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1. Name: Neal L. Benowitz M.D.  
2. Title: Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry and Pharmacy
University of California at San Francisco (UCSF)
3. Medical Marijuana
Position:		 No Stated Position to the question "Should marijuana be a medical option?"
4. Reasoning:

No stated position. (2005)

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:
  • 1970-present: Associate Medical Director, San Francisco Bay Area Regional Poison Center
  • 1983-present: Chief, Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, UCSF
  • 1987-Present: Professor, Departments of Medicine, Psychiatry and Pharmacy, UCSF
  • 1975-76: Director, Drug Detoxification Unit, San Francisco General Hospital
7. Education:
  • 1971-93 - Fellow in Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco
  • 1969-71 - Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, Bronx, New York, Intern and Resident, Internal Medicine
  • M.D. 1969 - University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY

  • Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
8. Relevant Affiliations/Honors: None listed
9. Contact Info:
Phone: (415) 206-8324 Fax: (415) 206-4956
E-Mail:  nbeno@itsa.ucsf.edu
Web Site: www.ucsf.edu/dbps/faculty/pages/benowitz.html

10. Other: Some of his publications include:

Benowitz N.L. and P. Jacob, III. "Trans-31-hydroxycotinine: Disposition kinetics, effects, and plasma levels during cigarette smoking." (Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol.), 51:53-59, 2001.

Haller, C.A. and N.L. Benowitz. "Adverse cardiovascular and central nervous system events associated with dietary supplements containing ephedra alkaloids." (N. Engl. J. Med.), 343:1833-1838, 2000.

Jacob, P., III, W. Yu, L. Yu and N.L. Benowitz. "Simultaneous determination of mecamylamine, nicotine, and cotinine in plasma by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry." (J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal.), 23:653-661, 2000.

Fattinger, K., N.L. Benowitz, R.T. Jones and D. Verotta. "Nasal mucosal versus gastrointestinal absorption of nasally administered cocaine." (Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol.), 56:305-310, 2000.

Zevin, S., P. Jacob III, P. Geppetti and N.L. Benowitz. "Clinical pharmacology of oral cotinine. (Drug Alcohol Depend.), 60:13-18, 2000.

Zevin S., P. Jacob, III, and N.L. Benowitz. "Nicotine-mecamylamine interactions." (Clin. Pharmacol. Ther.), 68:58-66, 2000.

Dempsey, D., P. Jacob, III and N.L. Benowitz. "Nicotine metabolism and elimination kinetics in newborns." (Clin. Pharmacol. Ther.), 67:458-465, 2000.

Benowitz, N.L. and P. Jacob, III. "Effects of cigarette smoking and carbon monoxide on nicotine and cotinine metabolism." (Clin. Pharmacol. Ther.), 67:653-659, 2000.

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