Thank you! I appreciate the comprehensiveness and clarity of your post. We need more of that.
I didn't get into this in my own post, but national news media coverage of the new review was awful. Particularly disappointing was an article in the New York Times, ordinarily a reliable source of science journalism, because it gave virtually zero attention to weaknesses in the review and in the studies themselves.
So, yeah, public health would be better served if people were persuaded to read your post as opposed to/in addition to articles in the NY Times, The Guardian, CNN, Fox (and perhaps elsewhere).
FWIW, I’m not a fan of the NYT, due to some sloppy journalism in the past. I’ve come to trust some of my fellow authors on Substack far more than the popular press and mass media in general.
From the studies I have seen, I have only seen a few addressing the method of administration, IE smoked or ingested. Smoking tends to be bad for you, whether its wildfire, tobacco, weed or opioids. One thing for sure, potency has increased. One problem with other forms is unregulated edibles like gummy, your mileage will vary. Pharmaceutical grade THC would be the way I might consider since I really hate the smell.
Thank you. I was startled by how inconclusive the literature is (when the data are examined closely).
You can warn people not to have 3 or 4 alcoholic drinks every day, for instance, and feel confident that epidemiological studies have demonstrated health risks, but I just don't see grounds for warnings about gummies unless the THC concentration is so high you're getting incapacitated or experiencing arrhythmia or falling down a lot. The risks of moderate consumption seem very overblown in the news media (which I guess is understandable, because they want to report something, and it's not their fault that the research is mostly crappy).
Ironically, I was playing the acoustic version of Steppenwolf's "The Pusher," which opens with the line, "Well I smoked a lotta grass..." and remembering Peter Fonda with the big handlebars precisely when your announcement popped up. As I wait for Medial Branch Blocks on C2, C3, C4 Fact Left surgery and Radiowave ablation on Monday, I had to stop celecoxib, ibuprofen, & aspirin leaving me in a good deal of discomfort. Nevertheless, from past experience with the same procedure a year ago, I bought a small bag of gummies in advance to reduce the pain before going to bed in order to sleep. In my reckoning, once a year is a case posing a risk-to-benefit I can live with, despite the fact, that on occasion, madness becomes me. Very nice analysis.
Thank you. I can't imagine that such infrequent use could be harmful (unless it were a big bag and you ate them all at one sitting. That would quite a magic carpet ride.) Hope the procedures lead to more enduring relief!
Great article! I've linked to yours in my recent post about cannabis:
https://drmick.substack.com/p/about-cannabis
Thank you! I appreciate the comprehensiveness and clarity of your post. We need more of that.
I didn't get into this in my own post, but national news media coverage of the new review was awful. Particularly disappointing was an article in the New York Times, ordinarily a reliable source of science journalism, because it gave virtually zero attention to weaknesses in the review and in the studies themselves.
So, yeah, public health would be better served if people were persuaded to read your post as opposed to/in addition to articles in the NY Times, The Guardian, CNN, Fox (and perhaps elsewhere).
FWIW, I’m not a fan of the NYT, due to some sloppy journalism in the past. I’ve come to trust some of my fellow authors on Substack far more than the popular press and mass media in general.
From the studies I have seen, I have only seen a few addressing the method of administration, IE smoked or ingested. Smoking tends to be bad for you, whether its wildfire, tobacco, weed or opioids. One thing for sure, potency has increased. One problem with other forms is unregulated edibles like gummy, your mileage will vary. Pharmaceutical grade THC would be the way I might consider since I really hate the smell.
Thank you. I was startled by how inconclusive the literature is (when the data are examined closely).
You can warn people not to have 3 or 4 alcoholic drinks every day, for instance, and feel confident that epidemiological studies have demonstrated health risks, but I just don't see grounds for warnings about gummies unless the THC concentration is so high you're getting incapacitated or experiencing arrhythmia or falling down a lot. The risks of moderate consumption seem very overblown in the news media (which I guess is understandable, because they want to report something, and it's not their fault that the research is mostly crappy).
To clarify, I was referring to cannabidiol (CBD) and the mixed quality of the products. https://www.healthline.com/health/your-cbd-guide#what-it-is
Ironically, I was playing the acoustic version of Steppenwolf's "The Pusher," which opens with the line, "Well I smoked a lotta grass..." and remembering Peter Fonda with the big handlebars precisely when your announcement popped up. As I wait for Medial Branch Blocks on C2, C3, C4 Fact Left surgery and Radiowave ablation on Monday, I had to stop celecoxib, ibuprofen, & aspirin leaving me in a good deal of discomfort. Nevertheless, from past experience with the same procedure a year ago, I bought a small bag of gummies in advance to reduce the pain before going to bed in order to sleep. In my reckoning, once a year is a case posing a risk-to-benefit I can live with, despite the fact, that on occasion, madness becomes me. Very nice analysis.
Thank you. I can't imagine that such infrequent use could be harmful (unless it were a big bag and you ate them all at one sitting. That would quite a magic carpet ride.) Hope the procedures lead to more enduring relief!
Thank you. My gummies help so much with insomnia and I never felt it was bad for me.
Glad to hear that. It's hard to imagine that the risks of moderate gummy use are greater than those of poor sleep.