Should physicians be given the capability to prescribe medical marijuana based on a patients physical symptoms and medical condition?

Topic:
Health Debates

18 Contributors
in this discussion.

Yes
89% of users

  • I think doctors should be allowed to write prescriptions for medical marijuana when they think their patients need it.

    I think it should be up to the doctor and his patient to decide on the kind of treatment or medication prescribed. The government should play no role in it at all. In fact, the government should get out of the process of drug regulation, in general, and let the people and doctors decide if they will take an experimental drug. I would like to see the FDA abolished.

    Yes WoozyEusebio

  • Yes, physicians should be able to prescribe medical marijuana based on a patients physical symptoms and medical condition.

    Numerous studies have shown that marijuana is more effective than other drugs in relieving neuropathic pain. Many ill people use marijuana as a medication despite its illegality, thereby risking arrest and possible jail time. It is immoral, unjust and unfeeling to put seriously ill people in a position to choose between living with their pain or engaging in an illegal act in order to relieve it.

    Yes GrandioseFrank59

  • There is proof that medical marijuana can be useful in alleviating symptoms in some people that traditional pharmaceuticals do not.

    The use of medical marijuana definitely has a place in our treatment options. There are symptoms that cannot be relieved by big pharmaceutical products. I think a big part of the opposition to medical marijuana is fueled by big pharmaceutical companies. Here is an example: antiemetics commonly given to chemo patients cost $50 per pill. The same effect can be achieved more quickly and less expensively by marijuana. If the patient was the only focus, then marijuana is the answer.

    Yes EweIICist

  • Physicians should be able to prescribe medical marijuana for a patient's medical condition because, often, pharmaceuticals are ineffective and have side effects.

    Many health problems that people face today cannot be adequately alleviated by pharmaceutical drugs. People suffer from anxiety, depression, among other ailments, and the drugs that doctors prescribe for their patients are either ineffective or have debilitating side effects, such as nausea, tiredness, or panic attacks. While marijuana should not be a first line treatment, I think it should be an additional option that should be available, should the legal pharmaceutical drugs be ineffective for the patient.

    Yes SoWinif

  • Yes, because I think that marijuana should be legal and not even need a prescription.

    There is no reason, in this day and age, that a harmless drug like marijuana should still be illegal. I think that, if a doctor thinks that marijuana will help a patient, then the doctor should have no restrictions on treating them the best way they can. I know that this opens the door for other drugs, such as cocaine, to be debated, but I think that a little weed to help someone is harmless.

    Yes 5c0tJung

  • If medical marijuana can help, then the doctor should prescribe it.

    The only reason people take issue with marijuana is because it is illegal. That's it. One would be hard pressed to find any concrete data that proves that marijuana is any worse than any other, especially man made, drug out there available for medical purposes. Make it legal for medical use and prescribe it if it will help treatment. I just don't see how natural can be any worse than synthetic drugs we make, that people do indeed die from on occasion.

    Yes gwynisin

  • Physicians should be able to prescribe medical marijuana, because it is no worse than the prescription painkillers that are prescribed.

    Physicians should be given the ability to prescribe medical marijuana where they see fit. We read in the papers about prescription painkillers and anti-depressants that are prescribed by doctors, and people are overdosing from them. There are millions of people in this country buying marijuana to treat themselves for medical issues, because the drug is so readily available. Truthfully, when is the last time you read someone dying from a marijuana overdose?

    Yes WillowsErv

  • Yes, physicians should be able to prescribe medical marijuana based on patients physical symptoms and medical condition. It is often the best natural ways to treat symptoms.

    Medicinal marijuana has been used for years. In my opinion, prescribing marijuana is much better than prescribing a patient drugs. At least with marijuana, we already know the side effects that the patient will experience. It is the one of the best natural ways to go about ridding the patient of their symptoms. It's only the abuse of the drug which makes the medical community question it.

    Yes Qu4ntBenj

  • I believe marijuana has many medicinal benefits and should be made easily available to the public.

    There are a myriad of both physical and psychological conditions that can either be controlled or greatly helped by cannabis. Among them are anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, glaucoma, and pain from cancer and earthed. It is inhumane to deny patients a medicine than can alleviate their symptoms.

    Yes ToyEwa

  • I agree that physicians should be given the capability to prescribe medical marijuana based on a patients physical symptoms and medical condition.

    I believe that physicians should be able to prescribe marijuana based on a lot of things. One being that marijuana could move the whole entire economy, and being that we have good relations with Canada, it would not be pushed as a mistake by foreign countries. We have never went after a country based on marijuana, or drugs in general for that matter. We as a country have only stopped them from getting in. Also, since the health care is so expensive in America, we could get the process of someone being prescribed much faster then having to get it diagnosed by a doctor. This would by fact decrease the crisis, and spending that is used within health care. It is known that marijuana ease's the pain for H.I.V, Cancer, and Mental Disorders. This would be a huge step forward in terms of medical science and money accumulated by the government since it is legal now.

    Yes D4rrLatina

  • Physicians should be able to prescribe medical marijuana because it is a safe way to relieve pain and other symptoms.

    Research shows that marijuana is relatively safe. You can't overdose from taking too much as you can with other pain relievers. Marijuana is going to be present in our society no matter what, so we might as well use it for good -- to help heal our sick.

    Yes emotopiwah

  • Physicians should be given the legal right to prescribe medical marijuana to patients because they are legally allowed to do that in many other circumstances.

    Physicians should be given the legal right to prescribe medical marijuana to patients because they are legally allowed to do that in many other circumstances. The prescription of medical marijuana can be good for some patients and bad for others. Therefore, there shouldn't be a sweeping law making the drug illegal. It should be based on a case-by-case, prescription-by-prescription basis. That determination should be left up to a licensed medical professional. They are allowed to sometimes prescribe controlled substances and other drugs, so they should be able to make the determination as to whether someone should be prescribed marijuana.

    Yes SandDari

  • Specialized doctors should be able to prescribe medical marijuana if they think it would be beneficial to a patient.

    I do not think that a general physician should be able to prescribe marijuana, but specialists should. Marijuana can be a very useful tool in relieving pain and nausea for patients going through cancer treatments and patients with glaucoma. Marijuana should not be a general treatment just randomly prescribed, but in the hands of doctors treating specific illnesses, it can help patients feel better. There are lots of drugs like painkillers that can be much more harmful and debilitating to patients.

    Yes lachercheuse

  • Yes, doctors should be able to use their judgment and prescribe marijuana.

    Doctors ought to have the ability to prescribe medical marijuana to patients legally. They should be able to do this based on an individuals medical conditions and the relief that using marijuana could provide. They should be able to use their own judgment and their knowledge of the patient to determine if this is a viable option to help alleviate the patients suffering.

    Yes PinkMych

  • Marijuana should be regulated the same as any other prescription drug.

    The medicinal benefits of marijuana have been proven. The risks of legalizing marijuana are debatable. To me, the benefits outweigh the risks. Why must a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy be denied marijuana to reduce nausea? If it were legal to prescribe marijuana, it would open up a new industry to cultivate and package marijuana for medicinal use. It might have a tax benefit (e.g. generate income tax revenue from new employees hired to process the plants). It would hopefully reduce the prison population for marijuana related crimes and create space to house more violent convicts. I don't see a downside.

    Yes Prinzess

  • Doctors should be allowed to decide use of marijuana because it is their job to help people by whatever means necessary.

    Marijuana is a naturally growing plant that has very good medical purposes. It was abused, but if a doctor feels it is necessary for a person to use marijuana to ease pain then I feel they should be able to prescribe it. Doctors should probably be required to follow a process in order to prescribe this so that nothing is given unless necessary, but doctors are professionals and as professionals should be able to judge the use of something for medical purposes.

    Yes T Richmond
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No
11% of users

  • Medical marijuana is an oxymoron.

    Not enough study has been done on the long term effects of marijuana. Most studies in the past have had a definite positive bias. Marijuana became "acceptable" in the 1960's. Strangely enough, the incidence of autism, type two diabetes and obesity began to spike at about the same time. To the best of my knowledge, no study has been done on the correlation between marijuana use and genetic change with resultant medical conditions. If credible studies were done and marijuana was found to be safe, I would support complete legalization.

    No jackprague94

  • Marijuana is a type of drug and if the physicians are allowed to prescribe marijuana then it would increase substantially the number of drug addicts.

    The physicians should NEVER be given the authority/capability to prescribe marijuana on medical grounds irrespective of the physical symptoms and medical condition of the patient as it would become easy for anyone to have a prescription issued from the family physician. This would ultimately increase the number of drug addicts substantially.

    No babyphatgurl
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Should physicians be given the capability to prescribe medical marijuana based on a patients physical symptoms and medical condition?
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