A new National Study Finds Little Proof of Pot’s Medical Benefits….
Marijuana advocates tout marijuana and its compounds as therapeutic for everything from treating glaucoma to stopping nightmares. But a new systematic review of more than 10,000 scientific studies conducted by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine found verifiable benefits for only two disorders—chronic pain and the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.
Despite growing support for legalization efforts, the review found numerous, serious health and social consequences for marijuana use.
Scott Chipman, founder of Citizens Against the Legalization of Marijuana, said the report adds to the mountain of evidence that marijuana use is a serious danger to public health and safety….adding, “The industry has been selling a false narrative that marijuana is not harmful nor addictive.”
In some cases, the researchers found wide disparities between patient claims and physician-verified benefits. For example, when the committee studied the use of cannabis to treat muscle stiffness and spasms from multiple sclerosis, it found strong support for the drug’s effectiveness in studies based on patients’ self-reported symptoms. But when the committee considered only studies based on physician reports, the evidence of any benefit nearly disappeared.
The group believes the studies are skewed by efforts to use the drug recreationally.