THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER 91裸聊视频� Not all medicinal marijuana is created equal. That91裸聊视频檚 what some experts are saying as they warn about the health risks and curtailed effectiveness associated with smoking medicine.

As medical pot becomes increasingly mainstream and Canada moves toward legalizing the substance, health experts are emphasizing the need for doctors and patients to consider the sometimes serious side effects linked to the various ways of consuming the drug.

Paul Farnan, an addictions specialist at the University of British Columbia, likened a recommendation to smoke medicinal marijuana to a doctor handing out a prescription to light up an opium pipe.

91裸聊视频淲e know there91裸聊视频檚 something in opium that helps pain, and we91裸聊视频檙e able to pharmaceutically develop morphine and other analgesics, but we wouldn91裸聊视频檛 say to people, 91裸聊视频榊ou have pain? Why don91裸聊视频檛 you smoke opium?91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e kind of saying to people, 91裸聊视频榃e think there91裸聊视频檚 some stuff that cannabinoids will be helpful for. Why don91裸聊视频檛 you just smoke cannabis?91裸聊视频� First of all, cannabis is actually a really dangerous thing for your lungs.91裸聊视频�

Mikhail Kogan, medical director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said he sees no reason for people to smoke marijuana medically anymore.

It91裸聊视频檚 difficult to absorb enough of the drug through the lungs, and gastric acids interfere when someone eats it, he said, adding that it91裸聊视频檚 more effective to take the drug by other means, such as under the tongue.

91裸聊视频淩ectally is actually a lot more preferred because of the volume of absorption. You can put a lot more and it gets absorbed a lot better, but not everybody is open to this way of administration,91裸聊视频� Kogan said.

91裸聊视频淲e have so many other products now, so many modes of delivery, that smoking in my opinion is very archaic and has very little clinical applicability,91裸聊视频� he added.

91裸聊视频淗aving said that, I think that probably the majority of people still smoke because it91裸聊视频檚 the most available method.91裸聊视频�

Health Canada officially recommends against smoking marijuana.

91裸聊视频淢any of the chemicals found in tobacco smoke are also found in cannabis smoke,91裸聊视频� reads its website.

The Canadian Medical Association has no formal position on the consumption of medicinal pot, but it officially opposes the inhalation of any burned plant material.

Association spokesman Jeff Blackmer added that many physicians are reluctant to prescribe medical marijuana because of the absence of peer-reviewed research into whether the drug is medically effective, its possible side effects, appropriate dosage and more.

A 91裸聊视频渟trong majority91裸聊视频� of doctors would prefer not to be involved as so-called gatekeepers, Blackmer added.

91裸聊视频淢ost of them hate it,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淭his is something that was imposed on us by the government and the majority of physicians do not want to have anything to do with it.91裸聊视频�

Debra Lynkowski, head of the Canadian Lung Association, urged patients and doctors to take lung health into consideration when discussing medicinal marijuana.

91裸聊视频淲hen you burn something, that combustion releases toxins and carcinogens, and they91裸聊视频檙e released regardless of what the source is,91裸聊视频� she said.

91裸聊视频淥ur primary concern with regard to that is just to be considering any kind of lung health implications.91裸聊视频�

Colette Rivet, head of the association that represents licensed cannabis producers in Canada, said that while the industry is against smoking medical marijuana, ultimately it can91裸聊视频檛 restrict what patients do.

91裸聊视频淲e know that there91裸聊视频檚 an issue with smoking. However, we can91裸聊视频檛 control it at the patient level,91裸聊视频� Rivet said.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e trying to develop new product forms so they would be more inclined to go away from that.91裸聊视频�

Each licensed producer has its own unique document that physicians fill out when prescribing medical marijuana, which includes a minimum amount of information required by Health Canada, Rivet said.

Beyond that, some companies ask whether a patient would prefer dried marijuana or oil, while others don91裸聊视频檛, she added.

A Health Canada spokesman confirmed that patients are in charge of requesting the form of medical marijuana they prefer, whether dry leaf or oil, and they are not restricted in how they wish to consume it.

The sale of edibles is banned, but a June 2015 decision from the Supreme Court of Canada ruled medicinal marijuana patients have the right to prepare their medication however they want, including cooking it.

91裸聊视频� Geordon Omand, The Canadian Press