Last updated on: 1/11/2012 | Author: ProCon.org

Mark J. Pletcher, MD, MPH Biography

Title:
Associate Professor, In Residence, in the Departments of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Medicine at the University of California at San Francisco
Position:
Not Clearly Pro or Con to the question "Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?"
Reasoning:

“Marijuana may have beneficial effects on pain control, appetite, mood, and management of other chronic symptoms. Our findings suggest that occasional use of marijuana for these or other purposes may not be associated with adverse consequences on pulmonary function.”

“Association Between Marijuana Exposure and Pulmonary Function Over 20 Years,” Journal of the American Medical Association, Jan. 11, 2012
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
     Key Experts
Physicians [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.] [Note: Key Experts definition varies by sites that have this designation.]
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Associate Professor, In Residence, Departments of Epidemiology, Biostatistics (Division of Clinical Epidemiology), and Medicine, University of California at San Francisco (UCSF)
  • Active clinical practitioner, Department of Medicine, UCSF
  • Assistant Director, Training in Clinical Research Program, UCSF
  • Co-Director for Research Design, CTSI-Biostatistics, Research Ethics and Design Program, UCSF
  • Recipient, American Heart Association Sandra Daugherty Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Disease or Hypertension Epidemiology, 2007
  • Internship, Residence, and Clinical Research Fellowship, Division of General Internal Medicine and Advanced Training in Clinical Research Certificate Program, UCSF, 2001
Education:
  • MPH, Epidemiology, University of California at Berkeley
  • MD, University of California at San Francisco, 1998
  • BS, Harvard College
Other:
  • None found
Quoted in:
  1. Does the Regular Smoking of Marijuana Cause Lung Cancer or in Any Way Permanently Injure the Lungs?