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In two recent posts, I’ve outlined some concerns that have emerged for Texas physicians regarding the Texas medical cannabis program: The legal and professional implications of prescribing cannabis-derived medicine, and the fact that research is in its early stages after decades of federal restrictions on studying medical applications of cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD). In this final post, I’ll address a third issue for Texas physicians whose patients qualify for medical cannabis, and how to fix it: Some physicians feel that they do not have enough familiarity with cannabinoids and CBD medication to confidently prescribe it. There’s no denying it takes effort to dig into research findings and figure out how to create an effective treatment regimen involving state-regulated medical cannabis products. My colleagues and I do this all the time when we integrate treatments with new medications—this isn’t unprecedented. But now we’re doing it in a controversial setting, and that can be challenging. Some doctors are saying, “Well, I just don’t want to get involved.” The reality is that our patients need us to take this initiative. And this is more critical than ever in Texas, now that the state medical cannabis program has expanded to include a much broader patient base. The expanded state program, enacted in June 2019 via House Bill 3703, now includes the following medical conditions: epilepsy of all forms; other seizure disorders; multiple sclerosis (MS); spasticity; autism; terminal cancer; and incurable neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and other dementias, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. Lawmakers also simplified the process for establishing a patient’s treatment plan by lifting the requirement that treatment plans must receive a concurring approval from a fellow physician before a prescription can be issued. Once a physician has enrolled in the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas (CURT) and received regulatory approval, he or she can prescribe state-regulated medical cannabis products. CURT serves another useful purpose: It connects us all as a group of physicians who are pursuing carefully monitored treatment plans for patients who have exhausted other options. We can collaborate and learn from each other, thanks to this registry and other recent efforts to expand the knowledge base to determine what’s working, what’s not and which conditions and patient populations should be targeted.A Doctor's View: Physicians Are Working Together to Expand Medical Cannabis Knowledge Base—Part 3
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