People on Marijuana Should Disclose Their Habits to Doctors Before Surgical Procedures

In the latest health news, doctors advise people who use marijuana to disclose their habits before undergoing surgery. According to advice from prominent doctors, regular marijuana users require more anesthesia before medical procedures.

States have legalized the use of edible marijuana

Several people in some US states are allowed to consume edible marijuana. They are also allowed to smoke pot. Doctors urge such patients to be honest and inform themselves about their habits before surgical procedures, then help apply painkillers and more anesthesia to stay sedated.

Director of MIND (Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery), Staci Gruber, said every patient must disclose their cannabis habit to an anesthesiologist. Doctors also say alcohol consumption also alters the anesthesia needs of patients. However, several people do not disclose their marijuana and alcohol habits to healthcare professionals.

CBD is used for the treatment of anxiety, sleep, and pain

In a study conducted in 2021, it was observed that 18.7% of the population aged 12 and above used cannabis in 2020. It is not understood that anesthesia complications are limited to people, who use THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana. It is also not clear whether this complication is also extended to people who consume CBD or cannabidiol. CBD does not cause a high similar to that of THC and is sometimes used as a treatment for anxiety, sleep, or pain. However, most cannabis products consist of THC and CBD. 

An oral surgeon, Julius Hyatt, said he started observing a few years ago that most of his patients require more anesthesia to stay sedated during dental implants and surgery. He further claimed that regular cannabis users need two to three times more of the anesthetic propofol to stay sedated. Julius and other medical practitioners had to use ketamine and fentanyl to keep their patients sedated during oral surgical procedures. It has necessitated asking patients questions about their marijuana use.

Anesthesiologists monitor the sedation levels of the patients and administer more anesthesia if the drug’s effects wear off during the surgical procedures. However, anesthesiologists say they need to administer more anesthesia to people who regularly use cannabis.

ASRAPM issued guidelines in January to understand the marijuana habits of patients

In today’s Breaking news network, ASRAPM (American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine) issued guidelines in January on how to know about the patient’s habits before administering anesthesia to perform surgery. Anesthetists need to question the patients about when they last used marijuana, how often they use it, and how they consume it before admitting them for surgery.

However, the guidelines mentioned above do not tell how much anesthesia is required by a patient, who is regularly using cannabis. Researchers are conducting a study on understanding the effects of marijuana on anesthesia.

Cannabis research is in its early stages and is primarily based on self-reports. It is not reliable. The majority of recent studies have focused on the effects of propofol, the most commonly used anesthesia during inpatient and outpatient procedures.

In a recent study conducted on 250 patients, who were undergoing endoscopy, around 25 of them required more anesthesia because they were regular users of cannabis. An enzyme in your liver processes THC and CBD. Your liver also processes anesthetics and other drugs. It explains why regular use of cannabis interferes with sedation.