Federal drug officials are warning Georgia to shelve its plans to be the first state to allow pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana products.
News outlets report that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Nov. 27 warned pharmacies that dispensing medical marijuana violates federal law.
That already occurred decades ago - there was an Rx pill called Marinol, which was just a capsule with pure THC. It was prescribed to cancer and AIDS patients to encourage hunger and decrease nausea. Patients overwhelmingly preferred regular cannabis for a variety of reasons… one, it takes much longer for oral cannabis to take effect and it’s difficult to get the dosage right. Smoking or vaping is almost instant and you can take as many puffs as desired and judge it in real time. Also, people found the pure THC less effective and pleasant than the plant, which has many other active compounds besides just THC which moderate the effects. Some patients said that Marinol actually caused nausea, which makes sense to anyone who has ever dosed too much on edibles. More research on the other cannabinoids and their interaction is a good idea.
It also doesn’t make sense to take an oral medication when you have difficulty with not vomiting.