Although 29 states and the District of Columbia allow marijuana use for medical purposes, few medical students are being trained how to prescribe the drug. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis surveyed medical school deans, residents and fellows, and examined a curriculum database maintained by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), learning that medical marijuana is not being addressed in medical education.
Their findings are available online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
“Medical education needs to catch up to marijuana legislation,” said senior author Laura Jean Bierut, MD, the Alumni Endowed Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University and a member of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. “Physicians in training need to know the benefits and drawbacks associated with medical marijuana so they know when or if, and to whom, to prescribe the drug.”
Doctors are being asked to guide patients through areas in which most have no training, she explained.
The research team, led by first author Anastasia B. Evanoff, sent surveys to medical school curriculum deans at 172 medical schools in North America, including 31 that specialize in osteopathic medicine, and received 101 replies. Two-thirds (66.7 percent) reported that their graduates were not prepared to prescribe medical marijuana. A quarter of deans said their trainees weren’t even equipped to answer questions about medical marijuana.
The researchers also surveyed 258 residents and fellows who earned their medical degrees from schools around the country before coming to Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis to complete their training. Nearly 90 percent felt they weren’t prepared to prescribe medical marijuana, and 85 percent said they had not received any education about medical marijuana during their time at medical schools or in residency programs throughout the country.
Using data from the AAMC database, the researchers found that only 9 percent of medical schools had reported teaching their students about medical marijuana.
“As a future physician, it worries me,” said Evanoff, a third-year medical student. “We need to know how to answer questions about medical marijuana’s risks and benefits, but there is a fundamental mismatch between state laws involving marijuana and the education physicians-in-training receive at medical schools throughout the country.”
However, several states — Missouri among them — have not legalized medical marijuana, and published studies about potential risks and benefits of medical marijuana often are contradictory. So what are schools to teach?
“You address the controversy,” said co-investigator Carolyn Dufault, PhD, assistant dean for education at Washington University and an instructor in medicine. “You say, ‘This is what we know,’ and you guide students to the points of controversy. You also point out where there may be research opportunities.”
The authors argue that as more states legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use, doctors need to have at least enough training to answer patients’ questions.
“More medical students are now getting better training about opioids, for example,” said Evanoff. “We talk about how those drugs can affect every organ system in the body, and we learn how to discuss the risks and benefits with patients. But if a patient were to ask about medical marijuana, most medical students wouldn’t know what to say.”
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You know I get so sick of the bull**** that is said about pot. I am 62 years old I started smoking pot back in 1976 and never committed a Crime to buy or steal to get pot, never felt addicted to pot and stopped many times up to 4 or 5 years. Started back on pot in 1989 because of pain from back surgery. I am a vetnam veteran that suffers from ptsd and pot helps me so much. Let’s look at tobacco, alcohol how many deaths have been caused by them? Now reasearch how many deaths have been caused by pot? Be sure to go back to 1937 because that’s when it be came illegal. Now you tell me how many you come up with? People get your head out of the sand. My mother died of rectal cancer in 2009 I tried to get her to smoke pot to help with the effects of the treatment. She probably would have lived longer then what she did. They have done 25 years or more in Israel using pot to distroy cancer cells and treat other similar illnesses. Now you know That it is all about the money. No research is done in the United States because of the FDA, DEA doctors are not allowed to do anything or even suggest it unless the state leaglly voted it in. How many people have died because our goverment puts money before lives. Don’t I have a right to treat myself with what works, Is my goverment keeping me and others from the freedom to treat our bodies with what has been a proven a effective medcation. If you agree write your state officals call them. The veterans that answered our nation’s call to protect our countrys call,needs your help please help us in our time of need. Thank you.
I smoked pot a few times. My arms and legs felt like they were made of concrete. The dealer who sold pot would tell potential buyers that, “This sh%t will make you retarded!” Tell me how this drug can do anything good. Most people who defend pot are simply pot-heads who want it legalized so they can smoke dope with no legal repercussions.
You are so right in what you are saying. I sincerely hope
that many people read and understand your post. My late husband had severe PTSD and pot helped him.
Physicians are, unfortunately part of the problem. I tried to have a conversation with my pain management doc about the potential of medical marijuana for my situation and his reply was “If everyone used marijuana, I would be out of business”. I decided to try it for myself. The results are this so far. No more Botox for chronic migraines, no more neuropathic medicine, no more pain meds., No more steroid injections, no more temporary procedures to hold me (nerve ablations) for awhile until the next one. No more meds for the nausea caused by the meds. No more specialist co-pays every month. NOW you see why they don’t want their false, manufactured ( yes, our government lies to us all the time) hysteria to go away.
MaryJ is an overhyped joke. The poor souls who push it just want to lead an anesthetized life. Fine just stay home, stay off the roads and stay away from my kids.
The government can put taxes on pot an look if they legally pot than it will hurt government cause look at all the people in prison for selling pot than they couldn’t make any money than like u said it’s all about the money it not to help people than need it for there pain.look at all the people who takes pain pills half of the people sell there pills for money. But they won’t stop people who get pain pills but it’s hard to get pain pills for people that need them .look at all the stars that die on pain pills no one every die smoking pot .but yet they won’t stop giving people pains pills .pot does help people that need it for there pain.but yet pains pills makes all the government money cause they should stop giving pain pills out to all the people that don’t need them they take them to get high an sometime people takes to many an overdose on them but see where I’m going with this u don’t see anyone dieing or overdose on pot.so I think they should legally pot.it’s better for u than pain pills but it all about the money.
This is an important tool in medicine, but
doctors know this. There will be medical schools popping up like chiropractic schools in the 80s…stay tuned in.
here’s the problem I see it, in upper MI. Possibly many other states even. I’ve been on pain pills for approx 15 years, had back surgery 2 years ago… The medical professionals in the UP will not, do not allow medical marijuana. In fact Duke Lifepoint, who bought Marquette General, their Dr’s are not even suppose to talk to patients about medical marijuana. Its not an option. If medical marijuana was available I would have tried that before pills. Now that it’s been available, the pills aren’t working that good anymore, now that I want to try medical marijuana I can’t even consider it because medical professionals and/or these hospitals don’t allow Dr’s or their patients to use medical. Until that changes this is a huge problem. And that huge Opiate Epidemic they keep hammering due to abusers, users, and people who don’t need pills but sell them. If they want to help get people away and/or prevent new patients from that medical marijuana is the safest most effective medicinal relief for pain.
How is this lack of training any different than the training doctors get in nutrition, vitamin supplements, herbal medicines, or any other non-patentable product or procedure. Doctors are trained to dispense drugs and nothing else so it is unlikely that they would be trained in the use of any plant based product. If you want to see the lack of training ask any of them about using honey to treat diabetic ulcers that will not heal. The older nurses know it works, but no one will talk about about it except to say there are no studies to show it works.