health & science
HOW TO BE HONEST WITH YOUR DOCTOR... >> We must be vocal about why medical cannabis works, even to healthcare naysayers
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any people who regularly use Cannabis as medicine in the U.S. have traditionally done so under the label of “self prescribed.” Patients have had many reasons for not divulging their use of Cannabis to their healthcare professional, or any part of the entire health care system for that matter. That’s in part due to the Federal legal system, which forces individuals to engage in illegal activities to procure or produce their medicine by upholding Cannabis as a Schedule 1 narcotic. From public policy to insurance and medical policy, to legal issues and the negative stigma surrounding the subject of Cannabis, patients have grown used to being admonished and made to feel bad about their use. Fortunately, this is changing —17 states currently have
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BY NORTHWEST LEAF SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR DR. SCOTT D. ROSE
medical marijuana laws on the books; another half-dozen have legislation pending. Most patients, however, are still reluctant to broach the subject with their personal physician. How can a patient talk with their doctor and full disclose their choice to use Cannabis as medicine? It is essential that individuals who have valid conditions and reasons to use medical Cannabis talk with their doctor. Get the proper documentation, and get legal! Do it if you’re in possession of Cannabis, or just using, and finding benefit. Be aware though, Federal law does supersede state law. Arrests can, and are being made for possession, use, and cultivation of cannabis — even by approved patients. In King County, Wash. there have been arrests of patients with valid paperwork. The passing of proposition 215 in 1996,
made California the first state in the US to allow the use of Cannabis medicinally. In 1998, Washington state voters passed initiative 692 and the state laws were written — they continue to be shaped. Authorizations are required to be printed and signed on tamper-resistant paper in Washington state to be legal, and may be granted by a Medical Doctor, Physician Assistant, Osteopathic Doctor, Osteopathic Assistant, Naturopathic Doctor, or a Advanced Nurse Practitioner. If an individual has a “primary care doctor,” then chances are they are working with one of these individuals already. It is your right to ask for their authorization, and it is their right under the doctor patient relationship with the intent to serve you best that they know of your use. Many healthcare professionals are uncomfortable discussing the use of