The title of this CBC piece (Doctors Want Medical Pot Phased Out) refers to cannabis as “pot” and that may be seen to some as perpetuating the stigmatization. Throughout the article we see the dated term “marijuana”. In this article, it suggested that once the legal recreational market is in place that “patients can just seek it out on their own, they won't have to find another doctor or to go to a cannabis clinic. They can go down to the dispensary and see if it works for themselves." Some on social media suggested this position may be somewhat linked to co-pay arrangements that exist in the pharmaceutical world. I am not quite so cynical, but I do have two questions ….
How will dispensary retail staff provide the medical guidance, dosing, and strain selection to those seeking cannabis as a medical treatment?
What about how cannabis may interact with medical conditions and other medicines, drugs, alcohol and substances? By example, it has been suggested that 44% of the prescriptions that are adults may be taking at any given time are contraindicated by Alcohol.
The CMA previously stated “Physicians are reminded of the importance of having the necessary clinical knowledge to engage in meaningful discussions with patients about medical marijuana. They should also document all consent discussions in patients' medical records” (click here for that document). For more on how the CMA wants the medical use framework phased out, please read the article “Greatest Threats” elsewhere in this issue.
Anecdotally, I recently had a routine visit to a specialist and the subject of chronic inflammation came up. The Dr said that there is growing evidence that chronic inflammation appears to be a significant contributor or cause to many medical conditions. The Dr also used the word “insidious” as to how it appears contributors to chronic inflammation appear to have made their way into our food-chain.
What I truly love the most about this industry is that this paragraph was written well after my article was completed. Why do I love it? According to this article (Click Here) along with its references:
Only about 24 percent of patients who experience a heart attack survive, but
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