{"id":4755,"date":"2015-09-30T17:20:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T17:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/?p=3798"},"modified":"2015-09-30T17:20:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-30T17:20:00","slug":"australia-the-doctor-who-wont-stop-producing-medical-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/australia-the-doctor-who-wont-stop-producing-medical-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia: The Doctor Who Won\u2019t Stop Producing Medical Marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/australia-the-doctor-who-wont-stop-producing-medical-marijuana\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p>\u201cIt\u2019s bizarre that in the 21st Century we have to hide the production of life saving medicine,\u201d says Dr Andrew Katelaris as he opens the panel to his secret makeshift laboratory hidden inside a bedroom wardrobe.<\/p>\n<p>For more than a decade Dr Katelaris has been brewing his therapeutic cannabis oil in the shadows, away from the watchful eyes of the main medical establishment who have shunned his zealot-like approach to medical marijuana.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Katelaris was struck off the medical register in 2005 for conducting research into the drug. He has been arrested dozens of times and charged for a range of drug offences.<\/p>\n<p>Since then he has aggressively pursued his belief that cannabis can be used to treat illnesses and has focused on producing an oil that alleviates the symptoms of childhood epilepsy.<\/p>\n<p>And he has done it knowing he could be arrested again.<\/p>\n<p>It might seem extreme, but for the man making medical marijuana for kids, he says the risk is worth it.<br \/>\n\u201cI haven\u2019t sought to avoid legal troubles,\u201d Dr Katelaris says in a new documentary called The Pot Doctor. \u201cOur primary motivation is to actually advance the cause of medical cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the last few years even though I have operated quite openly I haven\u2019t attracted any negative legal intervention which is appreciated but we\u2019re prepared to fight on any front that\u2019s presented and if its necessary that we go to court and dispute the prohibition against medical cannabis and that\u2019s what we will do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr Katelaris says he believes so strongly in the medical benefits of cannabis that he didn\u2019t have a problem giving up his medical license.<\/p>\n<p>He claims he was told to choose between his research and being a registered doctor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a very hard decision,\u201d he explained. \u201cSeeing the therapeutic affects of what we were doing and the clear superiority of cannabis therapeutics whether they are used a sole agent or a combination agent.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOnce you have seen that you can\u2019t turn your back on people and say \u2018yeah there\u2019s something that will help you a great deal but you can\u2019t have it. That\u2019s simply not acceptable for me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople say of you have sacrificed a lot, your career, but this is my career, right? If I was one of the yes men in a white coat, that\u2019s not a career. That\u2019s the role of a yes man in a white coat. It simply didn\u2019t suit my personality. But I have not sacrificed my career, this is my career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last month, the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee unanimously passed the Regulator of Medicinal Cannabis Bill which supporters say is the first steps towards regulating medical cannabis.<\/p>\n<p>It is this approach that the Australian Medical Association supports, one that sees checks and balances installed.<\/p>\n<p>However the time it will take authorities to conduct and complete trials will not come soon enough.<\/p>\n<p>Melbourne parents Cassie Batten and Rhett Wallace have been using cannabis oil with their four-year-old son Cooper who has severe brain damage, cerebral abscesses, hydrocephalus, epilepsy and cerebral palsy.<\/p>\n<p>He used to suffer daily seizures and would be have to be hospitalised but since he began taking the oil, the seizures have stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Not only that but they say his quality of life has improved dramatically.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWalking doesn\u2019t seem out of the question now,\u201d dad Rhett says in the documentary.<\/p>\n<p>The cannabis oil that is used in the medication is derived from a specific type of marijuana plant that is rich in the medically useful cannabinoid CBD but low in THC, the part of the plant that gets you stoned.<\/p>\n<p>It is prepared in oil or tincture, which has a mild flavour and is easy for children to ingest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince we have discovered the amazing therapeutic effects of CBD in childhood epilepsy, it is becoming imperative that our work not be disturbed because there is nothing worse than actually helping a child to achieve wellness and then by lack of product not being able to continue with that wellness,\u201d he says in the documentary. \u201cSo therefore we are forced into hidden places to avoid the ignorant and draconian policies that are currently limiting access to medical cannabis for sick and dying children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But not everyone shares his views.<\/p>\n<p>While the medical establishment are interested in exploring the uses of medicinal marijuana, they prefer it be tested and tried under strict guidelines before being given to the masses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI suppose our bottom line is this, we would like evidence to make the assertion rather than one person who has spent ten or more years on almost a single issue,\u201d Australian Medical Association vice president Dr Stephen Parnis told news.com.au, referring to Dr Katelaris. \u201cI am concerned by his approach where it is a bit holier than though. He seems to feel that he knows more than the scientific community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am concerned that the potential downside of any of the cannabinoids is not factored in. Any therapeutic substance, any drug can have potential benefits and potential risks. Cannabinoids are no different. And what we have said is that these things need to be considered like any other therapeutic substance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr Parnis said he believed medical cannabis could be used to treat nausea and stimulate appetite in cancer patients and for the treatment of epilepsy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it can\u2019t be done by growing something in someone\u2019s backyard, it needs tight control, it needs the right type of plant to be used because there\u2019s more than one chemical \u2014 there are literally thousands of them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd in terms of the evidence, it certainly points to optimism. These things can and should be used but as I said before, if we get this wrong and someone suffers an avoidable adverse outcome no one will thank us for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/gallery\/data\/1412\/16085.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>News Moderator: Jacob Redmond <a href=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">420 MAGAZINE \u00ae<\/a><br \/>\nFull Article: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/lifestyle\/health\/dr-andrew-katelaris-claims-medical-marijuana-is-a-lifesaving-treatment\/story-fneuzlbd-1227545447953\" target=\"_blank\">The Doctor Who Won&#8217;t Stop Producing Medical Marijuana<\/a><br \/>\nAuthor: Emily Moulton<br \/>\nContact: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/more-information\" target=\"_blank\">Give Feedback<\/a><br \/>\nPhoto Credit: Andrew Katelaris<br \/>\nWebsite: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">News.com &#8211; Australia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cIt\u2019s bizarre that in the 21st Century we have to hide the production of life saving medicine,\u201d says Dr Andrew&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/2015\/09\/australia-the-doctor-who-wont-stop-producing-medical-marijuana\/\" class=\"read-more\">[Read More]<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1616,9,1,3],"tags":[4184],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4755"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4755\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}