Erica Chou, MD, Thomas Grawey, DO, and Jane B. Paige, PhD
Biases rooted in historically entrenched assumptions about medical supremacy are reified in popular cultural representations of health professionals and in students’ lived experiences.
AMA J Ethics. 2023;25(5):E338-343. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2023.338.
Conflicts between federal and state laws governing marijuana, lack of evidence about its efficacy as a treatment, and physicians' inability to predict or control dosage would all be aided by reclassification of the drug that would let clinical research go forward.
Today's medical students have an important role in ethical care for the dying because their role involves having conversations with patients about their experiences and values.
Though there are channels through which terminally ill patients can access some experimental drugs that have not yet received FDA approval for marketing to the public, in general those drugs must already be proven safe and effective.
There are numerous state and federal laws designed to protect against misuse and diversion of prescription drugs that apply to patients' behavior, physicians' prescribing practices, and dispensing.