Editor’s note: This letter is in response to the article “UNM says doctor lied in proposal,” published Oct. 8 in the Daily Lobo. This letter’s author was the subject of the article, which talks about his proposal to keep medical cannabis from PTSD patients. According to a UNM spokesman, Ulwelling misrepresented himself as a UNM professor. The article was a follow-up to “Psychiatrist proposes no pot for PTSD patients,” published Oct. 5 in the Daily Lobo.
Editor,
I’d like to respond to a few claims laid against me by the Daily Lobo, to which I was never given a chance to respond. After graduating from UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, I began my practice of psychiatry in Albuquerque, and am proud to have volunteered my services to UNM as a clinical assistant professor beginning in 1984. Unbeknownst to me, my appointment expired in 2007. Unfortunately, I was not notified of this change. My business letterhead should also be updated to note that I am now a Distinguished Life Fellow in the American Psychiatric Association.
Errors on the part of the Daily Lobo are far more significant, and are harmful to both my former patient and me. Your Oct. 5 article states that I had filed a lawsuit against a former patient and refused to prescribe him medical cannabis. Both claims are bizarre and ridiculous. I have never in my life filed a lawsuit against a patient, and I have never had any dealings with any patient regarding prescribing medical marijuana. Of note is that I closed my office and patient practice in July 2006, and prescribing medical marijuana was not legalized in New Mexico until April 2007.
I have filed a petition with the Department of Health because it represents the overwhelming consensus of professionals and organizations in the fields of PTSD and addiction psychiatry.
There is no good scientific evidence that marijuana treats PTSD.
As a physician, I am obligated to protect PTSD patients, who are at special risk for developing substance abuse. As many as 60 percent of PTSD patients carry the added burden of a substance abuse disorder. We cannot lead our recovering veterans and PTSD patients down the wrong path, and I hope the community realizes that we are hurting, not helping, these patients in a very vulnerable time.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond.
William Ulwelling, MD, MPH
Former UNM School of Medicine clinical associate professor of psychiatry, 1984-2007
