Wednesday March 25th, 2015 – 11am
Posted Mar 25, 2015 11:54:38 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
11:00 – Christian Group/medical procedures
Larry Worthen, Executive Director, The Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada
A group of Christian doctors is going to court to challenge a new policy that they say will force them to refer patients to procedures that go against their conscience such as abortion and assisted suicide. The Christian Medical and Dental Society of Canada is seeking to overturn a College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario policy on professional obligations and human rights. The policy says that if a physician is unwilling to provide certain elements of care because of moral or religious beliefs, an “effective referral” must be provided to another health-care provider. The Christian doctors say that the obligation to provide an “effective referral” that will ultimately facilitate a procedure they object to on religious grounds is “unconscionable.”
11:30 – Medical marijuana
Dr. Martin Katzman, Psychiatrist, Clinical Director at the START Clinic (Stress, Trauma, Anxiety Rehabilitation and Treatment) for Mood and Anxiety Disorders & staff psychiatrist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health-Clarke Davison.
11:45 – Craig Forsberg, military veteran, suffers from chronic pain as a result of several training incidences
The cost of providing medical marijuana to the country’s injured soldiers under a Veterans Affairs program jumped to more than $4.3 million this fiscal year – an increase of 10 times what was spent last year. The number of ex-soldiers eligible for taxpayer-funded, prescribed pot more than quadrupled – that’s according to figures released by the department. The increases may represent an issue for Health Canada, which routinely warns against marijuana use, and the ruling Conservatives who have ridiculed Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s campaign for overall legalization of marijuana. In a statement, a Veterans Affairs spokeswoman stood by the program, pointing to government documents explaining that even though the government does not want to see marijuana used as medicine, the courts have ordered patients to have access to it if prescribed. At the same time, Health Canada, which oversees the country’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry, is running ads saying: “The science is clear. Marijuana use equals health risks.”
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