By Dan Calabrese ——Bio and Archives--June 23, 2015
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Medical marijuana has not been proven to work for many illnesses that state laws have approved it for, according to the first comprehensive analysis of research on its potential benefits. The strongest evidence is for chronic pain and for muscle stiffness in multiple sclerosis, according to the review, which evaluated 79 studies involving more than 6,000 patients. Evidence was weak for many other conditions, including anxiety, sleep disorders, and Tourette's syndrome and the authors recommend more research. The analysis is among several medical marijuana articles published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. They include a small study suggesting that many brand labels for edible marijuana products list inaccurate amounts of active ingredients. More than half of brands tested had much lower amounts than labeled, meaning users might get no effect. Highlights from the journal: THE ANALYSIS
The researchers pooled results from studies that tested marijuana against placebos, usual care or no treatment. That's the most rigorous kind of research but many studies found no conclusive evidence of any benefit. Side effects were common and included dizziness, dry mouth and sleepiness. A less extensive research review in the journal found similar results. It's possible medical marijuana could have widespread benefits, but strong evidence from high-quality studies is lacking, authors of both articles say.But wait, you say. There is evidence it works for "chronic pain"! The study says so! Of course it does. The same morons who claimed to have "chronic pain" - which no one can prove or disprove - now claim the pot is making them feel better. In the meantime, when it comes to real, clinically recognized conditions, it does little or nothing to help. That's because it's not medicine. And by the way, you know I've long argued that if stoners really want marijuana to be seen as "medicine," they should let it go through the rigors of FDA testing like every legitimate pharmaceutical product. That's when they always start railing against the corruption of the FDA and so on. Why do they do that? Because they always knew that if anyone ever really tested it, they would find what this study found. It's not medicine. It does nothing. This was all a scam from the beginning. And you can save your anecdotal retorts because I don't believe a single one of you. You'll say whatever you think you need to say so you can keep smoking weed, and you really should think about how pathetic that makes you.
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