Last updated on: 3/9/2009 | Author: ProCon.org

Mark Wallace, MD Biography

Title:
Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and Program Director at UCSD Center for Pain Medicine
Position:
Not Clearly Pro or Con to the question "Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?"
Reasoning:

“The results [of his research] suggest that there is a theraputic window of the cannibis. If you don’t get enough of it, you don’t get pain relief. If you get too much of it, you actually increase their pain. I think we need to keep working to demonstrate the medicinal use of cannabis by good, quality research and then get it in the hands of a pharmacist.”

“UCSD Researchers Studying Marijuana, Pain Relief,” 10News.com (San Diego, CA)
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:
  • Professor, Anesthesiology, University of California at San Diego (UCSD)
  • Program Director, UCSD Center for Pain Medicine
  • Director, Cancer Pain Relief Unit, Moores UCSD Cancer Center
  • Chair, UCSD Human Subjects Committee
  • Associate Editor, Clinical Journal of Pain
  • Recipient, Award for Excellence in Clinical Care, UCSD, 2002
  • Fellow, Pain Medicine, UCSD Medical Center
  • Residency in Anesthesiology, University of Maryland
Education:
  • MD, Creighton University
Other:
  • Hospital Affiliations: UCSD Thornton Hospital, La Jolla, and UCSD Medical Center, Hillcrest