09/23/2020
By Kaycie Noble with information provided by Dr. Mary Jo Voelpel Oncologist DO
Published in Buzz Intelligent News issue #4 Feb-March 2011
Much controversy surrounds the issue of cannabis dispensaries and medical collectives around the state. In an uproar against these patient co-ops, many of our community's citizens are questioning why the pharmacies aren’t just taking over the responsibility of dispensing this new medical drug. There are several reasons that you will never go to your local pharmacist to receive your cannabis flowers. Cannabis is, after all, just a homeopathic remedy - despite the fact it remains as a schedule 1 controlled substance. A pharmacy is under very strict guidelines. The drugs that are dispensed are highly researched and documented in FDA regulated clinical trials. Drugs must be in specific measured doses that are always duplicated exactly. A pharmacist may not legally dispense a homeopathic remedy or a schedule 1 dmg. There simply is no standardization in the "medicine," which further creates a legal gray area especially on the federal side.
If medical ma*****na were approved on the federal level and removed from scheduling completely, it would not be received as smokable or edible raw ma*****na from a pharmacist. Instead, it would come as prepared/standardized products such as Sativex or Marino I. Additionally, if cannabis were not scheduled, it would be no different than any other over-the-counter medication or homeopathic remedy. More likely at that point, we would see it available on the shelves next to your pain regiments or aspirin. We would not see dispensaries from the pharmacological counter.
Doctors are also under strict FDA guidelines. They may not prescribe homeopathic remedy or schedule 1 drugs, just as a pharmacist may not dispense it. As of now, the physician certification form that we must complete to comply with state law is not a "prescription." Rather it is a "recommendation" of what a doctor believes a patient may benefit from. If cannabis were moved to a schedule 2 from a schedule 1, a doctor with certification from the DEA through their Controlled Substance License would be able to prescribe ma*****na. In addition, it would allow for clinical research and trials on specific cannabinoids. But once again, as we discussed above, it would be dispensed in standardized pharmaceutical form.
I wrote this article almost 10 years ago. Only a few things have changed since then. Although Industrial H**p has fought its way off the federal controlled substance list, Ma*****na remains steadfast in the Schedule I category. According to the federal DEA, “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” This is astounding as a whopping 84% of our individual states have enacted recognized legal medical programs for ma*****na or choose to decriminalize it.
COVID now shows us how quickly our government CAN and WILL change things for “health.” The fact that the last 10 years has not forwarded the healthcare industry surrounding cannabis is ridiculous. To date, the FDA has not approved a marketing application for cannabis for the treatment of any disease or condition. The agency has, however, approved one cannabis-derived drug product: Epidiolex (cannabidiol), and three synthetic cannabis-related drug products: Marinol (dronabinol), Syndros (dronabinol), and Cesamet (nabilone). These approved drug products are only available with a prescription from a licensed healthcare provider. Importantly, the FDA has not approved any other cannabis, cannabis-derived, or cannabidiol (CBD) products currently available on the market.
That means topicals containing natural cannabis as it is from the earth and products containing cannabis oils or extracts will not be recognized for consumer use or safety by the FDA. With groups like FOCUS working hard to get national standards approved so we can make cannabis and h**p products available to the world market, we need our agencies stepping up for progress. When will due diligence be important in our country? How can so much research continue to be ignored for the sake of profit and control?
These issues feed the roots of our beliefs at OmniLight. We are blessed with the gifts of the earth that will keep the temple of our body healthy and happy. What is right, moral, and just, is not always what’s legal. Gratitude and thanks for residence in a country that is written under the Constitution and guarantees freedom of sovereignty. That is why members of the church give oath to follow the natural laws of God and the beliefs inscribed in our own constitution. When we take full responsibility for ourselves and are firm in our rights as a natural human we can stop worrying about how the government chooses to handle its business and go about our own in peace.
