporters would have Oklahomans believe numerous medical groups oppose effective medical treatment out of financial greed even as those supporters denounce anyone who suggests some doctors may hand out marijuana at will, as happens with opioids at some “pill mill” clinics.

We believe one can trust the collective professional judgment of so many medical groups while remaining skeptical that some individual practitioners’ ethics may be subpar.

Why are so many medical groups opposed to SQ 788? It’s not because all medical professionals believe there’s no possible medical benefit that can be derived from a marijuana plant. Some have expressly said otherwise.

Instead, medical officials fear that any benefit provided by legalization will be more than offset by the widespread ineffective and counterproductive uses of marijuana that SQ 788’s lax regulations would foster.

Medical research has shown marijuana is a potential medical treatment only for a handful of specific ailments, and in most cases those treatments have come in liquid forms of the drug, not from smoking the plant. Yet SQ 788 would allow people with medical marijuana authorization to possess six mature marijuana plants and six seedling plants.

Medical officials also are familiar with the known negative effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Large doses of marijuana have been shown to cause some people to have hallucinations, delusions and paranoia. Use during pregnancy can harm the baby and is associated with increased risk of brain and behavioral problems in the child. The drug is believed to make symptoms worse for those with schizophrenia.

Supporters of SQ 788 will counter that the federal government allows little valid medical research on marijuana. Then they should advocate for changing those restrictions so credible research can be done that includes control groups.

Allowing people across Oklahoma to use a drug in multiple forms under disparate circumstances and report their subjective personal evaluations of its effectiveness isn’t a serious approach to medicinal advancement.

Medical professionals understand this, which is why they oppose SQ 788. Other Oklahomans should do the same.