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

New Features

As Arfinn Med has become the leading Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and practice management solution for medical cannabis clinics, we have continued to release new features to help improve clinical workflows and patient care. Our newest feature is a custom intake form builder to help gather pertinent patient information prior to appointments. INTAKE FORM BUILDER…
Read More →

Medical marijuana users tell their stories to Medical Cannabis Study Commission

Thursday, the Medical Cannabis Study Commission held its third meeting. The Commission has been tasked with presenting a policy recommendation to the legislature on exactly what the best medical marijuana bill should look like. The Commission held a public hearing in which a number of medical marijuana users claimed that the drug has benefitted them.…
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 →

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 →

Older adults and medical marijuana: Reduced stigma and increased use

As a primary care doctor who has incorporated medical cannabis into his practice, it is notable how many silver-haired patients are coming in to discuss the pros and cons of a trial of medical cannabis. These patients range from people in their 60s with kidney failure who can no longer take certain pain medications but…
Read More →

Illinois dispensary to allow patients to substitute medical marijuana for opioids prescription

SPRINGFIELD, ILL. (KMOV.com) — Thursday, Illinois will become the first state to launch a revised medical marijuana program. The program allows pain suffers who use opioids to temporarily switch to medical marijuana. Following months of planning, the new initiative will launch at the HCI Alternatives medical cannabis dispensary in Springfield, Illinois. In a press release,…
Read More →

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.