Medical Marijuana Legal, But Most Doctors Don't Want Any Part Of It
Voters may have overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana by constitutional amendment last week. But all the state's major physician groups-including the Kansas City Medical Society, of which Mammen is president-opposed every marijuana measure on the ballot. Now the amendment's passage makes doctors the gatekeepers of legal marijuana in Missouri, a role most of them didn't want. And if other states are any indication, a small minority of doctors will be willing to recommend medical marijuana, and those who do may have booming businesses. Most doctors don't think of marijuana as medicine, at least not in its raw plant form. The medical groups say that although certain parts of the cannabis plant have legitimate medical uses, medical marijuana programs like Missouri's provide access to products that aren't sold in standard dosages or purities. Essentially, patients don't know what they're getting, so it's impossible for doctors to measure the risks aga...