medical marijuana mn

Medical Marijuana For Chronic Pain in Minnesota

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

Medical marijuana mnMinnesota has taken a conservative approach to the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Only a little quality research has been done with regards to the use of marijuana for pain. Most of these studies have been done for patients with cancer or eye problems, and current research is focused on seizures.

The reason why marijuana research is moving slowly is because there are all over 100 compounds that may be an active in cannabis. Most medical professionals would like to know both the positive and negative aspects of any intervention. Since there is no significant marijuana research available, it is hard for medical professionals to recommend the use of this compound.

Marijuana in Minnesota

Minnesota’s new marijuana laws allow the use of marijuana for only limited medical diagnoses. At this time, chronic pain is not included in the list of treatment recommendations. Chronic pain is extremely complex, and has multiple causes in most people. A single compound like marijuana is unlikely to be helpful and every person. Determining which group of patients would be helped by such a compound will be difficult due to the variety of conditions that cause pain.

Most physicians in Minnesota will not be prescribing medical marijuana. If you have chronic pain, do not expect a physician to write you a prescription for marijuana, especially since it isn’t approved for recreational use in Minnesota or even nationally. Furthermore, the drug enforcement administration (DEA) can stop a physician from being able to prescribe any medications if they prescribe to known drug abusers. The use of marijuana is not considered a legal medication, and physicians can lose their license if they prescribe to a patient who abuses marijuana.

Alleviating Symptoms

Pain symptoms in some patients may seem to improve with the use of marijuana. There are many compounds in marijuana that may help control a variety of symptoms including anxiety and pain. Most physicians who are prescribing control medications such as narcotics will do a urine drug screen to determine whether street drugs are being used by the patient. Most physicians have a zero tolerance rule for the use of street drugs since they could lose their license if they prescribe to an abuser. If you use marijuana, do not expect to be prescribed narcotic medication. Most pain physicians will work with you to control your symptoms with other treatments that are very effective in managing your problems.

In the distant future, when we know which compounds in marijuana are effective, we may be able to develop more comprehensive treatment plans for patients with chronic pain. Until that time, hopefully the change in laws will promote good research with regards to the active compounds that will be effective in managing pain. More tools to treat pain will always be helpful. Unfortunately, research takes time and these new compounds may take up to 10 years or longer to develop.

Medical Marijuana in Minnesota 

/ Thomas Cohn, MD

Medical MarijuanaThe debate for legalizing marijuana is continuing in Minnesota. Bills are progressing through the legislature, but nothing as of yet has been decided. There are some very vocal groups supporting medical marijuana in Minnesota, with one of the most passionate groups being parents with children who are prone to seizures. The medical and law enforcement communities are less excited about the legalizing of medical marijuana.

It’s interesting to note that the Senate and House bills are not legalizing the smoking of marijuana. Instead, they’ve proposed the legalization of state-dispensed marijuana in pill or liquid form for vaporizing. There will be fees paid by the user and pharmacy, and it appears that it will be restricted to only certain medical conditions.

Qualifying Conditions

The Senate has created a list of conditions that would make a person eligible for medical marijuana. Some of the conditions include:

  • HIV
  • Glaucoma
  • ALS, MS, and Crohn’s Disease
  • PTSD
  • Seizures
  • Some forms of Chronic Pain

The Senate and the House do not agree on some eligible conditions, as the House is not supporting medical marijuana for PTSD or chronic pain.

The legal community is not thrilled with legalizing marijuana due to concerns about control and abuse. There are so many prescription medications that are currently being abused, and the law enforcement community does not want to add to the existing problems. Tight restrictions on use may control the availability and abuse potential, but these problems are unknown. In states where less restrictive medical marijuana laws are present, abuse is a large problem.

The medical community is not thrilled with marijuana at this time more on a scientific basis. There are at least 84 cannaboids associated with different forms of marijuana. All these compounds have different actions in the body and they have not been studied in depth. The compounds that are helpful in various conditions have not been isolated. In general, it is bad medicine to give people drugs without knowing all of the potential side effects. Medically, we have no idea if these compounds may cause cancer or other horrible problems later in life.

Marijuana may have some very good attributes for treatment in some conditions, but at this time we are only guessing what may be helpful or dangerous. The best solution would be to get serious in testing and scientifically studying the various ingredients in marijuana. Legalizing does not really help in our understanding of the plant. Research is needed to determine the real nature of the cannaboids in the plant. A national effort to appropriately study marijuana would be beneficial.