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.
There are better remedies for certain ailments than pot. It seems that the only ones really pushing this insanity are potheads and liberals who are easily fooled into thinking that a bunch of dope-smokers running around is a good thing.
You have never watched a parent die of cancer, have you? Have you ever had a parent in hospice? Have you ever administered drugs to a terminally ill person?
They don’t have anything good. They got morphine which causes constipation, nausea, confusion and respiratory depression. They got milk oh mag for the constipation, Zofran for the nausea, haldol for the hallucinations, and a few other things, and none of them seem to work very well.
If the other drugs worked you wouldn’t see so many advocates for assisted suicide. Where do you think those people come from? They came from the bedside of a dying relative who suffered terribly, that’s where they came from.
It might help us get more Dirty Hippie conventions.
Pat you are a liar and a piece of shit.
Kurtz is that you again?
talk about an excellent example of negative long terms effects of pot smoking
Apparently the Rainbow Family has internet access in the Black Hills as Crazy Larry Kurtz is able to post.
PC, formerly Anonymous
Yep, I believe so.
Here’s a thought…..legalize marijuana…tax it (something tax & spend legislators will support) and use the revenue to fund salary increases for teachers.
Everybody wins!!!
Except that we are then left to fund the cleanup of the resulting problems. Also, I thought smoking was bad for you? Oh, but NOT if it is pot! Why don’t we legalize prostitution as well?
Didn’t Iowa try that with their Marijuana stamp program?
“Name your problem or medical issues and I’ll tell you how the use of Cannabis will fix it”
“It’s a plant grown from the earth that’s been around for thousands of years so it must be good for you!”
“It’s a miracle plant and gift from God!”
“Drivers who consume Cannabis are safer because they are more careful”
“No one has ever died from the use of Cannabis”
“You lost a limb to war or an accident? Smoke Cannabis and it will grow back”
“If all the leaders of the world smoked Cannabis there would be love not war”
“Why are all these people against such a benign herb?”
“Cannabis will improve your grades and IQ”
“You can’t get addicted to Cannabis! I can stop anytime I want”
“South Dakota will save all this money not putting non-violent offenders in jail”
“Legalizing will make South Dakota rich in tax revenue”
“This is just another study funded by Big Pharma, the police unions and the prison industrial complex to keep this medicine that cannot be patented away from the us”
Potheads they will say anything.
You mean “Potheads they will say anything, Dude!” I appreciate your comments.
The Legislature did a summer study of legalization for medical purposes in 1983. Almost to the exact letter, every argument trotted out today are exactly the same ones used 30-odd years ago. A Sioux Valley oncologist testified and brought along a prescription version of THC in pill form. At that time, the federal government itself grew, produced and distributed the THC scrip, which was prescribed solely as a nausea-fighting drug for cancer patients.
I was the lucky summer associate attorney-in-training that coordinated that summer study and compiled an enormous amount of data, which is what summer studies do, after all. The biggest difference is solely that the potheads promoting that bill in ’83 at least limited their claims to cancer, this bunch today want us to believe it’s a miracle drug for about every chronic malady know to man.
“The free man owns himself. He can damage himself with either eating or drinking; he can ruin himself with gambling. If he does he is certainly a damn fool, and he might possibly be a damned soul; but if he may not, he is not a free man any more than a dog.” – G.K. Chesterton
William how about we encourage them to move to Colorado to be totally free! 🙂
they can get high with Porter
That would be a real bummer, man… 😉
The only reason marijuana is prohibited is because Mexicans used it and prohibition was supposed to keep Mexicans from crossing the border.
It didn’t work, the Mexicans kept coming, so now we have a lot of other hyperbolic hysterics about reefer madness, none of which involve deranged Mexicans.
It would be more productive to discuss the effects of marijuana on CAFOs.
Because that’s really what everybody’s worried about, isn’t it? Stoned Mexicans working in CAFOs, sharing joints with cows, growing pot alongside the alfalfa, keeping the cows “contented.”
Multiple Sclerosis is not a reportable disease, but estimates for the incidence in South Dakota are 100 cases/100,000 (the incidence varies by latitude). That gives SD around 853 cases. The incidence of chronic pain is quite high (one study estimates that the prevalence among adults of moderate to severe non-cancer chronic pain was 9%). The JAMA article also indicates evidence of efficacy for nausea related to chemotherapy. I don’t know how many this would apply to in South Dakota, but there are 4000 new cases of cancer diagnosed per year. An insurance study reported that 22% of all cancer claims use chemotherapy drugs.
Much of the lack of statistically significant research on medical uses of marijuana stems from the difficulty in being allowed to do research. And a significant portion of research that has been funded has been through agencies whose explicit mission is to document potentials for abuse and addiction rather than medical benefits. This week the Obama administration removed one of the significant bureaucratic roadblocks in the process of conducting studies, which could pave the way for more quality research in the future.
In the meantime, the question becomes do any potential benefits outweigh the harms for a particular drug, although this strategy would ban the consumption of more than a glass of wine a day. Following a strict FDA standard to approve drugs (mentioned in the editorial; two adequately powered randomized clinical studies) would eliminate all vitamin and herbal supplements from store shelves.
Kudzu powder could help with nausea related to chemotherapy. mix some in a glass of water. There is not much taste. You can get it at natural food stores, co-ops that have Japanese traditional/macrobiotic foods. It’s good for hangovers, nausea and migraines. Make sure it is from a store and is organic or from Japan. You don’t want to get it from our Southern states where it grows like crazy and is sprayed with chemicals to control it’s growth.
You poor people are so starved to get high legally that weed has to get more comments than even your hate of women’s rights. Once again I’ll relay to you beggars that in CO more voters from your Republic Party voted to legalize than Dems or Unafilliated. It’s a pure bipartisan issue and the level of interest among this fringe blog’s readers proves my case. #StonedTeaPartyFavors lol
The American Medical Association … the American Academy of Pediatrics … the American Academy of Family Physicians … the New England Journal of Medicine … successful medical marijuana programs in nearly half the states, going back nearly two decades … and an avalanche of anecdotal data proving that marijuana is valuable medicine for people who really need it. Yeah, I’ll take that over the opinion of those two fellers at Yale.
The trend is beyond obvious, and there’s no going back. No state has ever repealed a medical marijuana law. It won’t ever happen, either. Because it works. As medicine … and as law.
It may very well fail here again, of course. Of all the times it’s been voted on nationwide, it’s only failed three times: twice in South Dakota (48% in 2006; 37% in 2010) and once in Florida, where it got well over 50%, but needed 60% under state law. In most states, it’s been pretty easy victories. South Dakotans are a different breed.
But if it fails again in 2016 … and again in 2020 …
When we’re the last state standing on this issue, literally surrounded by states that have decided to allow those who suffer from the most debilitating of illnesses to grow and smoke their own marijuana plants without fear of being jailed …
When we’re the last state to begin to tax and regulate a plant that’s already everywhere … not doing nearly the harm that alcohol does … or tobacco does … or prescription drugs … or meth …
When it’s now going to be legally produced and consumed for medical AND recreational purposes literally within our own borders …
When we are the only state that hasn’t legalized medical marijuana, will it be because we’re smart, and doing what’s right?
Neal,
Good question. Yep.
Predictable. Keep telling yourself that, Troy.
Meanwhile, the round world continues its annual trek around the sun, with no regard whatsoever for those who think otherwise.
Ahhh Neal,
I absolutely predicted that response: Grounded in an arrogant belief you are smarter/more enlightened and hold higher values, you would denigrate the intelligence of those who disagree with you.
Arrogant? You’re projecting, Troy. Think about what you just wrote … if we are the only smart state, what’s that say about everyone else?
And all those studies Neal, confirm THC has properties to combat nausea and relieve pain. Which we’ve known all along. Nothing new. NONE recommend it as an alternative to other forms of pain management prescriptions. As the medical establishment works to eliminate codiene and other barbituate-based medications from the formulary no one in their right mind would believe they’re gung-ho about substituting a substance with no recommended dosage, no quality control and no safe delivery options besides smoking or ingestion.
There’s a reason the FDA doesn’t consider anecdotal evidence when approving medicines. Little thing called science.
Neal,
I can disagree with a person for a lot of reasons (experience, values, expectations, desires). It doesn’t make the other person (or state’s) wrong. And it doesn’t make me (South Dakota) wrong. I’m not you, you aren’t me. South Dakota is not every other state.
I’m sure you heard your mom say to you “Just because your friends jump off a cliff, you don’t have to jump off a cliff.” Whether one state or 49 states legalize pot, that is there choice.
Your assertion majority makes right is a logic fallacy (argumentum ad populum).
Your implied assertion your values, experiences, expectations, desires) are inherently superior to mine and thus my position is wrong contains two related logic fallacies (moralistic fallacy and moral high ground fallacy).
Finally, your comparison of those who disagree with you to those who think the sun circles the earth is another logic fallacy (comparing an opponent or their argument to a position with one universally reviled).