One of the most rewarding and exciting fields within the cannabis industry is that of a cannabis-focused doctor.
Cannabis has been used for medical purposes for many centuries but has been prohibited in the United States for decades.
Medical cannabis laws started to evolve in the U.S. in 1996 when California legalized medical cannabis, which put the wheels in motion for dozens of states to follow.
A medical cannabis program is only as good as the quality and quantity of medical doctors and other health professionals that can help get patients registered.
More important, there is a growing demand for cannabis-focused physicians who can help guide patients in their cannabis treatment.
Whereas non-cannabis health care professions can result in getting burnt out very quickly, a career as a cannabis-focused doctor is extremely rewarding.
How can someone become a cannabis-focused MD?
Becoming a cannabis-focused doctor obviously requires a lot of college and certifications, as with becoming any type of medical doctor.
Just as you have doctors who specialize in various aspects of medicine, we will see more doctors specializing in cannabis medicine.
This specialization requires a knowledge base about the cannabis plant which is difficult due to cannabis prohibition.
Cannabis research, while more abundant than people think, is limited due to federal restrictions.
Current or aspiring doctors have to learn from the growing body of research work that exists as well as learn from other medical doctors that have already established practices in the cannabis industry.
What does the future of medical cannabis entail?
The future of the medical cannabis industry is bright, but also largely unknown as far as what it will look like.
Things are evolving so quickly that no one knows for sure what the future holds for medical cannabis.
However, there are true experts that can provide insight into what the future may hold.
One of those is Dr. Junella Chin, a leading medical doctor in New York State and a presenter at Green Flower’s My Cannabis Career Summit (now streaming).
“It is our responsibility to be capable of engaging in meaningful discussion with our patients regarding the potential harms and the potential benefits of medical cannabis,” says Dr. Chin.
Medical cannabis is extremely important to wellness strategies but has gone largely unchampioned by the medical community for no good reason.
“Cannabinoid receptors are the most abundant receptor in the brain,” adds Dr. Chin. “Why would we teach medical students about the most abundant receptor in the brain?”
If you are a doctor or aspiring doctor this is your chance to step up and do your part!
What are the benefits of choosing a career as a cannabis-focused MD?
Below are some of the benefits of being a cannabis-focused doctor:
- Help improve people’s lives by recommending cannabis and effective consumption methods
- Reduce the stigma around a proven medicine
- Help patients make the safer choice by using cannabis instead of harmful pharmaceuticals
- Getting to be a part of the most exciting, fastest-growing industry on the planet
- Getting to be a part of history
More patients are getting curious about the wellness properties of medical cannabis every day, and doctors are helping those patients with their medical cannabis journey in an impactful way.
Cannabis MDs are helping facilitate compassion
The requirements for becoming a medical cannabis patient vary from state to state.
Different states have different qualifying conditions for their medical cannabis programs, but regardless of what those are, every medical cannabis state requires a doctor’s signature.
By signing a patient’s paperwork doctors are not only helping a patient enroll in a state medical cannabis program, they are giving patients a new life.
No patient should have to live in fear of prosecution and/or not have safe access to the medicine that they need.
When medical doctors put their name on patients’ forms it takes away the fear and gives patients a path to a peaceful and better life.
That’s a very profound duty that any doctor should want to sign up for, and issuing that recommendation is really just the beginning.
