Medical Marijuana for Minors May Be Considered Child Abuse

The Food and Drug Administration categorizes marijuana (cannabis) as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has no currently accepted medical use, a high potential for abuse, and no good data on safety. Other Schedule I drugs are heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide, peyote, methaqualone, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine ("ecstasy"). The authors of some studies have shown that marijuana can reduce nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, can improve food intake in patients with HIV, can reduce neuropathic pain, and may slow the growth of cancer cells. In many states, marijuana use is illegal. No state has approved its use for children. What, then, should doctors do if they become aware that parents are using marijuana to treat medical conditions in their children? What if the children have adverse reactions to the marijuana? In this Ethics Rounds, we present such a case and ask experts in child protection and child abuse to discuss the appropriate response.