Local Doctors Endorse Medical Marijuana
Dr. Nicholas Marsh is an anesthesiologist practicing in Sterling, VA. Dr. Marsh ensures the safety of patients who are about to undergo surgery. Anesthesiologists specialize in general anesthesia, which will (put the patient to sleep), sedation, which will calm the patient or make him or her unaware of the situation, and... more
It may be new that medical marijuana is becoming more commonplace in this country, but the use of marijuana to treat pain, stress, anxiety as well as a variety of other medical conditions, is anything but new. Now legalized in Virginia, a new enthusiasm is developing in our local medical community to help support patients whose ailments may benefit from cannabis.
One such specialist, Dr. Nicholas Marsh, an anesthesiologist based here in Northern Virginia, has developed an online medical practice, ReThink-Rx.com. His mission is to deliver top-quality medical care and cannabis certification to patients not only locally but throughout Virginia. With 30 years of clinical experience at Loudoun Hospital Center, he is now committed to providing patients with access to medical cannabis, a therapy he explains can address a wide range of medical ailments, often helping where another treatment has failed.
Fueled by the growing body of scientific evidence, and his personal experiences helping patients, Dr. Marsh explains “Chronic pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, fibromyalgia, PMS, weight and appetite loss, muscle spasms, ulcerative colitis and more: cannabis provides remarkable benefits for a wide variety of ailments”.
In Virginia, marijuana is legal to possess but still illegal to purchase. What this means is that people in need must obtain a medical certification and become registered with the state medical marijuana program. “This is how ReThink-Rx helps” he explains. “We provide an easy and affordable online format for people to talk with experienced cannabis specialists, obtain their certification and get their medical card. For many patients, especially those new to cannabis therapy, it can seem daunting. So, we have committed ourselves to making our process easy, and supportive every step of the way”.
Once certified and registered with the state, patients can then buy their products from any of the five state-run marijuana dispensaries throughout Virginia, the newest one being right here in Sterling. This is the only way to purchase legal, safe, predictable cannabis products. The expert pharmacists at these dispensaries further help patients decide strategies and identify products to help.
Along with his ReThink-Rx team, Dr. Marsh has dedicated his practice to improving the quality of life for those members of society whose lives have been interrupted by disease. “It’s like the planets have aligned.” he says. The pandemic gave legitimacy to telemedicine; cannabis legalization has opened the door to reduced social stigma; and growing scientific evidence increasingly endorses cannabis as a powerful tool to help many people obtain the relief they deserve, safely.
The only obstacle remaining is social acceptance. Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director for Virginia NORML a nonprofit organization that advocates for reform of marijuana laws have recently said “although cannabis is legal for adult and medical use, the law does not immediately facilitate a change in attitudes surrounding cannabis use”. That’s why Dr. Marsh’s new practice is named ReThink-Rx. “It’s time now for us all to rethink of cannabis as a legitimate, safe and useful therapy” he explains. “Through compassion and determination, we will change minds and normalize the use of medical marijuana which each and every patient success.”
