8 min
The Medical Marijuana Conundrum: When Public Interest Outpaces Medical Knowledge Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) Podcast
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- Science
The public perception of medical marijuana has outpaced medical knowledge. Oncologists encounter an increasing number of patient questions and interest regarding its use. This study highlights the beliefs, attitudes and knowledge of medical oncologists regarding the therapeutic use of marijuana.
View the related article Medical Oncologists’ Beliefs, Practices, and Knowledge Regarding Marijuana Used Therapeutically: A Nationally Representative Survey Study by Braun et al on JCO.org.
This JCO Podcast provides observations and commentary on the JCO article ‘'Medical Oncologists' Beliefs, Practices and Knowledge Regarding Marijuana Used Therapeutically: A Nationally-Representative Survey Study' by Braun and colleagues. My name is Kimberson Tanco, and I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. I am a Palliative Medicine physician.
Medical marijuana is one of the fastest growing medical issues nationwide, so much so it is now legal under certain conditions in more than half of the country, with additional limited indications in certain “non-legal” states for pediatric refractory epileptic conditions.1 Most of the current trials are directed towards non-cancer conditions. In contrast, in the article that accompanies this podcast, Braun and colleagues highlight a variety of key issues that face oncology practitioners regarding cannabis and its potential uses and toxicities.
As healthcare professionals, it is inevitable that we will be asked by our patients and/or their caregivers about the use of medical marijuana, either in a legalized or a non-legalized state. This study does a good job of recording clinician beliefs and practices from different regions of the nation. It also points out a very important fact that the interest and curiosities about the use of medical marijuana far outpaces our knowledge base as demonstrated in their results. It was very interesting to know that up to 80% of oncologists conducted discussions and 46% recommended medical marijuana for clinical use as compared to only 30% feeling sufficiently knowledgeable enough to make informed recommendations. This is quite a change from 2010, when they cited that only 20% of family practitioner respondents in Colorado would recommend medical marijuana and The authors highlighted key points from the study including the need for expedited clinical trials exploring potential medicinal effect of marijuana in oncology, the need for educational programs about medical marijuana and policies to incentivize the training of clinicians on this issue. In the next few minutes, I would like to discuss these points.
Their first point about the need for clinical trials is certainly a key step into understanding the pharmacology and effects of cannabis, which would help improve educational programs and open up federal, state and institutional policies. However, there are a variety of challenges faced in conducting medical marijuana research.2 In spite of changes in state policy and increasing prevalence of cannabis use, cannabis is still not legalized by the federal government and remains a Schedule I substance. Furthermore, an investigator must navigate through the National Institute on Drug Abuse or NIDA, Food and Drug Administration, Drug Enforcement Administration, state departments, state boards, institutional review boards, and funding sources among others. Additionally, supply of cannabis for research purposes is only available through NIDA and is sourced from the University of Mississippi, which has been the sole cultivator since 1968. An important point is that federal supplies of cannabis may also have been harvested earlier and stored in freezer, and may have lower potencies than those sold in state-regulated markets. Hence, investigator results may have to be taken with caution as they relate to appropriate dosing of cannabis products, particularly when they will be taken from state dispe
The public perception of medical marijuana has outpaced medical knowledge. Oncologists encounter an increasing number of patient questions and interest regarding its use. This study highlights the beliefs, attitudes and knowledge of medical oncologists regarding the therapeutic use of marijuana.
View the related article Medical Oncologists’ Beliefs, Practices, and Knowledge Regarding Marijuana Used Therapeutically: A Nationally Representative Survey Study by Braun et al on JCO.org.
This JCO Podcast provides observations and commentary on the JCO article ‘'Medical Oncologists' Beliefs, Practices and Knowledge Regarding Marijuana Used Therapeutically: A Nationally-Representative Survey Study' by Braun and colleagues. My name is Kimberson Tanco, and I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. I am a Palliative Medicine physician.
Medical marijuana is one of the fastest growing medical issues nationwide, so much so it is now legal under certain conditions in more than half of the country, with additional limited indications in certain “non-legal” states for pediatric refractory epileptic conditions.1 Most of the current trials are directed towards non-cancer conditions. In contrast, in the article that accompanies this podcast, Braun and colleagues highlight a variety of key issues that face oncology practitioners regarding cannabis and its potential uses and toxicities.
As healthcare professionals, it is inevitable that we will be asked by our patients and/or their caregivers about the use of medical marijuana, either in a legalized or a non-legalized state. This study does a good job of recording clinician beliefs and practices from different regions of the nation. It also points out a very important fact that the interest and curiosities about the use of medical marijuana far outpaces our knowledge base as demonstrated in their results. It was very interesting to know that up to 80% of oncologists conducted discussions and 46% recommended medical marijuana for clinical use as compared to only 30% feeling sufficiently knowledgeable enough to make informed recommendations. This is quite a change from 2010, when they cited that only 20% of family practitioner respondents in Colorado would recommend medical marijuana and The authors highlighted key points from the study including the need for expedited clinical trials exploring potential medicinal effect of marijuana in oncology, the need for educational programs about medical marijuana and policies to incentivize the training of clinicians on this issue. In the next few minutes, I would like to discuss these points.
Their first point about the need for clinical trials is certainly a key step into understanding the pharmacology and effects of cannabis, which would help improve educational programs and open up federal, state and institutional policies. However, there are a variety of challenges faced in conducting medical marijuana research.2 In spite of changes in state policy and increasing prevalence of cannabis use, cannabis is still not legalized by the federal government and remains a Schedule I substance. Furthermore, an investigator must navigate through the National Institute on Drug Abuse or NIDA, Food and Drug Administration, Drug Enforcement Administration, state departments, state boards, institutional review boards, and funding sources among others. Additionally, supply of cannabis for research purposes is only available through NIDA and is sourced from the University of Mississippi, which has been the sole cultivator since 1968. An important point is that federal supplies of cannabis may also have been harvested earlier and stored in freezer, and may have lower potencies than those sold in state-regulated markets. Hence, investigator results may have to be taken with caution as they relate to appropriate dosing of cannabis products, particularly when they will be taken from state dispe
8 min