The landscape is rapidly evolving for medical marijuana laws, and the role of pharmacists in serving patients who use it is complex and changing.
Two experts spoke on what pharmacists should know to help their patients during a session at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting in Orlando, Florida.
Since California first allowed use of medical marijuana in 1996, 19 other states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to allow it. Connecticut's legislature has gone a step further and reclassified marijuana from a schedule I drug, suggesting no medical benefit, to a schedule II drug.
However, because federal law considers marijuana a schedule I drug, doctors are prevented from prescribing it and pharmacies are prevented from dispensing it.
Pharmacists are left to decipher how they can help their patients legally and effectively. They also have to consider that marijuana can have adverse effects when taken in combination with other drugs, said Laura Borgelt, PharmD, associate professor in clinical pharmacy and family medicine at the University of Colorado in Denver. "Anytime you're using a CNS depressant, there can be additive depressant effects, so alcohol, benzodiazepines, antihistamines, and narcotics can cause varied interactions."
To continue reading this article visit http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/817946?src=rss
No comments:
Post a Comment