It seems that the medical marijuana movement is on the move!

After years of difficult encounters with state and federal legislation to get approval on a nationwide level, stories about the benefits of medical marijuana have been overwhelming the news cycles.

A recent story from Harvard declared that one of the active ingredients in marijuana cut tumor growth in common lung cancer in animals. I read another story that found marijuana use in the Seattle-area increased rates of testicular cancer. It seems science is all over the place, but many states are trying to amend their local laws in an effort to legitimize medical marijuana use among people that have medical necessity.

So I wonder how our new administration will tackle the issue. Are we going to see national guidelines for proper indication based on real science? Or are we going to end up with the same system we have today, which seems to be an unregulated service with poor checks and balances?

Certainly one thing that cannot be tolerated is for the federal government to look the other way. The medical community should have a strong voice, not only in science, but in the way the system will operate, since it is they who will most likely be responsible for any hiccups along the way.

Patients who have legitimate medical needs should also be heard so the system doesn’t become polluted with people trying to take advantage of the availability of medical marijuana.

Join the discussion on my Facebook page.

Today we heard the news that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle has accepted President-elect Barack Obama’s offer to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services. It seems to me that Obama is willing to hit the ground running and might make healthcare reform one of his top priorities.

I had the pleasure of meeting Senator Daschle years ago, and I left with the impression that he was quite knowledgeable in healthcare issues and indeed was very attentive to my concerns. But, as I said, that was many years ago.

So, what do we know so far about Senator Daschle’s credentials? Well, we can get an idea by looking at his voting record and some quotes from previous interviews.

Here’s what we know so far:

Senator Daschle supports a government-funded insurance program for the uninsured. Since 2004, he has been stipulating that everyone should have the same healthcare plan as members of Congress.

Another interesting concept that Senator Daschle likes is the creation of a Federal Health Board. Now, I’m not quite sure yet what he means by that, but it seems that this board could act as a federal clearinghouse for healthcare mandates.

With regard to his voting record, I give Senator Daschle a B+. He understands the national nursing shortage we are experiencing, and he has voted “yes” on allowing patients to sue HMOs and collect punitive damages. However, he voted “no” on limiting self-employment health deductions.

I’ll go on the record and say that when it comes to healthcare, I think that Daschle has demonstrated a balanced approach to his decisions. And, in the weeks to come, we should be getting a clearer picture of his immediate priorities.

Hopefully Senator Daschle and I will get the chance to have a one on one again soon. In the meantime, let’s all congratulate our new Secretary of Health and Human Services and wish him well―he’s got a big job ahead of him.

But let him not forget that it is important to evaluate all points of view and to maintain transparency in all aspects of healthcare reform. This is a change we must all expect.