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 arrest for purchase or use of an illegal drugs to possibly
 serious medical complications from contaminated sources or
 adulterated materials. In my experiences patients are willing
 to run these risks to obtain relief from the debilitating
 nausea and vomiting caused by their chemotherapy treatments.
 41. By the !ate 1970_s_ many physicians engaged in the
 practice of ontology were being asked about marijuana_s thera-
 peutic uses. While I never initiated such a conversation, I
 did find myself making leading statement,s to patients. For
 example, if a patient was having a particularly difficult time
 on chemotherapy, we would discuss news stories, including the
 possibility that marijuana might have some medical value. If
 the patient was curious to know more, I would provide the
 informationo If a patient directly asked me for information on
 marijuana, I believed it was unethical for me to withhold
 information on the drug's medical uses simply because the drug
 is illegal. I am a physician, not a lawyer or policeman. My
 first obligation is to the welfare of the patient.
 42. This type of patient/physician communication is
 awkward and unnecessary° _owever, even _ithin the confines of
 a patient/physician relationships marljuana's illegality and
 Schedule I classification creates serious barriers to clear,
 cogent communication. As a physician, X know that, once armed
 with the facts_ patients are going to find marijuana and begin
 using it in a medically unsupervised way_ Yet, to deny such
 information to patlents creates an ethical dilemma.