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ANA Position Statement

The American Nurses Association (ANA) supports the use of marijuana and related cannabinoids for medical purposes. However, research on the efficacy and indications for marijuana is limited due to its classification as a Schedule I drug at the federal level. The ANA makes several recommendations including reclassifying marijuana, developing prescription standards, and protecting patients and medical professionals. Legal restrictions present ethical issues for nurses seeking to provide the best possible care for their patients.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
56 views3 pages

ANA Position Statement

The American Nurses Association (ANA) supports the use of marijuana and related cannabinoids for medical purposes. However, research on the efficacy and indications for marijuana is limited due to its classification as a Schedule I drug at the federal level. The ANA makes several recommendations including reclassifying marijuana, developing prescription standards, and protecting patients and medical professionals. Legal restrictions present ethical issues for nurses seeking to provide the best possible care for their patients.

Uploaded by

Bethuel Kamau
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The American Nurses Association (ANA) offers its position on various matters related to

ethics in the healthcare sector. The use of marijuana and related cannabinoids in care of patients
raises several issues. While some states have legalized the use of marijuana and cannabinoids for
medical purposes, marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law. Schedule
I classification contains substances that have no medical value and which have a high likelihood
of being abused. The ANA supports the use of marijuana and related cannabinoids for
healthcare.
Marijuana and related cannabinoids are used in alleviating symptoms of various diseases
as well as side effects of certain illnesses. At the moment, the findings of controlled studies
regarding the efficacy of marijuana are mixed. Federal regulations make it difficult for research
to be conducted in order to establish the link between marijuana and related cannabinoids use
and therapeutic effects. ANA seeks to advocate for research necessary to develop an evidence-
based approach to the use of marijuana for treatment as well as for symptom management.
ANA offers several recommendations necessary to drive change for the improvement of
healthcare. The first recommendation is the reclassification of marijuana into a Schedule II
controlled substance. Removing marijuana from its current Schedule I identity would allow
research to be conducted on the substance easily. At the moment research on marijuana is limited
given its status. More so, sources of marijuana for research are limited to the government only.
The second recommendation revolves around the development of prescription standards
including guidelines on specific dose, route, indications for use, possible side effects, and the
indications for stopping a medication. Such standards would allow medical professionals to
prescribe accurately with low risk of adverse or unexpected reaction. The third recommendation
is the establishment of evidence-based standards for thru e of marijuana and related
cannabinoids. The fourth recommendation is protection for patients using marijuana for
therapeutic purposes from criminal or civil penalties as provided for under state laws. The final
recommendation regards protection of medical professionals from criminal and civil prosecution
of professional sanctions for discussing treatment alternatives involving marijuana, or
prescribing dispensing or administering marijuana while following professional standards and
state laws.
While marijuana and the related cannabinoids are used widely in treating diseases or
alleviating symptoms, the efficacy of indications is not clear. This is attributed to the limited
research conducted on the matter. Marijuana is used in alleviating chronic pain, alleviating
symptoms of vomiting as well as nausea, stimulating appetite among patients with HIV,
relieving intraocular pressure from glaucoma, reducing spasticity due to multiple sclerosis, and
decreasing the symptoms of psychosis, sleep disorders, depression, and anxiety.
Marijuana was used in the United States until 1937 when the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
prohibited its use. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act prohibited all therapeutic use of
marijuana by giving it a Schedule I classification. This classification has limited the number of
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) licenses for clinical research. Additionally, although the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has supported scientific research into the use of marijuana for
medical purposes, it has not approved marijuana for any indication. Many organizations and
scholars have advocated for the expansion in research on marijuana and related cannabinoids.
Regulatory hurdles have become barriers to such research that would guide evidence-based
practice for therapeutic use in patients.
Almost half, (twenty four) states and the District of Columbia have legalized the usage of
marijuana for medical purposes. The United States Supreme Court holds that the Congress has
the legal authority to criminalize home grown marijuana even in states where it has been
legalized for medicinal use. Therefore, some people who use marijuana for medical purposes
may be at risk for criminal consequences. ANA supports patients’ rights to legally use marijuana
and related cannabinoids for therapeutic symptom management and the nurse’s role in promoting
quality of life for patients. ANA has supported providing safe access to medical marihuana for
more than twenty years. Nurses maintain that healthcare is a universal right. This includes access
to education regarding the prevention of health issues.
This ethics position from ANA has implication for nurses in all settings. A fictional
situation involves a patient who was involved in an accident that left them with chronic back
pain. After trying a series of pain relievers, the patient does not record an improvement in their
quality of life. However, a conversation from a friend ignited interest in the use of medical
marijuana. The patient lives in a state where medical marijuana is not legalized. A talk with their
physician prompts the patient to leave the state for his farm in Colorado where marijuana use for
medical use is legalized. After getting a prescription for marijuana, the patient proceeds with
taking it. He records a significant reduction in their pain.
In the above case, there are several ethical issues in conflict. The patient’s primary
physician allows the patient to try medical marijuana when monitored by a qualified
professional. This raises an ethical issue given the doctor is practicing in Idaho, a state where
recommending marijuana as part of therapeutic options to a patient is criminalized. The patient
faces the ethical issue of remaining in the state where marijuana is legalized for medical
purposes or going back to their primary settlement. The physician he visits in Colorado has the
ethical obligation to ensure they prescribe the appropriate dosage for the patient. Without
professional standards on the same, the doctor leaves significant room for error. They can only
use generally accepted standards or experience with past patients in deciding the appropriate
dosage and intake route.
ANA believes that healthcare is an inalienable right. The right to healthcare information
can be boosted by the reduction of legal hurdles that prohibit scientific research on the use of
marijuana. A nurse has the obligation of providing the best possible care given certain
limitations. Legal limitations present ethical issues for medical professionals. For instance, a
nurse may know that opioid medication for chronic pain will likely lead to dependence due to the
long period of prescription. However, marijuana used for chronic has little chances of becoming
addictive. Using the principle of non-maleficence, a doctor is obligated to select the option that
has the lowest chances of reducing the patient’s quality of life in the long-term. Further, the
ethical principle of beneficence calls for choosing the best option for the patient to achieve the
immediate care objectives. The patient chooses to go for medical marijuana in the state where it
is legal. The primary physician offers advice on medical marijuana. These are the best courses of
action for all parties involved given the results are optimized therapeutic outcomes.

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