How the Federal Government ’s Opposition to Medical Marijuana Research Keeps Patients in the Dark

How the Federal Government’s Opposition to Medical Marijuana Research Keeps Patients in the Dark Last week the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a report surveying over 10,000 scientific studies to determine conclusively how marijuana interacts with the body. The review was especially concerned with marijuana’s efficacy as a medicine as well as its positive and negative short- and long-term effects on users. Some of the Academies’ published conclusions were incredible. For example, there is conclusive evidence that cannabis and/or cannabinoids are an effective treatment for chronic pain in adults. It’s also clear that using cannabis prior to driving increases the likelihood of being involved in a motor accident, and smoking cannabis during pregnancy leads to a lower birth weight among newborns. These and other conclusions from the report will help create more effective public policy based in research and demonstrable fact, not moral bias. Marijuana’s use as an alternative to prescription opioids for people experiencing chronic pain comes at a crucial time. In 2015, more than 20,000 people died from an overdose related to prescription opioids, and Congress will consider funding for at least two bills designed to curb the prescription opioid epidemic this session. Significantly, another recent study showed that states with medical marijuana laws had nearly 25% fewer fatal opioid-related overdoses than states without similar provisions. ...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Richard Taite Source Type: blogs