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Conclusions
Physicians who are
considering whether to approve cannabis use by their patients must first educate
themselves on the subject. Cannabis has a long, impressive history as a safe and
effective medicine. Although the United States has limited studies on the
benefits of cannabis, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has funded
significant research into its mechanism of action. Universities and major
pharmaceutical companies are conducting groundbreaking studies. Much of this
research is available in:
Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutic Potential.
My advice to
colleagues, in brief:
-
Practice responsible
medicine, including encouraging patients to obtain appropriate follow-up of
their illnesses from their primary care practitioner.
-
Maintain good
documentation, both of previous history and outside records, and of your own
history, physical, assessment, and follow-up plan.
-
Be able to explain your
decision-making process in a court of law should you be called upon to support a
legitimate patient, or to discuss a patient's cannabis use with an employee
health clinician.
-
On occasion, a question
may arise as to whether a patient can perform safety-sensitive functions in the
workplace. It may be important to document that the patient does not use cannabis
in a specified time frame in relation to hours of work.
-
Do not assist anyone in
breaking the law. The vast majority
of medical cannabis patients are honest and appropriate medical users under the
Compassionate Use Act. (Notwithstanding the situations in which doctors have had
visits from undercover agents posing as patients).
-
I find cannabis patients
to be, on the whole, as honest and forthright as patients or people in general.
-
It should go without
saying, but I will say it: No matter how convinced you may be of the relative
benign-ness of cannabis, do not agree to do anything illegal. Undercover agents
have been known say to a doctor: "I
don't have an illness, I just want to be able to smoke marijuana." It should be
clear that this is not a legitimate use of the Compassionate Use Act .
-
There are millions of
real patients to help.
PRIOR ARTICLE:
Special circumstances
CONTINUE:
References
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| Input to the Medical Board
of California by year: |
| 2005 |
|
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January 21, 2005 --
Statement |
| |
Special meeting of the MBC to discuss the
Enforcement Monitor's preliminary report on their 2 year investigation
of the MBC |
|
| 2004 |
|
|
|
May 7,
2004 -- Transcript |
| |
Various question raised to the MBC. Comments on MBC positions. |
|
|
|
| 2003 |
|
|
|
|
|
May 8, 2003 |
| |
Defining standards of care, complaint initiation and
responsibility |
|
|
