A: When talking with your doctor about medical cannabis, follow the age-old phrase: "it’s not what you say, but how you say it." Saying "hey doc, can I have some weed?" will most likely lead to a less then optimal result. Here are some tips to successfully talk to your doctor about medical cannabis:
Describe specifically:
• The symptoms that you are looking to treat.
• Any diagnosed conditions that they might not know about
• What you’re currently doing to treat your conditions and symptoms
• If you currently use cannabis and if so how often and in what form
• Explain in detail what you hope to gain from the use of medical cannabis. For example, do you want to relieve pain? Do you have trouble sleeping?
• Let your doctor know that you are aware of some of the side effects that may occur with the use of medical marijuana and that you have assessed the benefits vs the risks.
• Use professional language such as "medical cannabis" or "medical marijuana" instead of slang terms like "weed" or "pot."
• Most importantly remind your doctor that they ARE NOT writing a prescription but giving a written certification confirming that the patient has a qualifying condition and that there is a bona fide physician-patient relationship.
Talking to your doctor about medical cannabis can be an uncomfortable conversation to have. Following the tips above will help make the conversation successful and easy. Regardless of how the conversation goes, having it will open the door for not only you but for other patients that are looking to benefit from the use of medical cannabis. The more that patients can bring up the topic of medical cannabis with their healthcare provider, the easier it will be for doctors to support cannabis as a treatment method!
annapoulin
When talking with your doctor about medical cannabis, follow the age-old phrase: "it’s not what you say, but how you say it." Saying "hey doc, can I have some weed?" will most likely lead to a less then optimal result. Here are some tips to successfully talk to your doctor about medical cannabis:
Describe specifically:
The symptoms that you are looking to treat.
Any diagnosed conditions that they might not know about
What you’re currently doing to treat your conditions and symptoms
If you currently use cannabis and if so how often and in what form
Explain in detail what you hope to gain from the use of medical cannabis. For example, do you want to relieve pain? Do you have trouble sleeping?
Let your doctor know that you are aware of some of the side effects that may occur with the use of medical marijuana and that you have assessed the benefits vs the risks.
Use professional language such as "medical cannabis" or "medical marijuana" instead of slang terms like "weed" or "pot."
Most importantly remind your doctor that they ARE NOT writing a prescription but giving a written certification confirming that the patient has a qualifying condition and that there is a bona fide physician-patient relationship.
Talking to your doctor about medical cannabis can be an uncomfortable conversation to have. Following the tips above will help make the conversation successful and easy. Regardless of how the conversation goes, having it will open the door for not only you but for other patients that are looking to benefit from the use of medical cannabis. The more that patients can bring up the topic of medical cannabis with their healthcare provider, the easier it will be for doctors to support cannabis as a treatment method!
annapoulin
