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1. Name: David L. Bearman, M.D.  
2. Title: Physician and surgeon
3. Medical Marijuana
Position:		 Pro to the question "Should marijuana be a medical option?"
4. Reasoning:

"I grew up knowing that cannabis could be a medicine... I'm not aware of any proven long-term [harmful] effects from cannabis. People have been trying to find major risks [from marijuana], but I've never seen any documented. We know if you smoke cannabis your chances of getting lung cancer are less than if you don't smoke anything at all." (3/1/06 - phone interview with ProCon.org)
5. Credibility
Ranking:

 Key Experts
Physicians [We believe physicians are the "key experts" in the medical marijuana debate because the issue is thought by many to be ultimately based on the medical value and risks of marijuana, and Physicians, with their training and clinical work, should (at least in theory) have the best knowledge of marijuana's medical value and risks.]

6. Involvement:
  • 2000-Present - Operates a medical practice specific to medical marijuana patients
  • 1972-Present - Delivers expert court testimony on recreational drugs
  • 1997-2000 - Deputy Director for Grants Development and Interagency Liaison, Santa Barbara Regional Health Authority
  • 1983-1997 - Medical Director, Santa Barbara Regional Health Authority
  • 1983 - Conducted conferences on Parenting and Drug Abuse Prevention
  • 1981 - Grants from San Diego County and Santa Barbara County to conduct a series of workshops on Training for Trainers in Drug Abuse Prevention and Intervention
  • Member, California State Universities Alcohol Task Force
  • Member, San Diego County and Santa Barbara County Drug Abuse Technical Advisory Committee
  • Member, Governor Reagan's Interagency Task Force on Drug Abuse
  • Grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop a plan for treatment of Dual Diagnosis
  • Editorial consultant to Hoffman-LaRoche for their Drug Abuse Crisis Treatment Manual
  • Consultant to the National PTA on Alcoholism Prevention
7. Education:
  • 1967 - M.D., University of Washington School of Medicine
8. Relevant Affiliations/Honors:
  • Co-Coordinator (with Patients Out of Time) of Fourth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics (April 2006)
9. Contact Info:
Phone: (805) 961-9988 Fax: None listed
E-Mail:   davidbearman@cox.net
Web Site: None listed
10. Other: None
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