Washington, DC: The American College of Physicians, which represents the interests of more than 160,000 internal medicine physicians, has issued a new policy paper calling for the decriminalization of activities involving the personal possession of cannabis.
The organization recommends decriminalization “to help address systemic inequities and promote treatment-focused alternatives to criminal penalties for substance use disorders.”
Specifically, the ACP states, “[The] possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use be decriminalized.” It also calls for additional resources for agencies involved in regulating state-legal cannabis products and for greater training for doctors and other health professionals.
“Cannabis content should be incorporated into substance use curricula at all levels of physician education,” the group states. Healthcare professionals in the United States and abroad – including nurses, pharmacists, clinicians, and nurse practitioners – consistently acknowledge that they are inadequately trained to counsel patients on matters specific to medical cannabis.
A complete list of the ACP’s recommendations appears in the journal, Annals of Internal Medicine.