Arkansas Children’s Hospital stated its opposition to a ballot initiative aimed at legalizing medical marijuana in the state, according to a news release issued today.
The release states that “More evidence-based research on the safety and tolerability of medical marijuana in children is needed. The lack of compliance and regulations built into the ballot measure – which are outside the FDA regulatory process – would be dangerous for Arkansas children.”
Arkansas Children’s Senior Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer Jay Deshpande, MD, MPH, was strongly opposed to the thought medical marijuana being issued to younger patients, saying “What we know about how marijuana affects the young brain and body indicates it can be detrimental to growth and development.”
