Pain medicine group cancels doctor training about marijuana

Washington DC — A national medical group Thursday abruptly canceled its plans to train doctors about marijuana for pain relief after a federal agency pulled its funding.

The episode highlights an ongoing conflict between federal and state laws on marijuana.

The American Academy of Pain Medicine scrubbed its plans for a one-hour online course next month after a request from the U.S. government agency that provided the funding, a spokeswoman for the pain medicine group said.

The money came from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA.

“We cannot speak to the reason that SAMHSA has asked that we not proceed with this webinar, but the webinar will no longer take place,” spokeswoman Megan Drumm in an email Thursday.

The group had informed a coalition of medical groups overseeing the government money about the course title and its learning objectives, Drumm said.

But after an inquiry from The Associated Press this week, the federal agency said the coalition that gave the grant would no longer take part.