Canadian doctors have rejected plans to allow them to write marijuana “prescriptions” and provide the drug directly to patients.

The federal government proposes transferring the responsibility for prescribing marijuana from the public health agency Health Canada to individual doctors in March 2014. But medical associations have warned that the proposals could have adverse consequences for doctors and patients.

The Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada and the Canadian Medical Association have voiced their concerns in a letter to the health minister, Leona Aglukkaq.

It states, “At present, given the lack of scientific-based evidence of the product, there is insufficient information on correct dosage, specifics of patient monitoring and measures of efficacy, possible side effects and interaction with other medications or pre-existing conditions.”

The federation’s president, Heidi Oetter, …