The Cannabis Industry’s New Cause: A National Medical System

Without federal government policy and regulation, chaos could ensue.

The cannabis industry needs a new cause in 2023 after many failed attempts to influence the passing of The Safe Banking Act and other initiatives. Many believe there needs to be more push for scientific research, evidence, and clinical trials to convince the public and lawmakers of the benefits of legalizing cannabis.

Along with legalization will come policies and laws to govern the medical and recreational cannabis industry. According to cannabinoid specialist Dr. Jordan Tishler, a national medical cannabis system is one such policy that is needed to give people the proper and professional cannabis healthcare they need and deserve. Over 180 million Americans of all colors and backgrounds over age 50 will develop one or more illnesses that can be treated with cannabis.

Dr. Jordan Tishler, a Harvard-educated medical doctor, worked for 15 years in a VA hospital, where he started to explore cannabis medicine as an alternative treatment. Today he is a cannabis activist and practicing cannabinoid specialist who started InhaleMD, where he and his team treat patients through cannabis therapeutics. He is also the President of The Association of Cannabis Specialists.

I interviewed Dr. Tishler to hear his thoughts on why he thinks federal legalization alone will not do enough to regulate the industry and what else is needed.

What are the primary considerations when developing a medical cannabis policy?

Patient care is a social justice issue. All people need and deserve healthcare. Healthcare outcomes in the US are poor compared to other developed nations but are worse for people of color than whites. Medical cannabis treatment needs improvement and access for everyone.

There are three primary considerations when it comes to establishing cannabis policy:

1. Make cannabis a medication by prescription to stimulate medical research and insurance to provide care and medication to those in need.
2. Deschedule cannabis to end the war on drugs and prevent the continued targeting of people of color.
3. Commercial legalization. Give the industry carte-blanche permission to sell vast amounts of cannabis using whatever sales tactics they can devise, but regulate it for safety – both for product and marketing guidelines. And most importantly, forbid retail from pretending to provide medical care.

You believe that legalization without the proper policy will sabotage cannabis medical research. Why is that?

Legalization without a national medical system will undermine medical research, end the perception of cannabis as a medicine, and lead to an industry hell-bent on sales revenue at the cost of patients’ well-being. It will be the death knell of scientific cannabis research if we don’t make it an industry cause by advocating for a national medical cannabis system.

Drug development research is slow, painstaking, and expensive – why would any cannabis company spend the time and money to prove that their product works and are safe if the law allows them to go to market and say whatever they want? We only need to look at the current marketing for CBD to see the kind of snake oil that will be on offer in the absence of regulation requiring scientific study.

Cannabis doctors are relying on dispensaries and budtenders to fill “prescriptions.” I’m sure this is not an effective way to treat patients properly.

We have ample evidence that this is not the ideal way to get medical advice. In California, only 4% of cannabis sold was through their medical system. These numbers suggest that the vast majority of purchasers were getting their medical information from non-medical salespeople at the dispensaries or budtenders.

In my practice, I have seen patients who start with very reasonable and effective regimens suddenly go overboard following the advice of these salespeople. I have witnessed harm done to patients from dispensaries’ rampant misdirection and conflict-of-interest-laden advice. We avoid these pitfalls in the conventional medical system by requiring clinicians to prescribe the medication, complete with instructions on use and an amount to be sold. Only Florida requires an actual prescription (They call it an Order) for a specific cannabis medication with an amount to be dispensed – and requires dispensaries to uphold that Order.

What does a medical cannabis system look like, and what policies do you think need to be implemented?

The current discussion about legalization does not address patient care at all. There is a lot of talk about the harms of prohibition and social justice but no acknowledgment that medical care is a social justice issue and that patients must be protected.

1. Legalize medical cannabis for proper medical treatment by qualified medical professionals.
2. Institute a prescribing system and support cannabis patients’ needs nationally.
3. Make prescription fulfillment immutable.
4. End unsubstantiated medical claims by manufacturers and sellers.
5. Allow interstate operability so patients can travel with their medicine to ensure they get the treatment they need, when and where they need it, without discrimination.

All people need or will need medical cannabis treatment during their life. The last nearly century of prohibition has robbed billions of Americans of treatment with this medicine. Research on the value of cannabis as medicine continues to amass but is 100 years behind where it should be due to prohibition.

Any closing thoughts, Dr. Tishler?

Congress is willfully overlooking the importance of proper medical cannabis treatment for Americans and not doing anything to safeguard patient care. As President of The Association of Cannabis Specialists, we believe patients deserve safe, effective medicine and caring, knowledgeable guidance from clinicians to achieve the best outcomes. We have developed a white paper that spells out the basic requirements of any reform to cannabis laws to preserve and improve patient care.

Cannabis medical care is a social justice issue, and patients must be protected through a national medical system.