The Global Healthy Living Foundation urges 2020 Presidential candidates to support the rescheduling of marijuana so that it, along with CBD products, can be tested under controlled parameters and with peer review to assess their safety, dosing, and effectiveness, arming both patients and doctors with the best available evidence to make informed treatment decisions. Presently, cannabis remains illegal and classified as a Schedule 1 drug under federal law (defined as being “of no medical use”). Following passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, however, which legalized the regulated production of hemp, along with 33 U.S. states that have legalized the usage of marijuana for medical purposes, many chronic disease patients are trying tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) products to treat serious conditions, such as rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease.
According to the “Patients’ Perceptions and Use of Medical Marijuana” study conducted and presented by CreakyJoints®, a Global Healthy Living Foundation patient community, 57 percent of arthritis patients have reported trying marijuana and/or CBD products for medical purposes. Despite the study finding that 62 percent of those who use marijuana medically regularly use it at least once daily, a third of regularly using participants chose not to tell their healthcare provider about their use of these substances.
“Despite the increased availability of medications to treat complex diseases like arthritis, many patients still need additional options to address their symptoms, particularly those related to pain and fatigue. But it’s concerning that members of our patient community are, in essence, self-testing these products in an attempt to discern an effect,” said Seth Ginsberg, president and co-founder of the Global Healthy Living Foundation and CreakyJoints.
“Further, the lack of evidence-based data has left many health care providers unable to counsel their patients on everything from whether a cannabis treatment may be effective for their condition, to what dosages are appropriate, to how cannabis may interact with their other medications or health conditions,” adds Louis Tharp, executive director and co-founder.
It’s time to reschedule marijuana so that it can be studied with the same rigor as other treatments and we urge 2020 Presidential candidates to make this an important objective of their healthcare platform,” he added.
To help inform medical decisions, the Global Healthy Living Foundation also asks that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) develop and approve clinical trials and conduct proper research to provide doctors and patients with adequate data on the effects of THC and CBD on arthritis and other conditions.
About Global Healthy Living Foundation
The Global Healthy Living Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for people living with chronic illnesses (such as arthritis, osteoporosis, migraine, psoriasis, and cardiovascular disease) by advocating for improved access to health care at the community, state, and federal levels, and amplifying education and awareness efforts within its social media framework. GHLF is also a staunch advocate for vaccines. The Global Healthy Living Foundation is the parent organization of CreakyJoints®, the digital arthritis community for millions of arthritis patients and caregivers worldwide who seek education, support, activism, and patient-centered research through ArthritisPower®, the first-ever patient-centered research registry for joint, bone, and inflammatory skin conditions. Visit GHLF.org for more information.
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Contacts:
Phone: 917-816-6712
Email: jdaitch@ghlf.org
