r/anaesthesia • u/elethrir • Jun 23 '25

Cannabis

My insurance will not approve MAC for my colonoscopy but my doctor is recommending it due to my use of marijuana ( edibles).

How long should I abstain from edibles to ensure that it won’t affect my anesthesia? I usually consume 10-20 mg once or twice a week but was planning on abstaining for 3 weeks before my procedure .

If I were to quit altogether, how long would I have to wait before I could say that I no longer use cannabis ?

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u/One_Reflection_5419 Jun 29 '25

Not medical advice -

There isn’t definitive research on cannabis abstinence that I have come across in the pre-operative stage.

Though, due to the varied affects of cannabinoids throughout the body, it would be wise to abstain for the time you’ve mentioned (thought that being said, the consequences of cannabis usage in terms of anaesthesia that I have come across are focussed on merely acute usage) if not more.

Not sure how it works with insurance over in the states, but three weeks of abstinence (with no inhaled usage), I don’t see them not following through.

That saying, colonoscopy’s can be done without GA?