Medical marijuana: Challenges and risk issues for health care providers

Laws on medical marijuana and recreational use of marijuana are sweeping the country and presenting real dilemmas for health care providers and facilities. However, due to disagreements between federal and state law, there are no easy answers. Additionally, the case law and statutory law on these issues is exceedingly sparse. It may take years for all of the issues to be ironed out, but health care facilities will need to act in the meantime on what may be little more than educated guesses. It may not be appropriate to simply prohibit the use of medical marijuana, but accommodating it also has risk. This article will address what is known about the subject and what is not known about the subject. Each provider and health care facility will need to devise their own approach to the subject based on principles that are presently known, while keeping an eye on the health and safety of all involved.