Unfortunately, many doctors are often confronted with the issue of whether to prescribe controlled substances to individuals that drug test positive for marijuana. This is especially true in countries that have altered state legislation to legalize marijuana. All these changes in state legislation don't alter the Federal rules that doctors must follow. As a former livelihood DEA representative, I remind doctors that marijuana remains an illegal Schedule I controlled substance with no approved medical use in the U.S.. The simple fact remains that all state legislation have Federal supervision, as mentioned in the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution."The Supremacy Clause is a clause in Article VI of the U.S. Constitution that dictates that national legislation is the supreme law of this property. Under the doctrine of preemption, which will be based upon the Supremacy Clause, federal law preempts state regulation, even when regulations struggle." (1)

When a doctor becomes aware that a patient is using marijuana, alternative procedures of treatment ought to be implemented besides simply prescribing controlled substances. Physicians should take action to refer the individual for therapy and cessation in case any prohibited drug usage is shown, such as marijuana. Physicians must also remember the bud produced today is a lot more potent compared to the past and utilizing high potency marijuana together with controlled substances isn't safe for individuals.

Is there anything as FDA approved medical marijuana? There are two FDA approved medications from the U.S. comprising a synthetic analogue of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), that's the main chemical (cannabinoid) in charge of marijuana's side effects. A synthetic version of THC is found at the FDA approved medication Marinol (Program III) and Cesamet (Program II) that can be prescribed to treat nausea for cancer sufferers undergoing chemotherapy. Marinol can also be prescribed to excite the desire of cancer and cancer patients (2 ). The FDA is presently managing trials being conducted on Epidiolex (3), a medication made by GW Pharmaceuticals and designed to lessen convulsive seizures in kids. The medication comprises cannabinoids in marijuana, known as cannabidiol or CBD, which will not include the psychoactive properties of classic bud and doesn't create a high. Whether this drug receives FDA approval, then it might make history being the first approved medication containing CBD from the U.S.

Furthermore, DEA has issued a particular registration into a research lab in the University of Mississippi to nurture many strains of marijuana for clinical trials (4). This study will continue, however as of the writing, smoking or ingesting botanical bud or the cannabis plant itself isn't approved as an approved medical therapy from the U.S. Physicians who smoke or ingest marijuana have to be conscious they are breaking Federal law and may be prosecuted under Federal statutes. Additional doctors ought to be testing for marijuana usage and when detected, they shouldn't prescribe controlled substances, irrespective of their diagnosis and the individual's symptoms, according to current Federal statutes.