Results for: Medical marijuana as the new herbalism
Medical marijuana as the new herbalism, part 5: Turning herbalism into science-based medicine
There’s a new clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine showing a beneficial effect due to cannabidiol, a chemical isolated from marijuana, on drug-resistant seizures due to Dravet syndrome. Although there are a fair number of caveats, this is how you begin to turn the herbalism that characterizes medical marijuana advocacy into science-based medicine.
Medical marijuana as the new herbalism, part 4: Cannabis for autism
Medical marijuana. It’s promoted as a seeming panacea that can cure whatever ails you. While there are potentially useful medicinal compounds in marijuana, in general the medical marijuana movement vastly oversells the promise. Nowhere is this more true than for cancer and autism, where there is no compelling evidence that cannabis cures cancer. Worse, parents are subjecting autistic children to cannabis with...
Medical marijuana as the new herbalism, part 3: A “cannabis cures cancer” testimonial
Medical marijuana is often touted, primarily in the form of cannabis oil extract, as a cure for cancer that “they” don’t want you to know about. While some cannabinoids do have modest antitumor activity in vitro, there is no compelling evidence that cannabis can cure cancer. Yet that doesn't stop a proliferation of testimonials claiming that cannabis cured cancer. They are no...
Medical marijuana as the new herbalism, part 2: Cannabis does not cure cancer
Medical marijuana. It’s promoted as a seeming panacea that can cure whatever ails you. In particular, it's touted, primarily in the form of cannabis oil extract, as a cure for cancer that "they" don't want you to know about. While there are potentially useful medicinal compounds in marijuana, in general the medical marijuana movement vastly oversells the promise. While some cannabinoids do...
Medical marijuana as the new herbalism, part 1: Science versus the politics of weed in New York and beyond
Medical marijuana. It's promoted as a seeming panacea that can cure whatever ails you. While there are potentially useful medicinal compounds in marijuana, in general the medical marijuana movement vastly oversells the promise. The truth is far more prosaic and nuanced.
CBD Oil: The new miracle cure
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil is hyped as a miracle product to treat virtually everything. What is the evidence to support this?
Marijuana Beliefs Outstrip Evidence
There is a lot of hype surrounding medical marijuana, but the clinical science is very preliminary. The risks and benefits have not been researched enough to make science-based recommendations.
Medical Marijuana: Where is the evidence?
Marijuana is widely touted as an effective medicine for an array of conditions. But what does the evidence actually tell us?
Quackademia update: The Cleveland Clinic, George Washington University, and the continued infiltration of quackery into medical academia
Quackery has been steadily infiltrating academic medicine for at least two decades now in the form of what was once called “complementary and alternative medicine” but is now more commonly referred to as “integrative medicine.” Of course, as I’ve written many times before, what “integrative medicine” really means is the “integration” of quackery with science- and evidence-based medicine, to the detriment of...
CBD Oil Fails to Improve Symptom Control in Advanced Cancer
Has the hype outpaced the evidence when it comes to cannabis? A new clinical trial fails to show any benefit of CBD oil in patients with advanced cancer.