Skip to content

Doctors and patients are flying blind as medical marijuana use rises, research lags

July 25, 2019 / Arfinn Med MD /

Doctors and patients are flying blind as medical marijuana use rises, research lags

Marijuana’s role in the health care universe has grown exponentially over the past few years. Currently, 33 U.S. states have legalized the use of medical marijuana, and more and more states are considering making it legal for recreational purposes as well. As cannabis becomes more accessible, many people are turning to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) products to treat health issues like rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease (the aches and pains of arthritis).

Unfortunately, because cannabis remains illegal and classified as a Schedule 1 drugunder federal law (defined as being of no medical use), there has been a troubling lack of scientific and medical research on the effectiveness of cannabis treatments. This dearth of evidence-based data has left many health care providers unable to counsel their patients on everything from whether a cannabis treatment could be effective for their condition, to what dosages are appropriate, to how cannabis might interact with their other medications or health conditions.

Read Full Article Here

Stories you may be interested in

Medical marijuana: Florida House seeks to intervene in ‘monumental’ case

TALLAHASSEE — Florida House leaders should be able to participate in a lawsuit that could revolutionize the state’s medical marijuana market, a lawyer for the Republican-led chamber told a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal Tuesday. But Tampa-based Florigrown argued that legislators instead should concentrate on fixing the law, aimed at carrying…
Read More →

Cannabis for Treating IBD: Hope or Hype?

Nausea, abdominal pain and changes in appetite. These are all things that can significantly impact one’s wellbeing if left untreated, yet they have all shown marked improvements when associated with cannabis. Yet, less is known about the effects of cannabis on inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, a chronic inflammatory condition that impacts the gastrointestinal tract…
Read More →

States with medical marijuana laws saw 20 percent drop in some opioid prescriptions

States with active medical marijuana laws saw certain opioid prescription rates drop nearly 20 percent compared to states without medical marijuana programs, according to a first-of-its-kind study out of Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center. Authors said the findings underscore the importance of providing patients with pain management alternatives, such as cannabis, in efforts to reduce…
Read More →

Systematic review: Efficacy and safety of medical marijuana in selected neurologic disorders

Report of the Guideline Development Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology:   We performed a systematic review of medical marijuana (1948–November 2013) to address treatment of symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, and movement disorders. We graded the studies according to the American Academy of Neurology classification scheme for therapeutic articles. Read the full…
Read More →

Medical Marijuana Faces Acceptance Barrier by Hesitant Medical Schools

A new study shows a growing interest by university pharmacy programs in teaching about medical marijuana in their curriculum, while medical schools seem to lag behind. Sixty-two percent of U.S. pharmacy school respondents queried in a new survey said they included medical marijuana in their doctorate of pharmacy curriculum. That’s according to a nine-page study co-authored by…
Read More →

After marijuana edibles helped dying Holocaust survivor battle Alzheimer’s, his family’s foundation pushes for more research

A Massachusetts family’s experience giving marijuana edibles to their dying patriarch is set to kick off a desperately needed investigation into how cannabis might treat some of the more troubling symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that affects 5.7 million Americans. Read the full story here.
Read More →

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.