Medical Marijauna: Did the feds pull a fast one?

[altair1013]

1) Do prescription drugs require FDA approval?
2) Does the law allow for exceptions?
3) Why wasn't weed FDA approved before being prescribed?

[johnrocks]

Why should I even need a prescription to put a drug;any drug; in my own body?

[altair1013]

Why should I even need a prescription to put a drug;any drug; in my own body?

Totally different subject. I'm looking for answers to the questions that I listed.

[camarozz]

I would venture a guess and say it because of the "naturalistic" view of it as medicine. Kinda like taking OTC vitamins.

[Apatriot]

Why should I even need a prescription to put a drug;any drug; in my own body?

The prescription isn't for you. It is to tell the pharmacist what the physician recommends. The whole prescription medicine idea came about long before the FDA or any government enforcement of this.

[Apatriot]

1) Do prescription drugs require FDA approval?
2) Does the law allow for exceptions?
3) Why wasn't weed FDA approved before being prescribed?



It is ironic, though, that the FDA under this administration is also the one that is pursuing action against General Mills for saying that Cheerios can lower cholesterol....

http://wcbstv.com/health/cheerios.general.mills.2.1007986.html

[slick_trip]

nobody on grass pulls a fast one....just saying...

[notluzn]

Why should I even need a prescription to put a drug;any drug; in my own body? So you don't sue the people that made it and the guy that prescribed it to you.

[johnrocks]

The prescription isn't for you. It is to tell the pharmacist what the physician recommends. The whole prescription medicine idea came about long before the FDA or any government enforcement of this.

I read a few months ago that in Costa Rico that 90% of prescription drugs could be got OTC and they were all FDA approved, something like that is more along my lines of thinking.

[Apatriot]

I read a few months ago that in Costa Rico that 90% of prescription drugs could be got OTC and they were all FDA approved, something like that is more along my lines of thinking.


Drugstores will never go along with the liability involved.

Also, I don't use developing countries as countries to emulate, in general.

[janer]

There is a pill called Marinol (sp?) that is a derivative of marijuana and approved for anorexia and nausea associated with certain treatments, such as chemo. Part of the legalization issue is centered around patient claims that if they are unable to tolerate oral medication Marinol is of no use, and that smoking it is the only method that alleviates nausea and acts as an appetite stimulant.
Whether there are exceptions is a state matter, I believe. There may be states where there is a medical exception.
The FDA approves pharmaceuticals; I believe marijuana would be classified as a plant substance, more like tobacco. It may have to carry a warning, but it's not really a pharmaceutical medication.

[Vaard]

So you don't sue the people that made it and the guy that prescribed it to you.

pfizer and merck wil be very happy to hear that.....

[Vaard]

1) Do prescription drugs require FDA approval?
2) Does the law allow for exceptions?
3) Why wasn't weed FDA approved before being prescribed?


1 no, not all
2 yes
3 because it is anturally occuring substance...... same way supplemental vitamins dont reqire fda approval......

[JediMindTrick]

Drugstores will never go along with the liability involved.

Also, I don't use developing countries as countries to emulate, in general.

Costa Rica is one of the most advanced countries in the world in a medical sense so you might want to reconsider when it comes to this issue. Countless Americans who can afford to get there go there every year for medical procedures that can be done cheaper and oftentimes better than in the US.

[tom1468]

1 no, not all
2 yes
3 because it is anturally occuring substance...... same way supplemental vitamins dont reqire fda approval......
So then it isnt a drug, it is a herb?
I hear it makes good brownies

[tom1468]

I read a few months ago that in Costa Rico that 90% of prescription drugs could be got OTC and they were all FDA approved, something like that is more along my lines of thinking.
Wouldnt that solve the problem with the elderly having to eat dog food in order to get their meds

[Apatriot]

Costa Rica is one of the most advanced countries in the world in a medical sense so you might want to reconsider when it comes to this issue. Countless Americans who can afford to get there go there every year for medical procedures that can be done cheaper and oftentimes better than in the US.


For plastic surgery, yes. For other surgery, I'm not so certain. Regardless, I know if I ran a pharmacy, there's no way I would sell some drugs to people without a doctor's prescription, regardless of the law. The whole Doctor/Pharmacist/Prescription relationship predates the laws on this. It just makes common sence.

[Apatriot]

Wouldnt that solve the problem with the elderly having to eat dog food in order to get their meds

The elderly are the wealthiest age group in this country, for the most part. While the dogfood thing may have been true at one time, it's far from true now.

[merickson]

1) Do prescription drugs require FDA approval?Yes
2) Does the law allow for exceptions?Not for MMJ. (Is off label use an "exception")
3) Why wasn't weed FDA approved before being prescribed?
(It isn't approved. It isn't prescribed.)
Because legislators had passed laws making medical claims "MJ has no medicinal use", such use was not researched.
At the same time, patients were using it for relief from their symptoms.
The stress between the legislature given "facts" and the anecdotal evidence from patients led to the patchquilt of compassionate use laws that we have today. Various states don't care what the FDA thinks about MMJ, they won't jail a sick person for using the "wrong" medicine.