Reconciling the Discrepancies in Medicine's Relationship to Medical Marijuana
Authors: Ilana Braun, James Tulsky
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2018)

Ideas and Opinions6 November 2018Reconciling the Discrepancies in Medicine's Relationship to Medical MarijuanaIlana Braun, MD and James Tulsky, MDIlana Braun, MDDana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (I.B., J.T.) and James Tulsky, MDDana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (I.B., J.T.)Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M18-1883 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail The medical community assumes a contradictory stance toward medical marijuana (MM). Health care providers use the agent clinically—in fact, more than 2% of persons in several states hold an MM license that was formally recommended by a health care professional. However, most professional medical associations do not offer clinical guidance on the subject, medical practice infrastructure does not always take MM into account, and some physicians who recommend MM clinically acknowledge that they do not understand it well enough to do so (1, 2). Here, we outline these discrepancies and steps to reconcile them.In the 1930s, because cannabis was ...References1. Marijuana Policy Project. Medical marijuana patient numbers. Updated 26 February 2018. Accessed at www.mpp.org/issues/medical-marijuana/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws/medical-marijuana-patient-numbers on 18 May 2018. Google Scholar2. Braun IM, Wright A, Peteet J, Meyer FL, Yuppa DP, Bolcic-Jankovic D, et al. Medical oncologists' beliefs, practices, and knowledge regarding marijuana used therapeutically: a nationally representative survey study. J Clin Oncol. 2018;36:1957-62. [PMID: 29746226] doi:10.1200/JCO.2017.76.1221 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Aggarwal SK, Carter GT, Sullivan MD, ZumBrunnen C, Morrill R, Mayer JD. Medicinal use of cannabis in the United States: historical perspectives, current trends, and future directions. J Opioid Manag. 2009;5:153-68. [PMID: 19662925] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Allan GM, Ramji J, Perry D, Ton J, Beahm NP, Crisp N, et al. Simplified guideline for prescribing medical cannabinoids in primary care. Can Fam Physician. 2018;64:111-20. [PMID: 29449241] MedlineGoogle Scholar5. American Medical Association House of Delegates. Clinical implications and policy considerations of cannabis use. Updated 2009. Accessed at https://assets.ama-assn.org/sub/meeting/documents/i16-resolution-907.pdf on 9 July 2018. Google Scholar6. Taylor T; Health and Public Policy Committee of the American College of Physicians. Supporting research into the therapeutic role of marijuana: a position paper of the American College of Physicians. Updated 2016. Accessed at www.acponline.org/acp_policy/policies/supporting_research_therapeutic_role_of_marijuana_2016.pdf on 13 August 2018. Google Scholar7. Ryan J, Sharts-Hopko N. The experiences of medical marijuana patients: a scoping review of the qualitative literature. J Neurosci Nurs. 2017;49:185-90. [PMID: 28471927] doi:10.1097/JNN.0000000000000283 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Braun IM, Meyer FL, Gagne JJ, Nabati L, Yuppa DP, Carmona MA, et al. Experts' perspectives on the role of medical marijuana in oncology: a semistructured interview study. Psychooncology. 2017;26:1087-92. [PMID: 28040884] doi:10.1002/pon.4365 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Washington, DC: National Academies Pr; 2017. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (I.B., J.T.)Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M18-1883.Corresponding Author: Ilana Braun, MD, Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, D2005, Boston, MA 02215; e-mail, [email protected]org.Current Author Addresses: Drs. Braun and Tulsky: Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Avenue, D2005, Boston, MA 02215.Author Contributions: Conception and design: I. Braun, J. Tulsky.Analysis and interpretation of the data: I. Braun.Drafting of the article: I. Braun.Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: I. Braun, J. Tulsky.Final approval of the article: I. Braun, J. Tulsky.Obtaining of funding: I. Braun.Administrative, technical, or logistic support: I. Braun, J. Tulsky.This article was published at Annals.org on 2 October 2018. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoReconciling the Discrepancies in Medicine's Relationship to Medical Marijuana Russell Kamer Metrics Cited byCannabis and the Cancer PatientCancer patients' experiences with medicinal cannabis–related careReconciling the Discrepancies in Medicine's Relationship to Medical MarijuanaRussell Kamer, MD 6 November 2018Volume 169, Issue 9Page: 646-647KeywordsCannabisDrug abuseDrug interactionsDrugsElectronic medical recordsHealth careMarijuanaMedical educationPopulation statisticsRoutes of administration ePublished: 2 October 2018 Issue Published: 6 November 2018 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2018 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...