Children’s Hospital Colorado, located in one the first states to legalize medical marijuana use, describes the challenges in developing policy to support patients and families in a special article published in the August 2020 Pediatrics. The article, “A Pediatric Hospital Policy for Medical Marijuana Use” (published online July 13), provides a look at how the hospital adapted to answer challenges including the discrepancy between state and federal law, potential patient safety issues, and drug interaction concerns. The hospital created a consultative service consisting of a clinical pharmacist and social worker to offer support where medical marijuana was actively being used or considered by a pediatric patient. This paper describes the first 50 patients seen by the consultative service between 2017 and June 2019, noting that 80% of patients carried an oncologic diagnosis. The medical marijuana was intended to lessen symptoms that included nausea, vomiting, appetite stimulation, seizures, and pain. In 64% of patients, medical marijuana use was determined to be potentially unsafe, most often because of potential drug-drug interactions. In 68% of patients, a recommendation was made to either avoid medical marijuana use or adjust its administration schedule. Most US States have now legalized medical marijuana use, giving new hope to families dealing with chronic illness but there remains very limited data showing efficacy, according to the article. Authors suggest that pediatric hospitals should be prepared to manage requests for use of medical marijuana for admitted patients and should develop policy to guide team members and families. The AAP opposes the use of medical marijuana outside the regulatory process of the US Food and Drug Administration but recognizes that marijuana may currently be an option for cannabinoid administration for children with life-limiting or severely debilitating conditions and for whom current therapies are inadequate.
Editor’s Note: A State of the Art review article, “Marijuana and the Pediatric Population,” is also published in this issue of Pediatrics.
###
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.