Of course wood. Very little of my practice is still certifications, so really not much. I do a lot of them, but so much more pain management, suboxone and other interests it is a small part of the whole.
Here is the article I wrote back in 2012.,,
Why I Favor Legalization
07 January 2012
Dr. Robert Townsend
Honestly, having worked in the field of cannabis certifications and having been very active politically in the medical marijuana community, I think my opinions count for something.
Here is what I am seeing:
Contrary to what I've been taught marijuana actually does seem to be a relatively effective medication for a variety of conditions- seizures, pain, crohn's disease, glaucoma, and nausea; just to name a few. Marijuana is a viable alternative to narcotic pain control with far fewer side effects.
There is a coordinated effort on the part of policymakers to maintain the status quo- wild claims that marijuana is addictive, a gateway drug, causes mental illness, has no medical use, etc. The counter marijuana forces do not present medical or scientific data, instead using 'we want to protect puppies and children from the evil weed' to tug at our heartstrings rather than appeal to our reason.
Public opinion is CLEARLY shifting toward acceptance of not only the medical use, but the legalization of marijuana. Recent voter initiatives starting with the MMMA in 2008, and most recently in Kalamazoo which declared enforcement of marijuana laws for low quantities in adults were to be given the lowest law enforcement priority. National and local polls continue to show the public supports medical use and for the first time since they started the polls in 1969, the majority actual favors legalization.
Despite the clear turn of public opinion and science, Law Enforcement continues to ignore the will of voters and say nothing has changed and if they can't enforce state laws prohibiting the use of marijuana, they will simply use the federal statues to do what THEY wish to do. And it isn't about protecting children, it is about keeping jails busy and property rooms full of seized assets. And they plan on using local enforcement of federal law, zoning, and lawsuits to do it.
What is needed here is a CLEAR signal to our leaders. This is not an issue of protecting the public from marijuana, it is an issue of CONTROL and financial gain by law enforcement and political powers that be. We need to remind our leaders who is truly in control, we are.
I've never used marijuana, the only harm I've EVER seen come from it's use is unnecessary law enforcement and the destruction of lives and future potential, not from the medication or even the recreational use of the substance, but from the exposure to the criminal justice system by otherwise law abiding citizens just trying to live their lives in the privacy of their homes.
My vote is to legalize the possession and use of small, personal quantities by adults. We thought we gave some protections to patients with the MMMA of 2008, but as we have seen Law Enforcement is simply finding creative ways to bypass the Act and continue 'business as usual'. Too often they rely on 'technicalities' to prosecute people that are clearly trying to obey the law, but made small mistakes. While the recent Clinical Relief Ruling in Oakland county is encouraging- in that case a business opened and followed all the rules and regulations, even to the point of a police 'walk through' to make sure everything was in compliance, they were still aggressively raided, patients arrested, and one of the owners died as a result of a heart attack following the raid. We need to bring the police into check and stop the 'business as usual' despite changing public sentiment. Legalization will do that.
Dr. Bob Townsend
PS, and before you anti's out there say I have a dog in this fight as a certification physician, I just want to remind everyone of the fact that if small quantities are legalized for everyone, there is no longer a need for certification and I'll have to change fields. So in reality, I am recommending you put me out of a job.
- See more at:
http://www.drbobmmj.com/component/content/article/186-dr-bob-s-blog/111-why-i-favor-legalization.html?highlight=WyJsZWdhbGl6YXRpb24iXQ==#sthash.ieV5OV2x.dpuf
At least it would be another simple step to address some actual problems.