because of the lack of knowledge – few, if any medical
heavy penalties for use in cases such as Sofie's. Are you
journals have been prepared to go out on a limb and
still with us? And this was only in the US. Could it be that
publish positive results of medical cannabis applications,
the medical world today is experiencing a paradigm shift,
though this is changing with increasing pace of late.
but is not yet aware of it?
If one follows the story of cannabis as a medicine, then
one knows that there are globally-respected scientists
Change is coming
who are having remarkably contradictory – to the
There is indeed an undeniable shift in the world's
conventional attitude – views on cannabis as a medicine
medical establishment towards seeing the wide range
(see this article for more on this subject). As bizarre as
of conditions not well helped, or in some instance not
it may sound, if you are looking for a qualified doctor in
helped at all, by conventional treatments, but which are
Western medicine that recognises the medical properties
well-documented to have been significantly improved or
of cannabis (specifically the oil) you will probably find one
even cured by cannabis. Even President Obama said in
in the US rather then in Belgium (or South Africa or many
a documentary by neurosurgeon Dr Sanjay Gupta that
other countries).
one should follow the science in the case of medicinal
The story is more complex because, while a growing
cannabis and not one's political ideology.
number of US States, as well as doctors throughout the US,
When I asked Mr Voncken about the impression
are recognising the medical value of cannabis, the Federal
he had on the knowledge about cannabis (oil) among
authorities there are still stuck somewhere in the medical
the doctors, professors and other medical caregivers
past, 'fighting the war on drugs'. This is ironic when it is
he met on his way to finding a form of relief for his
considered that fully one third of all hospitalisations and
daughter, his answer was: 'They know zero point zero
deaths under medical treatment occur because iatrogenic
about medicinal cannabis.' This ignorance explains why
(meaning doctor- or treatment-caused) factors, mostly
there is no real scientific debate on medical cannabis in
the side-effects of properly administered conventional
Belgium. Ignorance reigns. But, even in Belgium, cracks
allopathic (Western-style) drug regimes. Twenty-three
are starting to appear in this wall of ignorance. There is
of the USA's 50 states now have a medical program
a non-profit association called Medcan which is fighting
based on cannabis running on state level. This means
to have medicinal cannabis legalised. Contacts between
that a patient with a prescription from a doctor can
Medcan, uni ٕ