A major milestone in medical marijuana as been reached in our state.
A Gadsden physician is one of five doctors now certified to recommend medical cannabis to patients in Alabama. This is another big step closer towards Alabamians getting access to medical cannabis.
Almost five years ago, medical cannabis was legalized in our state, but because of legal disputes, progress to get it in the hands of people who might need it has been slow. A turning point came just about two months ago when the first medical cannabis dispensary companies were finally issued licenses by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission.
Dr. Roger Buck admits that, at 77 years young, he was reluctant to embrace the medicinal uses of cannabis. But out of curiosity, he took the four-hour online course required by the state for physicians to be able to recommend cannabis to patients. Dr. Buck said, “I was surprised to learn, it was fascinating, about the endocannabinoid system, which I was never — I can’t recall ever being taught this in medical school.”
It’s the pharmacology that really intrigues him. Dr. Buck added, “There’s really two endocannabinoids, but the main ones, what they do is maintain homeostasis.”
Dr. Buck has been a primary care physician at Doctor’s Care in Gadsden for more than 40 years, and with his new knowledge, he’s already identified some patients who might benefit from medical cannabis. “Like autism, PTSD, seizures. It calms the brain in terms of trying to minimize all this abnormal discharging of neurons that triggers these problems.”
He said he knows many other doctors who aren’t convinced and many patients who aren’t ready to move from narcotics to a botanical product. He added, “It’s not intoxicating the way this program is set up. So, they’re not going to get high, you know, they’re not going to get stoned.” But he’s hopeful access to medical cannabis might be just what patients need to reduce dependence on opioids. “It’s shown that with cannabis use, you can reduce opioid requirements 40 to 80%.”
Next week, the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners and Medical Licensure Commission will consider 17 more physicians for medical cannabis certification.
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