![]() The papers described the use of medical marijuana to treat “neuralgia, convulsive disorders, emaciation,” among other things.Ī search through the U.S. Most of those papers, however, were written between the years 18. There were in fact hundreds of journal articles, mostly documenting the benefits. Medical marijuana is not new, and the medical community has been writing about it for a long time. While investigating, I realized something else quite important. If they are adamant about trying marijuana, I will urge them to wait until they’re in their mid-20s when their brains are fully developed. Much in the same way I wouldn’t let my own children drink alcohol, I wouldn’t permit marijuana until they are adults. Other research hints at a possible heightened risk of developing psychosis. Some recent studies suggest that regular use in teenage years leads to a permanent decrease in IQ. Young, developing brains are likely more susceptible to harm from marijuana than adult brains. I do want to mention a concern that I think about as a father. I have seen the withdrawal from alcohol, and it can be life threatening. The physical symptoms of marijuana addiction are nothing like those of the other drugs I’ve mentioned. Even considering this, it is hard to make a case that it has a high potential for abuse. There is clear evidence that in some people marijuana use can lead to withdrawal symptoms, including insomnia, anxiety and nausea. The worst is tobacco, where the number is closer to 30% of smokers, many of whom go on to die because of their addiction. ![]() Around 25% of heroin users become addicted. By comparison, cocaine, a schedule 2 substance “with less abuse potential than schedule 1 drugs” hooks 20% of those who use it. We now know that while estimates vary, marijuana leads to dependence in around 9 to 10% of its adult users. They also did not find any evidence marijuana led to morphine, heroin or cocaine addiction. Among their conclusions: they found marijuana did not lead to significant addiction in the medical sense of the word. In 1944, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia commissioned research to be performed by the New York Academy of Science. As my investigation continued, however, I realized Egeberg did in fact have important research already available to him, some of it from more than 25 years earlier. Egeberg mentions studies that are underway, but many were never completed. Not because of sound science, but because of its absence, marijuana was classified as a schedule 1 substance. “Since there is still a considerable void in our knowledge of the plant and effects of the active drug contained in it, our recommendation is that marijuana be retained within schedule 1 at least until the completion of certain studies now underway to resolve the issue.” My research started with a careful reading of that decades old letter. Egeberg wrote a letter recommending the plant, marijuana, be classified as a schedule 1 substance, and it has remained that way for nearly 45 years. On August 14, 1970, the Assistant Secretary of Health, Dr. ![]() I hope this article and upcoming documentary will help set the record straight. Surely, they must have quality reasoning as to why marijuana is in the category of the most dangerous drugs that have “no accepted medicinal use and a high potential for abuse.” I mistakenly believed the Drug Enforcement Agency listed marijuana as a schedule 1 substance because of sound scientific proof. Instead, I lumped them with the high-visibility malingerers, just looking to get high. I didn’t review papers from smaller labs in other countries doing some remarkable research, and I was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannabis. I apologize because I didn’t look hard enough, until now. I even wrote about this in a TIME magazine article, back in 2009, titled “ Why I would Vote No on Pot.” Reading these papers five years ago, it was hard to make a case for medicinal marijuana. Long before I began this project, I had steadily reviewed the scientific literature on medical marijuana from the United States and thought it was fairly unimpressive. I spoke candidly to them, asking tough questions. I traveled around the world to interview medical leaders, experts, growers and patients. Over the last year, I have been working on a new documentary called “Weed.” The title “Weed” may sound cavalier, but the content is not.
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