Questions Patients Ask (That Doctors Should Know How to Answer)

When considering medical cannabis, patients often have numerous questions for their physicians. These questions typically revolve around safety, efficacy, legal issues, and personal concerns. Here are some of the most common questions patients are likely to ask their physicians about medical cannabis:

ACS Presents: A Policy Panel on Rescheduling and Medical Cannabis

On September 24, 2024, the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists (www.cannaspecialists.com) hosted a paneled event surrounding the topic of policy and rescheduling, and what it means for patients and clinicians.

ACS Member Spotlight: Alicia Schaal, BSN, RN, PHN, Student

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

A: My name is Alicia Schaal, I am a health care professional, and I'm the owner and CEO of Midwest Cannabis Professionals, LLC, a medical cannabis consulting company based in Minneapolis, MN.

Colitis and the Endocannabinoid System: Unveiling Preclinical Insights

With the incidence of colitis on the rise, is cannabis the cure we’ve been waiting for?

Opportunities for Pharmacists in the Medical Cannabis Industry

While cannabis as medicine is not new, the healthcare provider’s venture into the cannabis industry may be a new journey for many. In state medical marijuana programs doctors are the people who “recommend” cannabis (presently there is no actual prescription for cannabis).

Cannabis Use Disorder and the Importance of Physician Guidance

In recent years, cannabis, also known as marijuana, has become more prevalent and accepted in many societies around the world. With the legalization of cannabis for medical and recreational use in several states and countries, its consumption has significantly increased.

Overview of Minor Cannabinoids, Terpenes, and Potential Uses

On July 23, 2024, the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists was proud to invite ACS President and Founder Jordan Tishler, MD back to the podium as he presented on an Overview of Minor Cannabinoids, Terpenes, and Potential Uses.

ACS Comment to DEA Rescheduling Rule

The Association of Cannabinoid Specialists (ACS) is an international non-profit organization of physicians and other health professionals specializing in using cannabis or cannabinoids, as appropriate, for the care and treatment of patients suffering from a range of debilitating conditions such as cancer, Crohn’s disease, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, autism, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and patients with terminal illnesses.

Cannabis and Anxiety: Navigating the Complex Relationship for Therapeutic Use

Over the years, I have had the privilege of caring for a multitude of patients turning to cannabis as a therapeutic option for anxiety, spanning from general anxiety disorder and situational anxiety to its role in managing PTSD and accompanying depression.

CANNRA Panel: How do Policies Affect Patients?

Recently President and Founder of the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists, Jordan Tishler, MD, was invited to participate in a panel at the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA) 2024 External Stakeholder Meeting in Minneapolis, MN.

Many Patients Using Cannabis Yet Medical Cannabis Systems Failing

State medical cannabis programs are slowly failing.  They are failing largely because they don’t support patient care, neither from the patients’ perspective nor from the practitioners’. 

Communicating Cannabis Use Before Surgery with Deondra Asike, MD

On June 18, 2024, the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists was proud to host the symposium “Communicating Cannabis Use Before Surgery”, featuring Deondra Asike, MD, double board certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine.  In this symposium, Dr. Asike discusses the risks associated with cannabis use before surgery.

Navigating the Intricacies of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS): Understanding the Unseen Challenges

As the utilization of cannabis transcends traditional boundaries, encompassing medical treatments, recreational indulgence, and wellness pursuits, the profound impact of THC and cannabinoids on gastrointestinal physiology is coming to light.

If You’re Prescribing Opioids, Why Prescribe Not Cannabis First?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not part of the anti-opioid crowd. My only interest is in patient well-being which, of course, led me to practice cannabinoid medicine. I firmly believe that there are patients who need opioid medication. So the question really isn’t why are you prescribing opioids, but rather why aren’t you prescribing cannabinoids first.

Intoxicating Hemp Products: Why They Matter and Why They Don’t

Recently there has been a lot of discussion in various states about regulating or banning hemp-derived cannabinoids and intoxicating hemp products.  This has come up in part because these hemp-derived products are circumventing state-legal programs as well as posing public health risk due to lack of regulation.  Let’s take a look at why this is important and also where current focus misses the boat.

ACS Member Spotlight: Jesse Christianson, RN, Student

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name is Jesse Christianson, and I have been a registered nurse (RN) since 2016. Currently, I am in the final stages of completing my graduate studies to become an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), commonly known as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) for those unfamiliar with the terminology.

Don’t Smoke Your Medicine – Whole Flower Vaporize Instead

Whether cannabis is used in a medical or recreational context, doing so in the safest manner possible is paramount.  While there is good evidence that smoking cannabis is less risky than tobacco (1), it likely still poses some risk.

Ask Us Anything: A Student Education Forum

On March 26, the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists (www.cannaspecialists.com) hosted an event in conjunction with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.  The event was career focused and used an Ask Us Anything template with questions submitted by students prior to the event.

The Endocannabinoid System: Slowly Unraveling the Unknown

The human body is a complex network of interacting systems, each with its own set of responsibilities. Among these intricate systems is the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a fascinating and relatively recent discovery in the field of neuroscience.

Is Delaware on the Right Track with Self Certification?

Recently, the Delaware House of Representatives, following ideas from Washington D.C., passed a law to do two things:  (1) remove the list of qualifying conditions from their medical cannabis laws, and (2) allow people over the age of 65 to “self-certify” that they need marijuana for medical purposes.

ACS Guidance to Hawaii on Anxiety Treatment

Dear Madam/Sir: I write to you to support the petitions before you to include anxiety, depression, and insomnia as qualifying conditions for medical cannabis treatment in Hawai’i.

Cannabis and Heart Disease: What Do We Really Know?

This week there has been a flurry of discussion about cannabis’ harmful effects on the heart.  I have received numerous anxiety-ridden emails from colleagues, patients, and my mother (she’s not on cannabis, go figure).  This all stems from a recently published scientific paper in the Journal of the American Heart Association. (1)

ACS Member Spotlight: Sandra Carrillo, MD, MHSM, International Chair

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

A: My name is Sandra Carrillo, and I am a medical doctor. I have had a clinical practice in Colombia for several years.  I am a specialist in cannabinoid-based medicine.

ACS Guidance to Massachusetts on Veteran Care

Dear Members of the Joint Committee:

As one of the senior cannabis physicians in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, President of the Association of Cannabis Specialists, Board Member of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, and former VA physician I wish to convey some very specific concerns regarding House Bill 4274. Despite vocal advocacy by a few veterans, this bill is not in the interests of veterans or other patients.

ACS Response to JAMA article entitled Most Doctors Know Nothing About Cannabis

In an editorial in JAMA, Dr. Nathaniel Morris, a recent Stanford graduate, laments that even in California where medical cannabis has been available since 1996, no medical education on cannabis was provided to him during medical school or residency.

ACS Response to Oil (Vape) Pen Ban

The currently posed question of when or whether the embargoed oil cartridges can be released for sale has at least two separate issues embedded. First is the question of the safety of these particular cartridges, and the second is the safety of any such cartridges that use current technology. Both of these questions would reasonably need to be affirmed prior to sales.

Prescription Versus Recommendation of Medical Cannabis

Since the inception of medical cannabis legalization in California in 1996, physicians have only been able to write a “recommendation”. This was intended, at that time, to keep the practitioners out of trouble with the government by providing only a document stating that the benefits likely outweighed the risks. 

ACS – MCRAA Joint Comments on FDA Proposed Research Guidelines

The Medical Cannabis Research Advocacy Alliance (MCRAA) appreciates the opportunity to provide comments in response to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Cannabis and Cannabis-Derived Compounds: Quality Considerations for Clinical Research Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability 85 FR 44305 (July 22, 2020).

ACS Takes Issue with Wall Street Journal Advertisement

To Whom It May Concern at the Wall Street Journal:

We write to you to express a concern over a recent ½ page advertisement in the Journal.

ACS Letter To ONDCP Director Rahul Gupta

Dear Dr. Gupta:

Congratulations on the confirmation as Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. We welcome your leadership as our respective agendas are to improve and serve the health of the American people.