Medical marijuana warnings issued to N.L. doctors

The body that regulates physicians in this province is concerned new medical marijuana regulations will cause problems for doctors.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador said doctors should be very careful about processing marijuana, and warns they should refrain from dispensing it.

Before new regulations in April, patients had to apply to Health Canada for approval for medical marijuana. Now, they can ask their doctors to prescribe it.

In a statement on their website, the college said, "Physicians should not be expected to facilitate patient access to a substance, for medical purposes, for which there is no body of evidence of clinical efficacy or safety."

The college believes prescribing medical marijuana could lead to an increase in allegations of malpractice and negligence.

In the statement, physicians are discouraged from dispensing medical marijuana to their patients, warning that doctors who do so "could become targets of break-ins and thefts."

CBC has repeatedly asked the college to comment on the medical marijuana issue, but no one has been available to comment to date.