Does medical marijuana work? The answer is (mostly) “no” and “we don’t know”

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2015/0...dont-know/

EXCERPT: My opinion about medical marijuana has been fairly consistent. First, the claims made by its advocates for it far exceed the evidence for its benefit [...] it is herbalism in that medical marijuana advocates make grandiose claims for using their favorite “drug” in its plant form rather than doing the standard thing that modern medicine does with natural products and try to isolate the active compounds, in this case a class of molecules known as cannabinoids.

Second, although medical marijuana might have some minor utility in relieving the symptoms of chemotherapy in cancer patients, contrary to the claims of people like Rick Simpson promoting hemp oil as a cancer cure, his believers who provide anecdotes, and a large number of advocates who believe it is the next big thing in treating cancer, cannabis does not cure cancer.

The bottom line: Purified cannabinoids have some promise for medicinal uses, but medical marijuana itself has little evidence to support its use and serves mainly as a politically palatable “foot in the door” for advocates to get their favorite drug legalized, and I say this as someone who thinks that marijuana should be legalized for recreational use.

I hate to say, “I told you so,” but I told you so. No, wait. I love to say “I told you so,” at least when the evidence is on my side. This time, it comes in the form of a systematic review and meta-analysis hot off the presses yesterday in JAMA looking at medical marijuana.....

The natural version of THC produced by the brain likely exists as an anti-inflammatory, for instance if there is any trauma like a bump to the head, it's possible that it will produce to reduce swelling. (I wouldn't suggest you start wacking yourself about the head for a free high though, as it's no proven)

So at the very least there is one potential use of Marijuana in medicine... although a headache tablet can do similar.

(Jun 25, 2015 05:00 AM)C C Wrote: http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2015/0...dont-know/

EXCERPT: My opinion about medical marijuana has been fairly consistent. First, the claims made by its advocates for it far exceed the evidence for its benefit [...] it is herbalism in that medical marijuana advocates make grandiose claims for using their favorite “drug” in its plant form rather than doing the standard thing that modern medicine does with natural products and try to isolate the active compounds, in this case a class of molecules known as cannabinoids.

Second, although medical marijuana might have some minor utility in relieving the symptoms of chemotherapy in cancer patients, contrary to the claims of people like Rick Simpson promoting hemp oil as a cancer cure, his believers who provide anecdotes, and a large number of advocates who believe it is the next big thing in treating cancer, cannabis does not cure cancer.

The bottom line: Purified cannabinoids have some promise for medicinal uses, but medical marijuana itself has little evidence to support its use and serves mainly as a politically palatable “foot in the door” for advocates to get their favorite drug legalized, and I say this as someone who thinks that marijuana should be legalized for recreational use.

I hate to say, “I told you so,” but I told you so. No, wait. I love to say “I told you so,” at least when the evidence is on my side. This time, it comes in the form of a systematic review and meta-analysis hot off the presses yesterday in JAMA looking at medical marijuana.....

I'm not so sure people who are seeking to alleviate themselves of the symptoms of cancer/chemo with marijuana are just trying to justify using their "favorite drug". That smacks of a sort of bigotry against marijuana users themselves, as if they are disgusting druggies who just want to get high. Well then, I guess all who drink are just alcoholics. I think the majority of people with cancer or severe epilepsy are trying just about everything they can to treat it. And if it shows signs of increasing appetite, killing cancer cells, and relieving pain, all the better. I'm also not so sure there is no research supporting the use of marijuana for all sorts of conditions:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articl...efits.aspx

From personal observation, I think that marijuana might have valuable effects in some psychiatric situations.

I've seen very withdrawn people, people with severe social anxieties and perhaps borderline autistic tendencies, become much more outgoing and capable of making friends, functioning socially and holding a job when they were smoking dope every so often. The improvement wasn't evident so much when they were actually stoned, as when they weren't stoned but had smoked recently.