Day Begins with Legislative Meetings
CME Focus on Medical Cannabis, Opioids
Charles Kodner, MD, believes the political pressures to approve the use of medicinal cannabis are growing stronger in Kentucky.
“Just ignoring this or hoping it goes away is not going to be a successful strategy,” said Dr. Kodner, a member of the University of Louisville Physicians family medicine practice group.
That’s one reason Dr. Kodner has been speaking with health care practitioners about the benefits and drawbacks of medicinal cannabis. He will make a presentation on the benefits and drawbacks of medicinal cannabis during the KMA 2016 Physicians’ Day at the Capitol Feb. 10, 2016.
Dr. Kodner said researching the use of medicinal cannabis to treat various ailments provided a great learning opportunity for him. Some physicians, he said, don’t have all the details about the different medicinal cannabis products and delivery methods available. Those are among the focuses of his presentations.
“I really try to focus on what we know from medical science and give a balanced view of what I think works and what I think doesn’t work,” he said.
He begins his presentation with a clinically realistic case in which the use of a medicinal cannabis product would be appropriate. The case example, set in 2019 under the assumption that medicinal cannabis has been approved for use in Kentucky, provides insight for physicians on how to deal with the medical problem.
“It becomes a learning process for what are appropriate uses and what aren’t,” he said.
Laws across the 23 states, plus Washington, D.C., that have legalized marijuana for medicinal use vary, Dr. Kodner said, but follow some common themes from which Kentucky could learn. Each state has crafted laws about what is covered by the term “medical marijuana,” the prescribed uses, and protections for both physicians and patients, Dr. Kodner said.
States that allow medicinal cannabis require patients to have a diagnosis, as well as a card to receive the drug. But Dr. Kodner said that involves several logistics steps and operations and can be a process prone to abuse.
“It’s very easy for physicians to label patients with vague diagnosis that would allow them to get marijuana and potentially abuse it,” he said. “Some people will claim to need it … preventing the abuses and bad consequences will be difficult.”
Everyone is watching those states that have legalized it to see if medical cannabis is financially and medically beneficial or if it causes more problems than it resolves, Dr. Kodner said.
“It’s an open question about whether the medical costs and societal costs will outweigh the benefits,” he said. “It’s a very tough balance, but it’s something Kentucky is going to have to grapple with sooner or later.”
He wants Kentucky physicians to be prepared. He hopes those who attend his presentation at the KMA Physicians’ Day at the Capitol will leave knowing about the available products and potential benefits and that they “keep an open mindedness to just keep learning about what it is as time goes along,” he said.
Dr. Kodner’s presentation will be given at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History from 12:30 to 2 p.m., followed by a presentation by Danesh Mazloomdoost, MD, “Opioid Prescribing: Safe Practice, Changing Lives.”
[small][well]News article reposted from the Kentucky Medical Association page[/well][/small]
