Theodore Parran Jr., MD – Isabel and Carter Wang Professor and Chair in Medical Education and Associate Director, Rosary Hall at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center

Dear Colleagues:

John Prine’s “Illegal Smile” seems to be getting more legal all the time. Ten states and the District of Columbia have approved adult recreational use of cannabis; thirteen other states have decriminalized possession of small amounts (this includes making possession subject only to a fine); and thirteen others have some sort of provision allowing use for medical purposes.

There are good reasons to view federal and state policies that treated marijuana possession as similar to using heroin, ecstasy, LSD, or mescaline as absurd on their face and part of an incarceration disaster. But the reaction against extreme inherited policies begs key questions:
* Are there situations – such as driving – for which marijuana use is clearly unsafe?
* What are effects on developing brains, so legitimate concerns about age of users?
* What are long-term effects of use? Is this product all that good for people?
* Are there safe and unsafe dosages – and how can dosages be regulated?
* Shouldn’t this drug be subject to the same safety testing regime as other drugs, if it is being approved for medical reasons?

Join us as Dr. Parran considers what we do know, don’t know, and should want to know. 

A Special Note:

This is the final Public Affairs Discussion gathering of Spring Semester. I’d like to thank all of our speakers and the participants – “audience” is too passive a word – who have created the group each week. I’d like to especially thank Arnold Hirshon, Associate Provost and University Librarian, for authorizing our use of the Kelvin Smith Library’s Dampeer Room or Room LL06A-C for our discussions, and Angela Sloan of the KSL staff for facilitating this. I’d also like to thank Tim O’Shea in the Fall and Lance Zhong in the Spring for their work as student assistants, and the political science office staff, Jessica Jurcak and Brook Sabin, for their help with arrangements and flyers.

I also would like to thank the College of Arts and Sciences for its financial support of the Center for Policy Studies and so the Friday Lunch, and the kind participants who also have contributed to the costs of refreshments. My wife, Sydelle Zinn, deserves special thanks for her baking. Thanks honey! And last but not least, thank you to Dr. Andrew Lucker, Associate Director of the CPS, for producing this weekly newsletter about our events (and the sidebars about other events on campus).

We’ll gather again when classes resume for Fall Semester. So our first meeting should be Friday, August 30. If you have suggestions about speakers or topics (preferably both), please send them to me at joseph.white@case.edu. And I wish you a wonderful Spring and Summer.

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies

About Our Guest

Dr. Ted Parran is a 1978 graduate with honors in history from Kenyon College and a 1982 graduate from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the Baltimore City Hospital of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Following his residency, Dr. Parran was selected to be the medical chief resident. In 1987, he received the Outstanding Faculty Teacher Award from the Department of Medicine. In 1988, he returned to Cleveland and CWRU School of Medicine. Dr. Parran is the co-director of the Foundations of Clinical Medicine Course, a course with topics which touch on the doctor patient relationship, health disparities, professionalism, cultural competence and health policy. He is the medical director of the Program in Continuing Medical Education, and in 2007 was named as the Isabel and Carter Wang Professor and Chair in Medical Education, all at CWRU School of Medicine.

Dr. Parran pursues several areas of special interest in medical education including doctor-patient communication, faculty development, continuing medical education and addiction medicine.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. We usually meet in the Dampeer Room of Kelvin Smith Library.

* Kelvin Smith Library requires all entrants to show identification when entering the building, unless they have a university i.d. that they can magnetically scan. We are sorry if that seems like a hassle, but it has been Library policy for a while in response to security concerns. Please do not complain to the library staff at the entrance, who are just doing their jobs.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level (labeled as for the Thwing Center); it is less than 50 yards from that exit to the library entrance. You can get from the Severance garage to the library without going outside. Near the entry gates – just to the right if you were driving out – there is a door into a corridor. Walk down the corridor and there will be another door. Beyond that door you’ll find the entrance to an elevator which goes up to an entrance right inside the doors to Kelvin Smith Library.