Physicians need to ensure conventional therapies are exhausted before prescribing medical marijuana, say many provincial colleges. The seven provincial colleges of physicians that have issued guidelines are urging their members to take a cautious approach to prescribing medical marijuana. The uncertainty over the risks and benefits of the drug and the lack of reliable data […]
Marijuana
Quebec doctors aim to fill marijuana knowledge gaps
Doctors in Quebec who prescribe medical marijuana will automatically take part in a province-wide research project to assess the risks and benefits of the drug. Health Canada recently shifted responsibility for deciding who should have access to the drug onto the shoulders of individual doctors, raising concerns among physician groups, including the Canadian Medical Association, […]
Be wary of “prescribing” medical marijuana, CMA warns
Canadian physicians should be wary of “prescribing” medical marijuana under new regulations that come into effect on Apr. 1, 2014, says the president of the Canadian Medical Association. “For the CMA, nothing has really changed,” says Dr. Hugo Francescutti. “Our stand has always been that there is insufficient scientific evidence to support the use of marijuana for […]
With pot now legal, therapies sought to blunt high of marijuana
Marijuana is going mainstream in the US. On 1 January, Colorado became the first state in the country to allow recreational use of the drug. Washington is set to do the same within the next few months, and many others are considering similar measures. Critics of these moves say that legalizing marijuana will increase consumption, […]