Medical Marijuana Question and Answer Segment 15 (VIDEO)

Oregon's leading expert on medical marijuana answers a number of questions sent in by viewers.

(SALEM, Ore.) - In this special edition of Salem-News.com's continuing education series on legal medical marijuana use, Dr. Phil Leveque and Bonnie King deliver answers for a number of Salem-News.com viewers. Their questions, sent in from around the nation, address a variety of subjects associated with the use of cannabis, or marijuana.

It is our goal to try to help everyone understand more about the legal use of this growingly popular health remedy, one that many still fail to see as legitimate. We learn in this segment that the average age of the Oregon medical marijuana patient is 47, and that means an increasingly older crowd is endorsing the legalization of pot for medicinal use.

The truth is that many medical groups have endorsed the legalization of marijuana for medical use. One, Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association, with 40,000 members and 16 allied organizations, said the federal government should give doctors and patients a break as we reported November 7th, 2007. (see: American Psychiatric Association Assembly Unanimously Backs Medical Marijuana)

One report this year out of Germany, demonstrates that when administered properly, marijuana can be used in the treatment of cancer. That is information Salem-News.com published for Internet readers on January 11th, 2008. (see: Breakthrough Discovered in Medical Marijuana Cancer Treatment)

But perhaps the biggest breakthrough came very recently, as we reported February 18th, 2008, from the ACP. They released a paper urging the federal government to change its position on the legal aspects of marijuana, which it continues to classify in a category with heroin and LSD. They are the largest medical-specialty organization and second-largest physician group in the U.S., with more than 124,000 internists, internal medicine subspecialists, and medical students, residents, and fellows making up its membership. (see: American College of Physicians Position Takes Aim at Marijuana Laws)

The next time you hear a federal or law enforcement official state that there are "no proven studies" or "real proof" about the legitimate use of medical marijuana, tell them about Salem-News.com, and tell them they can find plenty of evidence of the positive side of medical marijuana use.

One of our biggest goals is to see state's rights and the wishes of voters be met, and we believe that a great deal of false information is used in the argument by our own public officials and police and it is a shame that a simple subject like this causes so much controversy. Some day it will be legal and taxed and money on the black market, otherwise missing the tax rolls by 100%, will be harnessed and utilized to rebuild state economies.

The uses of the marijuana or hemp plant also go far beyond medicinal or recreational, as the case is in the black market. Hemp is the strongest natural fiber known to man. The U.S. Constitution is written on hemp paper. The parachute ropes on George H.W. Bush's parachute in WWII that allowed him to escape his damaged airplane were made of hemp. He would never have been able to lead our country to victory in Desert Storm, if not for the marijuana plant. He, like our Dr. Phil Leveque, is a World War Two hero.

Subjects in this edition include a question from a 59-year old man who is suffering and in constant pain from a degeneritive disk problem from a serious auto accident about five years ago. He says he knows the hard drugs prescribed to him by a doctor for pain are not good for him, and asks the doctor if this condition would qualify him as a medical marijuana patient, if it would really take away the pain, and how it would possibly affect his ability to drive, conduct his business life, and possibly operate machinery.

One Salem-News.com viewer wrote, "I am interested in finding out what I can do to get a medical marijuana card for chronic pain?"

Another asked if Doctor Leveque, "can you verify or deny my assertion that "drug crime" was unknown before we had drug prohibition?"

Stating that his finance's life was saved by the use of marijuana when she suffered from anorexia, a viewer explained in his email to us that it was the synthetic form of marijuana's active ingredient, THC, taken in pill form, that initially stimulated her appetite and reversed the wasting process.

But the bill for a month's worth of this pharmaceutical marijuana impostor came to $1,800! So, she was "forced to turn to marijuana" as she could not begin to afford the prescription "marinol" which Leveque says can help people, but is expensive and difficult to properly administer, as well as just plain expensive. The man wants to know whether a person can receive a card to legally use medical marijuana in Oregon if they suffer from anorexia.

These are the types of questions we want to be able to provide answers for, and few know more about the subject than our Dr. Phil Leveque.

He began his adult life after college as a WWII Army soldier fighting the Nazi's, he later became a physician and trained the first doctors in some sections of Africa, while working for the University of London. That is just one small noteworthy aspect of his most fascinating life and career that spanned the globe as well as the nation, time and time again.

The end to his career as a physician in Oregon came in recent years, at the hands of the state's Board of Medical Examiners. This is a fate that befalls many physicians in this country who dare to work in the legal area of medical marijuana. States like Oregon have resoundingly voted in favor of this herb's legal use but federal laws fail to recognize state's rights in the United States.

The media jumped on board and the Oregonian newspaper in Portland, branded him in an article as "The Most Dangerous Doctor in Oregon."

In reality, Dr. Leveque's experience as a combat veteran made him the perfect physician for soldiers returning from the fighting in Vietnam. He has always been a major advocate for the understanding and treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, particularly among veterans.

Today he works tirelessly, researching the latest information and sometimes historic archives, to write articles that address the myriad subjects that accompany the problems veterans of combat experience. He believes that the Veterans Administration is a broken system and that all too many veterans are failing to receive the care they need and deserve.

Oregon's Medical Examiners, largely tied to questionable interests, may have terminated Leveque simply because patients favored his care, and were abandoning another doctor in Molalla, Oregon who had ties to, you guessed it... the state Board of Medical Examiners.

They took away Dr. Leveque's ability to practice medicine because he allowed some medical marijuana patients to demonstrate their qualifications for the card without physical examinations. He says in each case the people overwhelmingly demonstrated through medical records that they clearly qualified for a permit to use medical marijuana, and he did not require a physical visit because in each case, the people lived far from Portland and were invalid, with transportation issues related to their poor health.

Today Dr. Leveque continues to help people find the answers they are looking for as a writer and personality here at Salem-News.com. He was recently featured in the Oregon Public Broadcasting special on WWII Oregon veterans that aired along with the new Ken Burns series on WWII.

In addition to being a combat infantryman during WWII and a lifelong physician, Dr. Phillip Leveque has testified in court over 400 times as a toxicologist. He is also a pharmacologist. His treatment at the hands of the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners is public record, and it is a disgrace to all of us who care about sick people having every option at seeking relief.

Enjoy the video and learn answers to the questions above, as well as many more. The video is 26 minutes and 30 seconds in length. Remember to send in your questions if you have them. It is our goal to try to help everyone understand more about the legal use of this growingly popular natural health remedy. Below the video frame is more contact information, and remember that there are dozens of similar articles and fourteen previous videos available for you to watch.

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Got a question or comment for Dr. Leveque?
Email him: Newsroom@Salem-News.com

More information on the history of Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of Phil Leveque about his experiences in WWII.
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier.
If you are a World War II history buff, you don't want to miss it.

Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King Dr. Phil Leveque.

Click on this link for other articles and video segments about PTSD and medical marijuana on Salem-News.com: Dr. Leveque INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

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julie September 24, 2008 11:53 am (Pacific time)

i have been in pain for three years due to a broken pubic bone while delivering my ten pound son i also had a rectysyl and systisyl reconstruction. i am not able to get a doctor to prescribe any pain medication let alone medical marijuana. i hear it is illegal in iowa. do the doctors here not care of the pain im in. i need help. being in chronic severe pain for three years is desperately limiting activity and any social function. could some one give me some advice. i hear marinol is extremely expensive and is not all that effective. i would love someone to give me some sort of hope

Jeff March 3, 2008 9:18 am (Pacific time)

Thank God for Dr. Leveque and salem-news.com. I live in Iowa where the politicians still lump marijuana in the same catagory as heroin, crack, cocainr amd meth. Here is where the truth can be found without the prejudice against the cannabis plant. Even though I live in Iowa Dr. Leveque has changed my life for the better. Since medical marijuana is illegal in Iowa Dr. Leveque reccommended I ask my doctor to be put on Marinol 5mg minimum. The 2.5 mg is just not stong enough. Marinol helps but it is not as effective as inhaled marijuana. Marinol takes about an hour to work and it is harder to titrate your dose than with smoked marijuana. So until I can get to Oregon I am legal this way. Thank you Dr. Leveque, Bonnie King and salem-news.com

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Medical Marijuana Question and Answer Segment 15 (VIDEO)

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