Yale University Psychiatrists, Study say “Medical marijuana unproven to help many illnesses its used for”
Well that can’t be good news for the people trying to promote medical pot in South Dakota. An Associated Press story today says that according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, Medical Pot’s benefits are unproven, there’s no consistency in dosage, and in many cases may have no effect:
Independent laboratory testing for THC, marijuana’s leading active ingredient, found accurate amounts listed on labels for just 13 of 75 products. Almost 1 in 4 had higher amounts than labeled, which could cause ill effects. Most had lower-than-listed amounts. There were similar findings for another active ingredient. Products were not identified by name.
Johns Hopkins University researcher Ryan Vandrey, the lead author, said he was surprised so many labels were inaccurate. The researchers note, however, that the results may not be the same in other locations.
Gee, what a shocker. Stuff produced under grow lights in some dude’s basement has no consistency of dosage. And the story continues on:
Twenty-three states and Washington, D.C. have laws permitting medical marijuana use. Approved conditions vary but include Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, kidney disease, lupus and Parkinson’s disease.
An editorial in the journal says approval in many states has been based on poor quality studies, patients’ testimonials or other nonscientific evidence.
and..
The editorial by two Yale University psychiatrists suggests enthusiasm for medical marijuana has outpaced rigorous research and says widespread use should wait for better evidence. Federal and state governments should support and encourage such research, the editorial says.
“Perhaps it is time to place the horse back in front of the cart,” Drs. Deepak Cyril D’Souza and Mohini Ranganathan wrote in the editorial.
They note that repeated recreational marijuana use can be addictive and say unanswered questions include what are the long-term health effects of medical marijuana use and whether its use is justified in children whose developing brains may be more vulnerable to its effects.
In short, it’s clear and convincing evidence that despite the claims of people pushing for legalization of pot in South Dakota for medical use that aside from claims of pot use supporters there is no scientifically based evidence yet that it does good for all the ailments that they’re claiming.
The Organizer of the petition effort specifically noted here at the SDWC Comment section that “At last patient poll statewide we had roughly 150 patients who were interested and would qualify.” How many of those would be trying to do so for “chronic pain and for muscle stiffness in multiple sclerosis,” where the AMA Journal noted the strongest evidence exists?
It will be up to the voters to determine whether it’s worth putting the question to the electorate as to whether we want to unleash the dragon of open pot use upon South Dakota. But as far as the American Medical Association is concerned, the jury is still out, and supporters saying that it’s the only thing that will cure what ails them are just water pipe dreams.
