Missouri CBD Program Lacking Physician Support

The two Missouri companies that have been licensed to grow and produce CBD medicine from industrial hemp are looking at a super-slow start, mostly because neurologists in the state are hesitant to write recommendations for the drug.

Missouri is one of more than a dozen states that have legalized CBD-based medicines derived from either industrial hemp or marijuana with low THC concentrations. It’s also one of only two states (the other being Florida) with a workable CBD program that paves the way for business opportunities.

But whether or not the program is viable may not matter if doctors don’t get on board.

There are an estimated 18,000 epilepsy patients in the state that could benefit from CBD, according to a local TV report. To date, however, only 15 patients have been certified to obtain it. And only nine neurologists in Missouri are willing to support patient use.

“It’s been disappointing to a lot of people, us included,” an executive with one of the two license holders told the Missouri TV station.

A similar lack of patients is also dampening the medical marijuana programs in Minnesota and Illinois, partly because doctors are hesitant to recommend MMJ.