YORK, Pa. — Pennsylvania has been at the forefront of research on cannabinoid-containing products, something Kent Vrana from Penn State College of Medicine says is vital.
Now, a new report from Penn State College of Medicine says taking the products, could alter the effects of some prescription drugs.
To develop the list, Vrana and associate Paul Kocis at Penn State Health looked at the prescribing information for four prescription cannabinoid medications. This information included a list of enzymes in the body that process the active ingredients in those medications, which can include delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). They compared this information against prescribing information from common medications using information available from regulatory agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to identify where there may be overlap, called a drug-drug interaction.
They narrowed that down to 57 medications that may not function as intended if mixed. "Too little and they don't work, too much and it can be toxic, and so we felt it was important that we share this with providers so they could understand it," said Vrana.
The list contains a variety of drugs from heart medications to antibiotics and antifungals.
"We think it's important that they just make their health care provider aware of what they are doing so they can together make a decision about whether or not there's a potential problem," Vrana suggested.
In addition to the 57 prescription medications , they also came up with comprehensive list of 139 medications that could have a potential drug to drug interaction as well. You can find that list here.
The researchers say that medical professionals should also consider patient use of CBD oil products and medical and recreational marijuana when using or prescribing drugs on the identified list. Most of those products lack government regulation and there is little to no prescribing or drug-drug interaction information for those products.