Prescription of Cannabis
By Doctors

Prescription of Cannabis By Doctors

What Is Considered A Cannabis Product

For a drug to be considered a cannabis-based product for medicinal use, the substance has to have the following properties; A preparation created from or a by-product of a cannabis resin, cannabis plant, cannabin oil, or cannabinol derivative when produced for medicinal consumption for humans is considered a cannabis-based product. After completing these requirements, the drug is regarded as a schedule 1 drug under regulations passed in 2001.

Prescription of Cannabis

After the legalization of marijuana, any licensed medical practitioner can prescribe a specific dosage of medical cannabis for a patient suffering from ailments such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, chronic cancer pains, etc. Although there is a lack of well-designed case studies to prove the potential curing abilities of cannabis beyond a doubt, it is still used for alleviating symptoms of many conditions. Under the current legalization of cannabis, any patient can be prescribed cannabis given that they meet the relevant criteria and if it is considered an appropriate treatment. Doctors can prescribe cannabis after close evaluation of other factors such as family history, medications, and therapies the patient might be undergoing.

Who Can Prescribe a Cannabis-based Medicine?

After contacting certain regulating authorities, doctors can prescribe the minimum dosage that can alleviate symptoms. It is eminent that with purely experimental and unregistered drugs, there are imminent risks that might be present. How marijuana reacts harmfully to existing conditions and other medication is not entirely understood. In states like Australia, doctors must prescribe cannabis or cannabis-based drugs under the regulation of organizations such as the Government’s Therapeutic Goods Administration or TGA and NSW health if prescribed to a child or a drug-dependent person. Such organizations do not charge the patient or the doctor to make an application for prescription authorization.

Resistance Against Cannabis Prescription

As a doctor, one of the foremost duties of the profession is to take ultimate care of your patient. To prescribe a patient a drug, doctors need the confidence of well-designed case studies and evidence that the drug has, beyond a doubt, potential benefits for the patient’s condition. These studies need to be conducted with top-of-the-line laboratories and in humans. A lack of such scientific evidence causes a feeling of distrust amongst the medical communities and faces a lot of hesitation against prescribing certain medications. Despite claims of marijuana being an herbal, benign product that cures and alleviates many symptoms of various conditions, like any other experimental medicine, it has undiscovered potential risks. These can be concerns about interacting with other drugs the patient might be taking, etc. It is widely understood that anecdotes do not equal scientific evidence. There are many restrictions against prescribing cannabis to patients, like some strong acne medication and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD and narcolepsy. These rules are also applied to prescribing cannabis to people with a history of drug dependency. Patients must disclose if they have a previous drug dependency or were prescribed psychoactive drugs prior in the past. Being transparent with such information can help prevent patient side effects and drug interactions.

Informed Consent of The Patients

Many advances have taken place recently in the overall status of marijuana and its benefits for humans in the medical industry. Many factors are considered before prescribing. The following factors need to be considered;

  • The cannabis product being prescribed may or may not be approved by the medicine regulation organizations.
  • The potential benefits or risks are not known.
  • There may be severe side effects that are not yet understood or researched.
  • The possibility of unknown risks and adverse effects should be discussed with the patient.
  • Many other forms of therapies are available that are better researched and understood.
  • Cannabis-based medicines are not cheap and can become very costly for patients with government subsidies. Unlike other medications, these are not funded by the local hospital and medical colleges.
  • Doctors are legally bound to share the data like patients treated and their conditions to cannabis companies which can be considered a HIPPA violation.
  • Many states prohibit the use of cannabis and other drugs during driving. While marijuana is legal for medicinal purposes, it is not an excuse for driving offences.
  • Your doctor may not have the required education in cannabis-related therapies, and it is a relatively new therapy form; many aspects are still not researched.
  • In countries like Australia, many hospitals in rural areas like the John Hunter hospital provides clinical guidance for doctors and general practitioners.

Who Can Doctors Get Guidance From For The Prescription of Cannabis

In NSW, expert clinical guidance and cannabis medicine prescribing advice for general practitioners, community pharmacists, and rural health practitioners is available via the John Hunter Hospital Pharmacy Department. These organizations can help doctors understand and apply all the latest research and studies in clinical settings, understand the regulatory laws around cannabis prescription, and use and comprehend different tools to measure a patient’s progress on cannabis.

Setbacks In Prescribing Medicine

Doctors are usually put in a difficult position when prescribing cannabis to their patients to alleviate chronic and longstanding health conditions. In the United States, several states have passed a law with multiple facets that set back the advancement of medical-grade cannabis as a well-established drug in medicine. The law gave marijuana users a defense to possession in some states that allowed them to possess cannabis in case of being prescribed by a doctor. The Supreme Court, however, passed a law that deemed the need for cannabis as a medical necessity, not a defense for the sale and cultivation of cannabis. In this way, the Supreme Court further promoted the belief that cannabis is not medicine.

Its laws like this create a problematic situation for doctors that seek to treat patients with cannabis-based drugs. Such laws propagate the fear of doctors prescribing patients substances or medicines for medical use. Physicians are also hesitant to prescribe marijuana because that exposes them to serious litigation from cannabis users that have faced adverse effects. Considering all these factors, physicians should carefully evaluate the risks and benefits a patient might face before using marijuana as a drug.

Guidelines For Prescribing Marijuana

Doctors should follow the following precautions and guidelines before prescribing cannabis as a therapeutic drug for their patients.
These guidelines have been set by organizations and parties that regulate the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. Despite all
the anecdotes that state otherwise, doctors must remember that cannabis remains a schedule 1 drug that is not
approved beyond a doubt to have absolute benefits on the human body.

  • Carefully evaluate which patients are deemed fit for cannabis as a therapy option and exactly how long it should be used.
  • Carefully examine patients that use cannabis as a therapy drug, including pulmonary function test, immune status evaluation, and any existing superadded infections.
  • If the microbial content of the cannabis plant is at a safe level that will not cause any adverse effects.
  • If the potency of the strain of the cannabis is sufficient enough not to cause over-dosing to obtain the desired effects.
  • If a system has been created to track a federally controlled substance and all the patients were undertaking it and the source it has been obtained from.
  • The last factor that the prescribing doctor needs to consider is if he has sufficient knowledge to correctly prescribe and administer cannabis to chronically ill patients with the least amount of side or adverse effects.
  • The doctor should evaluate and make sure that all other therapies do not deem any beneficial effects for the condition at hand.
  • Get informed consent from the patient knowing all the risks and benefits
  • Ask if the patient has underlying conditions like an immunocompromised status or drug dependency.
  • Ask in detail if the patient has had any history of drug abuse with cannabis or other psychoactive or other drugs.
  • Frequent drug testing of the patient that has been prescribed marijuana test if they are mixing with it any other drugs.
  • The various forms of cannabis administration can all be deemed an appropriate way to treat the patient's condition.
  • If you possess a license or permit from the state or the federal government to possess medical marijuana.

Conclusion

Medicinal cannabis is a newly introduced substance that alleviates symptoms such as cancer pains, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. It can only be prescribed after carefully evaluating the patient. Prescribing doctors must look into factors such as previous drug history, pre-existing conditions, and immune status must be assessed before a doctor can put a patient on psychoactive drugs that can interact with other systems in the body. Carefully evaluating such factors before mindlessly prescribing such psychoactive drugs can determine whether the treatment would benefit or harm the patient in the long run.

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