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

"I have seem many patients with chronic pain, muscle spasms, nausea, anorexia, and other unpleasant symptoms obtain significant -- often remarkable -- relief from cannabis medicines, well beyond what had been provided by traditional (usually opiate-based) pain relievers. (7/17/03)

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:
  • 1999-Pres - Medical Consultant, GW Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (UK)
  • 2001-2002 - Medical Consultant, BC Pharmacare, Victoria, BC, Canada
  • 1999-2001 - Research Director, Western Canada Waiting List Project, Health Canada
  • 1998-1999 - Chief Advisor, Research and Policy Analysis, Health Funding Authority, Wellington NZ
  • 1996-1998 - Project Director, "Dialysis Indicators Projects"
  • 1994-1997 - Project Director, "New Zealand Priority Criteria Project"
  • 1993-1998 - Manager, Special Projects, National Advisory Committee on Health and Disability, Ministry of Health, Wellington, NZ
  • 1993-1996 - Member, Panel on Cost-effectiveness in Health and Medicine, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
  • 1992-1997 - Senior Medical Advisor, British Columbia Office Of Technology Assessment, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.
  • 1992-1996 - Project Director, "Developing a Clinical Practice Guideline for Congestive Heart Failure," RAND Corporation
  • 1991-1996 - Professional Consultant, RAND
  • 1988-1993 - Senior Research Associate, Center for Health Ethics and Policy, University of Colorado
  • 1985-1989 - Emergency Physician, United Medical Staff of Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
  • 1982-1984 - Asst Prof of Medicine and Research, Director, Division of Emergency Medicine, Penn State University
  • 1979-1982 - Emergency Physician, several hospitals in California
7. Education:
  • 2002, Ph.D. - Victoria University, Wellington (Philosophy)
  • 1988, M.A. - University of Colorado (Philosophy)
  • 1977-1979 - Residency: Louisville General Hospital, Louisville, KY (Emergency Medicine)
  • 1976-1977 - Internship: University Hospital, San Diego, CA (Surgery)
  • 1976, M.D. - University of California, San Diego
  • 1972, B.S. - University of California, Irvine
8. Relevant Affiliations/Honors:
9. Contact Info:
Phone: None listed Fax: None listed
E-Mail:   none listed
Web Site: None listed

10. Other: Books he has edited or contributed to include:
  • Basic Benefits and Clinical Guidelines Boulder CO.: Westview Press, 1992.
  • Designing a Fair and Reasonable Basic Benefit Plan Using Clinical Guidelines Sacramento: California Public Employee Retirement System, 1992
  • [Coauthored] Assessing the Effectiveness of Health Interventions. In Gold MR, Siegel JE, Russell LB, and Weinstein MC, eds. Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996
Recent Presentations include:
  • "International Developments In Illicit Drug Policy." Breakfast meeting of cross-party Ministers of Parliament, Wellington, New Zealand, 13 March 2002
  • "Clinical Priority Access Criteria: Evaluation And Applicability." Wellington Health Economists' Group, Wellington, New Zealand, 28 February 2002
  • "Beyond RCTs: A New Paradigm For Drug Evaluation," Pharmac Seminar, Wellington, New Zealand, 22 February 2002
  • "Pharmaceutical Evaluation And Management In British Columbia," Pharmac Seminar, Wellington, New Zealand, 15 February 2002
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