New Study Proves That Physicians Don’t Have Proper Knowledge About Medical Cannabis

If it isn’t the evidence we’ve been waiting for, Forbes was first on the story and shared valuable insight regarding the lack of physicians with thorough knowledge and understanding of medical cannabis. 

A study commissioned by cannabis healthcare brand Cannaceutica surveyed 445 physicians treating chronic pain in patients. These include general practitioners and specialists like orthopedics, rheumatologists, and sports medicine practitioners. The study found that 65% of physicians said they have been asked about medical cannabis by patients but couldn’t asker questions due to a lack of knowledge. 

The physicians involved in the study had 2-35 years in their practice and were “somewhat” knowledgable of medical cannabis and “somewhat” likely to recommend it to those with chronic pain in legalized states.

84% of physicians reported their patients requesting or asking about cannabis for chronic pain, and 72% reported being asked about cannabis in the last 30 days. Mikhail Kogan, M.D., is a medical director of the GW Center for Integrative Medicine and an associate professor at George Washing University School of Medicine and Health Sciences; he says there are reasons for physicians’ lack of knowledge.

Kogan has treated and recommended cannabis to over 3,000 patients, primarily for chronic pain. Although he’s an exception, Kogan shared some information as to why many physicians struggle with cannabis-related questions and advice.

In an email to Forbes, Kogan wrote that physicians don’t send patients to the internet to “learn about their medications,” meaning they also shouldn’t look to the internet for patients to learn about cannabis. Although there is much information from books, research papers, and even dispensary budtenders, Kogan said none of these are “good options.” He adds that it’s not even a band-aid solution because “self-medicating can lead to unwanted side effects.”

In terms of self-medicating, Kogan says there’s too much trial and error that can lead to complications, especially regarding dosing guidelines that aren’t made clear on most cannabis products. In addition, Kogan wrote that there are inconsistencies in product availability.

Kogan gave an example of a patient walking into a dispensary, asking for a specific strain or product that’s been working for them. However, there’s a risk present that said dispensary might run out of the product or have “inconsistencies between batches,” leaving the patient without medicine.

In conclusion, we’ll have to wait until cannabis regulations in terms of public health catch up with the rate at which we’re using the plant. Kogan also concludes that health care providers and patients should expect to face some difficulties when gaining complete and informative access to medical cannabis.