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PRESIDENT’S PAGE
NANCY FAN, MD
MSD President Nancy Fan, MD is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist who practices with Women to Women OB/GYN in Wilmington and is on the staff of Saint Francis Healthcare.
“An investment in knowledge
pays the best interest.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Update on Medical Marijuana
Last year, one of the educational sessions of the Annual Meeting of the Medical Society of Delaware
focused on “medical” marijuana, as Delaware began to implement a program for the legal use of cannabis for medical indications. In my November 2014 President’s Page, I had addressed some of the physicians’ concerns regarding such a program, as well as providing some of the information offered by
the Division of Public Health on their website “Medical Marijuana Program.” Wilmington in June of this year, complete with its own Facebook page and website. Also in June, the legislature passed Rylie’s Law, which legalized epilepsy as an indication for use, as well for the pediatric population. While there is increasing public acceptance for the use of cannabis for medical therapy, the medical community continues to seek to support cannabis treatment. This concern regarding the “science” behind the use of medical marijuana is just one
Health Studies, which is published in this month’s issue of the Delaware Medical Journal. Through a physician survey conducted this time last year, the report physicians do or do not know regarding this topic and again, some of their concerns regarding medical marijuana. Whether you did or did not participate
in the survey, I highly recommend a
recommendations on how to improve physician knowledge throughout the evolution of medical marijuana use in our State, I would like to provide a short summary of the ongoing discussion on a national level. Most of the information provided for this part of the President’s page can be found on the website, weedrush.news21.com.
Advocates for the use of medical marijuana hope that Pennsylvania will become the 24th state, along with the use of cannabis for medical indications. As almost half of the states in the US allow for the legal medical use of a federally illegal substance, there is also a parallel movement to decriminalize
Del Med J | October 2015 | Vol. 87 |
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