Abstract
Cannabis is increasingly legalized in more areas of the USA and marketed under the misnomer “medical cannabis.” Yet, there are no official dosing guidelines or approved medical uses for plant cannabis by the Food and Drug Administration. Due to significant federal barriers, research on efficacy, safety, and adverse effects of cannabis is limited. Patients are interested in cannabis as potential treatment of medical issues and/or symptoms and clinicians should include a discussion of the risks of cannabis consumption. However, many risks are not yet known, and clinicians might be unaware of the emerging literature. This perspective summarizes the potential harms of cannabis, including the risk of cannabis use disorder, while providing a framework grounded in principles of medical ethics to educate patients on cannabis.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-025-09680-7
Funding Information
Work on this was supported by the University of Kentucky (UK) Bell Addiction Medicine Scholar Program.
Repository Citation
South, Anna-Maria; Babalonis, Shanna L.; Fanucchi, Laura C.; and Lofwall, Michelle R., "“Medical Cannabis”: Advising Patients While Navigating Medical Ethics and Limited Evidence" (2026). Internal Medicine Faculty Publications. 290.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/internalmedicine_facpub/290
Included in
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons, Internal Medicine Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
Notes/Citation Information
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Society of General Internal Medicine 2025