Medical marijuana use is increasing quickly in New Jersey and recreational use may become legal soon, but many doctors remain skeptical about recommending it to their patients.
On Wednesday, hundreds of health professionals heard from the state health commissioner, Shereef Elnahal, as he sought to "demystify" the use of medical marijuana and explain recent policy changes made by the Murphy administration to increase access to it.
For North Jersey doctors, two big impediments induce wariness: The federal government puts marijuana in the same category as heroin, a Schedule 1 drug having "no medical value and high potential for abuse," and little clinical research exists on its effects.
Currently, only 700 of the state's 28,000 licensed doctors have registered with the state to recommend its use for patients. (Doctors recommend, rather than prescribe, medical marijuana, because it is not approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.)
"Like most, I am intrigued but not convinced," a primary-care doctor at Hackensack University Medical Center told the commissioner.