cannabis

Perhaps you’ve heard a lot of people are using CBD.

The chemical compound, naturally occurring in cannabis plants, doesn’t get you high, but does have a wide swath of other purported effects making it very popular. Although clinical studies haven’t necessarily proven those results, many Americans are testing CBD (which stands for “cannabidiol”) for themselves. All over the US, people are rubbing CBD balm onto aching joints, dropping CBD tinctures under tired tongues, popping CBD gummies, and puffing on CBD oil-filled vaporizers in hopes of chilling out.

On Quartz’s behalf, Harris Poll recently surveyed more than 2,000 people in the US about their experience, knowledge, and opinions regarding CBD and found that more than 85% of Americans have heard of CBD, and of those, more than one in five have tried it.

Bottom Line:

There was no high-quality evidence for the efficacy of any CBM (herbal cannabis, plant-derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (dronabinol), synthetic THC (nabilone), plant-derived THC/cannabidiol (CBD) com bination) in any condition with chronic neuropathic pain. The studies were two to 26 weeks long and compared an oromucosal spray with a plant-derived combination of THC and CBD (10 studies), a synthetic cannabinoid mimicking THC (nabilone) (two studies), inhaled herbal cannabis (two studies) and plant-derived THC (dronabinol) (two studies) against placebo (15 studies) and an analgesic (dihydrocodeine) (one study). Herbal cannabis was not different from placebo in reducing pain and the number of people who dropped out due to side effects. Some adverse events (particularly somnolence or sedation, confusion, psychosis) might limit the clinical usefulness of cannabis-based medicines.

In Conclusion

• Evaluate carefully whether recommending medical marijuana is something you want to do and the risks and requirements associated with it.
• Prepare and use appropriate informed consent forms and treatment agreements.
• Notify your medical liability insurance carrier.
• Check with your employer or facilities at which you have privleges.

Overview

• Provide a brief history and the current status of the program
• Provide an overview of the regulatory framework regarding physicians
• Described the physician recommendation and patient application processes
• Questions and Answers