Question: My son has multiple sclerosis. He is in a great deal of pain and asked me about taking medicinal marijuana. What is your opinion?

Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

My feelings are mixed regarding medicinal marijuana. In Canada, prescriptions for medicinal marijuana are encouraged. In the U.S., physicians run the risk of breaking laws and being disciplined.

Terminal illness is a reasonable reason to use drugs such as marijuana for the relief of nausea and pain. With rare exceptions, I do not regard multiple sclerosis (MS) as a terminal illness sufficient to recommend marijuana use. I believe that early and aggressive disease modifiers may be the correct direction for MS treatment.