I am a ER physician here in Las Vegas. In 2014, the DEA removed the Acetaminophen amount of 500 mg to 325 mg in the narcotics Lortab / Vicodin / Norcos, etc drugs. It is recommended that it is only prescribed under certain circumstances to, 650 mg Q 4-6 hours. The hepatic adverse affects are now being observed at greater levels than ever before. Pt's that have had chronic pain, who rely on these medications are having elevated liver enzymes / hepatic toxicity increasingly more often. I have seen pt's in the ER who do carry a medical marijuana card, and I have spent extra time discussing their opinions on marijuana vs. the traditional narcotics. Most I have found do not smoke it bc they do not like smoking in general. These were pt's with chronic migraines, cancers / chronic back pain/ fibromyalgia / seizures,etc, etc. What I have learned that, most bake the MJ for 2 hours in their ovens at home, then put it in 1 teaspoon of Flax seed oil, with pain relief within 30 minutes. They have stated that if they smoked it, the relief would be faster, but they choose to ingest it instead. These are not people who want to get " high", they only want pain relief. If they wanted to be high, they generally would be smoking it to get the buzz quicker, or just staying on the narcotics. With this being said, it appears that :
A. The DEA is really focusing on the negative side affects of these narcotics, ( also, prescription medications are the most widely abused form of any drug now in the US, even more than cocaine / heroin / MJ. )
B. The DEA will scrutinize medical marijuana, just as closely as the do with OTC medications like Advil / Robitussin, etc in the near future.
C. But I know the pharmaceutical lobbyist are very powerful $$$, they won't go away quietly. That will be another battle to tackle to make marijuana more main stream.
We are in a GREAT PLACE now though. Like others have posted, nothing can move forward, unless it goes thru a lab. Pazoo is the gate keepers. I first hand see a huge benefit as an clinician, to aid in pt's health with marijuana.
PAZOOOOOOOOOO
