Page 10 - Delaware Medical Journal-October
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PRESIDENT’S PAGE
the possession of small amounts
of marijuana. Delaware and New
Jersey already have made the move along with 18 other states and the organized advocacy groups, such as
the Marijuana Policy Project and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, are at the forefront of any discussion in states that are considering one or the other, such as Pennsylvania. Decriminalization should not be confused with legal sales and purchase of marijuana, such as there
of marijuana as an illicit, dangerous substance fades, there will continue to be a movement towards mainstream acceptance. In a recent survey by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, college age students are more likely to smoke marijuana than tobacco on a daily basis. There is growing support that marijuana should be treated similarly to tobacco and alcohol — legal but highly regulated due to its possible long-term health and addiction consequences. This concept has greatest support from the public population under 55.
So what is a physician to do? The changing moral, legal, and possible therapeutic landscape provides a slippery slope for physicians when discussing marijuana as “substance abuse” especially in light of the current focus on the heroin and opioid epidemic. However, I believe regardless of legal status, if we are asking about tobacco
or alcohol use, we should also be asking about marijuana use. There is no research indicating that it is not an
While there is increasing public acceptance for the use of cannabis for medical therapy, the medical community continues to seek scientific and evidenced-based research to support cannabis treatment.”
addictive substance. It does impact a patient’s health and may give the patient a distorted concept of well-being if they are equating public acceptance with safety. While being well-accepted by the public, the discussion has evolved over the years regarding the potential negative health effects of alcohol
and tobacco use, and so should the discussion evolve regarding marijuana, medical or otherwise. Because much
of the legal developments are at the state level and, therefore, highly variable in their implementation
of decriminalization and medical patient that physicians are aware of the
As I stated before, I believe it is in the
best interest of our patients and the profession to continue to be educated and informed. The recent report by the the University of Delaware may provide a starting point for physicians looking to gain greater knowledge of this evolving therapeutic modality.
Nancy Fan, M.D.
President, Medical Society of Delaware
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Del Med J
| October 2015
| Vol. 87
| No. 10
