Tag: cannabis

FDA issues new CBD safety warnings, calls for more research to guide regulation

The FDA recently warned the public about CBD health risks and urged further research. Meanwhile, special interest groups are pressing Congress and the FDA for quick action to allow CBD in dietary supplements and other consumer products.

/ April 23, 2020

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?

/ July 11, 2019

FDA: No CBD in dietary supplements or foods for now, but let’s talk

The FDA reminds everyone that (no matter what your state says) CBD is not a legal ingredient in dietary supplements and foods. The agency is willing to explore changes to the law but unproven claims for CBD health benefits, such cancer cures, will not be tolerated.

/ May 9, 2019

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.

/ July 25, 2018

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?

/ January 11, 2018

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.

/ May 29, 2017

Did cannabis oil save Deryn Blackwell, the “boy in seven billion,” when his bone marrow transplant for two cancers was failing?

In a forthcoming book The Boy in 7 Billion, Callie Blackwell claims that cannabis oil, which she had started giving her son Deryn to relieve his symptoms during a bone marrow transplant for two cancers, actually saved his life when the bone marrow transplant appeared to be failing. Unfortunately, her story appears to be another testimonial that confuses correlation with causation.

/ March 27, 2017

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...

/ August 3, 2015

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...

/ March 16, 2015

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...

/ August 11, 2014