Highlights
- •The increasing use of medical cannabis (MC) in the previous decade has raised several ethical issues.
- •Although most of these concerns are common to prescribing any medical regimen, some are unique to MC utilization.
- •In the current review we will discuss these issues in the light of the current experience of MC continuously expended use.
Abstract
The increasing use of medical cannabis (MC) in the past decade raises several ethical
considerations for the clinician. Regulatory issues stem from a gap between MC registration
and certification in each country. Professional issues derive from the lack of sufficient
knowledge of MC characteristics and the intersection between the physician, the patient
and commercial interests. Finally, there are medical and psychological implications
which are related to the use of MC regimens. We will discuss these issues in the light
of the current era, in which policy has rapidly shifted toward legalization of cannabis,
which influences the decisions of both clinicians and patients.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
January 11,
2018
Received in revised form:
January 10,
2018
Received:
December 3,
2017
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
