Why Some Doctors Are Hesitant to Prescribe Medical Marijuana? Marijuana plant has a storied history and has been used for medical purposes for a long time. At the present time, its use has been approved in nearly half of the total US states. Marijuana advocates say that marijuana could be used for the treatment of serious health problems such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV, hepatitis and others. Marijuana's growing popularity has forced the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Service to approve basic research on marijuana as a potential medicine. The research proved that marijuana has the potential to treat several diseases, but still there are many doctors who don't see it as a legitimate form of medicine. Below are some major reasons given by physicians opposing marijuana's use: Lack of Comprehensive Study Many doctors are opposing marijuana's use because of the lack research on marijuana and its effects. It is listed among the Schedule I drugs that have a high potential for abuse. If you want your physician to permit the use of marijuana, then you have to show him/her the proof of marijuana's efficacy.
Conservative Bias You have seen doctors adopting new surgical technologies or medication quite easily. In reality they are very cautious when using new therapies because their results are unknown. There is a stigma against marijuana that is pushing most of the doctors to get past. To remove this stigma is to present them with the medical benefits of marijuana. Seen as a Drug