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1. Name: Ethan Russo, M.D.  
2. Title: Senior Medical Advisor, Cannabinoid Research Institute
3. Medical Marijuana
Position:		 Pro to the question "Should marijuana be a medical option?"
4. Reasoning:

"As a neurologist, I have seen hundreds of people find marijuana valuable as a treatment and I have studied marijuana's medical properties. The pros for it outweigh the cons by an astronomical proportion. The benefits can be documented scientifically and anecdotally, whereas the dangers are difficult to document and/or can be easily avoided, as opposed to the side effects of other drugs. I have never met a patient who has tried both smoked marijuana and Marinol and preferred Marinol." (11/19/01)
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:
  • Senior Medical Advisor, Cannabinoid Research Institute, G.W. Pharmaceuticals
  • Adjunct associate professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana
  • Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Washington.
  • Founder - Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics
  • Author - Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs
  • Co-Editor - Cannabis
  • Editor - Cannabis Therapeutics in HIV/AIDS
7. Education:
  • M.D., University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, 1978
  • Residency, University of Washington Medical Center, Neurology
  • Residency, St. Joseph Hospital Medical Center, Pediatrics
8. Relevant Affiliations/Honors:
  • Conducted Missoula Chronic Cannabis Use Research Study
  • Member, International Cannabis Research Society
  • Governing Board, International Assoc. of Cannabis as Medicine
  • Advisor, Patients Out of Time
9. Contact Info:
Phone: (406) 542-0151 Fax: (406) 542-0158
E-Mail:   erusso@montanadsl.net
Web Site: None listed
10. Other: Author, Jan. 2002 article "Chronic Cannabis Use in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program: An Examination of Benefits and Adverse Effects of Legal Clinical Cannabis,"  (PDF 376KB) published in The Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics

Specialty: Neurology

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