![[ Visit Client Website ]](images/banner.gif)
Purpose: Medical marijuana is currently legal in 17 states across the US with multiple indications such as nausea and vomiting, chronic pain, and cachexia. In heart and lung transplantation, standard policies do not exist regarding medical marijuana use. Transplant centers continue to struggle with this controversial issue. We surveyed 317 US Medical Heart and Lung Transplant Medical Directors regarding their center’s policies surrounding both medically-prescribed and recreational marijuana use in this population.
Methods: In this descriptive study, we obtained names of Medical Directors for US Heart and Lung Transplant Centers through the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS). Using the websites of professional medical organizations and Google, we obtained each Director’s email address. A survey regarding medically-prescribed and recreational marijuana policies was developed, approved by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board, and emailed through SurveyMokney. Descriptive statistics were used to determine overall percentages of responses.
Results: A total of 81Medical Directors responded (25% response rate) with a distribution of 68% and 32% managing heart and lung transplant, respectively. Medical marijuana was legal statewide in 32.1% of respondents. Medical marijuana was considered an absolute contraindication to transplantation in 31.2% centers while recreational marijuana was in 63%. A total of 10 centers allowed the use of medical marijuana within the inpatient setting; 18 centers allowed oral ingestion and 3 either oral ingestion or inhaled/smoked. Major indications for medical marijuana consisted of severe nausea, cancer, or severe pain. For those who prescribed medical marijuana, 92.6% (n=26) managed between 0-5 patients annually. Over 60% of respondents did not know if marijuana interacted with immunosuppressant medications.
Conclusion: Policies regarding the use of medically-prescribed and recreational marijuana vary among US transplant centers. These data suggest that UNOS should provide standardized policy suggestions so as to afford consistent patient care across stateliness.