In recent debates over the use of marijuana versus marinol to help PWA's against wasting and other side effects such as naseua or diarrhea; what is your position on legalizing marijuana for medicinal porposes? Also are there any pros and cons between the two? Is one better than the other? Thank you.

I'm a child of the sixties...thus I favor both decriminalization of marijuana and availability of marijuana for medical purposes. We need more studies though on the use of medical marijuana as little has been done so far. I do have some problems with smoking pot in terms of possible lung effects, impurities and toxins. Marinol is the best legal alternative at present. I prescribe it extensively for nausea and encourage my patients to try various doses. Alvan Fisher, M.D.