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1. Name: Harry S. Greenberg, M.D.
2. Title: Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan
3. Medical Marijuana
Position:		 Not Clearly Pro or Con to the question "Should marijuana be a medical option?"
4. Reasoning:

"A double-blind randomized placebo-controlled study of inhaled marijuana smoke on postural responses was performed in 10 adult patients with spastic multiple sclerosis (MS) and 10 normal volunteers matched as closely as possible for age, sex, and weight. A computer-controlled dynamic posturographic platform with a video line scan camera measured shoulder displacement in response to pseudorandom platform movements.

Pre-marijuana smoking patient tracking was inferior to that of the normal volunteers as indicated by the higher noise variance of the former.

Smoking one marijuana cigarette containing 1.54% Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol increased postural tracking error in both the patients and normal control subjects with both eyes open and closed; this untoward effect was greatest for the patients. The tracking error was also accompanied by a decrease in response speed for the patients with their eyes closed.

Marijuana smoking further impairs posture and balance in patients with spastic MS."
("Short-term Effects Of Smoking Marijuana On Balance In Patients With Multiple Sclerosis And Normal Volunteers," Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 1994)

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:
  • Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan
  • Member, Cancer Center, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan
  • Member, American Brain Tumor Association
7. Education:
  • M.D., State University of New York Upstate Medical Center, 1973
  • Residency, Stanford University, 1974-1977
  • Certification, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1980
8. Relevant Affiliations/Honors:
  • 1977 - Neuro-Oncology Fellowship, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Cornell University Michigan
9. Contact Info:
Phone: 734-936-9010 Fax:  734-936-8763
E-Mail:   hsgr@umich.edu
Web Site:  www.med.umich.edu
10. Other: Select Publications:
  • Co-authored Brain Tumors, Oxford University Press, USA, 1999
  • Co-authored "Short-term Effects Of Smoking Marijuana On Balance In Patients With Multiple Sclerosis And Normal Volunteers," Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 1994, 55: 324-328
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