PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Michael Redinger
AU  - Nicole Fledderman
AU  - Parker Crutchfield
TI  - An Ethical Framework to Manage Patient Requests for Medical Marijuana
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2020.01.190216
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 147--151
VI  - 33
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/33/1/147.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/33/1/147.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2020 Jan 01; 33
AB  - An increasing number of states are legalizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes despite marijuana use remaining criminalized at the federal level and continued Schedule I status by the US Food and Drug Administration. Many of those states in which medical marijuana is legal require physician involvement to facilitate patient access. In addition, physicians may have ethical objections to medical marijuana use or may not believe there is adequate scientific evidence to support its use. The constellation of these factors creates an ethical quandary for physicians when approached by patients for assistance in accessing medical marijuana. This article provides an ethical framework that provides guidance to physicians in managing these patient requests taking into consideration the above ethically relevant factors.