Visiting a doctor for the first time involves completing paperwork detailing your entire medical history. Both the doctor and office staff expect your answers to be thorough – including any recreational or medical marijuana consumption you have engaged in. Here is the million-dollar question: do you hide marijuana consumption from your doctor?
Your doctor knows full well what you are doing if they helped you obtain a medical cannabis card. But outside of such circumstances, your doctor might never know unless you make your marijuana consumption known voluntarily. That could be bad for your health.
Why Doctors Need to Know
The information those medical history forms ask for isn’t intended merely to entertain curious medical providers. Doctors actually need to know the information to provide proper and safe care. Without knowing your entire medical history, your doctor could recommend something that might potentially harm you. At the very least, they could recommend a treatment that will ultimately prove fruitless.
Doctors need to know about marijuana consumption the same way they need to know about prescription medications, over-the-counter drugs, and even nutritional supplements. That is because everything you put into your body has some sort of impact. A doctor cannot properly and safely treat you without knowing exactly what you are putting into your body.
Time for a New Doctor
With all of that said, what do you do if you feel like you cannot trust your doctor with the knowledge that you use marijuana? It is probably time to start looking for a new one. If nothing else, the doctor-patient relationship must be built on trust if it is going to work. If you cannot trust your doctor with marijuana information, how can you have the type of relationship necessary to foster your good health?
The reality is that not all doctors are on board with marijuana, either medically or recreationally. Some are outright anti-marijuana. There is nothing wrong with that, by the way. People should be free to hold and express whatever viewpoints suit them, even if those viewpoints are anti-marijuana in nature. To each their own, right?
Still A Lot Of Questions
As a consumer, you might be confused as to why so many doctors still don’t support medical cannabis. It boils down to questions. Utahmarijuana.org experts say that there just isn’t enough clinical evidence in support of medical cannabis to convince some doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
It is hard to argue a doctor not getting on board with medical cannabis due to a lack of evidence. Doctors are not auto mechanics or computer geeks. They aren’t fixing machines that are easy enough to replace when broken. They are dealing with irreplaceable human lives. They assume both risk and liability every time they treat patients.
Until their questions are answered, some of them will simply not get on board with either medical cannabis or recreational marijuana. Personally, I would rather see an overly cautious doctor than one who throws caution to the wind and recommends whatever suits my fancy.
Find a Doctor You Can Trust
Answering the fundamental question of hiding marijuana consumption from your doctor goes back to the issue of trust. You should be able to trust your doctor with your entire health history. You should be able to trust that you will receive the best care possible despite the fact that you use marijuana.
If a lack of trust encourages you to hide marijuana consumption, it is time to start looking for a new doctor. Find one you believe you can trust with your entire health history. The quality of your care depends on it.