The courts have been conned, says Francescutti, and regardless of some studies indicating that pot is all that and a bag of chips, the evidence supporting the use of marijuana for medical purposes does not reach the standard of scientific research that all other medicines must do. This includes information on dose, effects on interactions with other medications, and effects of long-term use. FDA-approved medications have to go through clinical, double-blind studies with big sample sizes before they get the physician seal of approval: Pot should too, doctors say.
I have always been suspicious of a drug that you have to smoke or inhale to reap the benefits. You have to damage your lungs to get relief?
And if it's so valuable as a medicine, why isn't Big Pharma taking this up?
I agree with the columnist that instead of using the medical arena to de-stigmatize pot, let's just talk about the facts in the social arena.
