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Oncologists often suggest medical marijuana, but know little about it, survey finds

"The majority feel like it has medical utility for some indications."
Source: AP Photo/Richard Vogel

Oncologists admit they don’t know much about how marijuana might affect their patients. But a new national survey shows that nearly half prescribe it anyway.

“The majority feel like it has medical utility for some indications,” said Dr. Ilana Braun, chief of the division of adult psychosocial oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, who led the new research.

As an oncologist, Braun said, she hears a growing number of her own patients asking about medical marijuana. “I occasionally recommend it, but very carefully and

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