CNN's Dr. Gupta "Full Speed Ahead for Weed" (MMJ Support!)
CNN is doing a decent job reporting this year on the dangers of legal painkillers vs. the amazing and relatively safer benefits of medical marijuana, also known as medical cannabis.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta in particular has had to do a lot of work revising his opinions on this matter. It saddens me to see people like Gupta and Hawking admit they are wrong, because of how many people have been misled, and of course I hope that someday soon Dr. Gupta reopens his investigation into autism spectrum disorder -- he was too quick to agree with Bill Gates on that one, and in my opinion they are wrong. Investors should not be allowed to moralize anyway!
Anyhow, some of you PA folks know that my dear dad died due to use of common painkillers, known to users as "Oxys". He lived in a state where a constant supply of therapeutic marijuana would have been improbable. It was much safer to get rid of the illegal substance in order to "borrow" someone's prescription. So he ended up having an overdose when the family was not home with him, and some of us do blame the drug laws for needless deaths like his.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/05/health...rticle_sidebar
Gupta: 'I am doubling down' on medical marijuana
By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
updated 8:40 AM EST, Thu March 6, 2014
Editor's note: Don't miss "Weed 2: Cannabis Madness: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports," at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Also, Dr. Gupta will be answering your questions on Reddit at noon ET Tuesday.
(CNN) -- It's been eight months since I last wrote about medical marijuana, apologizing for having not dug deeply into the beneficial effects of this plant and for writing articles dismissing its potential. I apologized for my own role in previously misleading people, and I feel very badly that people have suffered for too long, unable to obtain the legitimate medicine that may have helped them.
I have been reminded that a true and productive scientific journey involves a willingness to let go of established notions and get at the truth, even if it is uncomfortable and even it means having to say "sorry."
It is not easy to apologize and take your lumps, but this was never about me.
This scientific journey is about a growing number of patients who want the cannabis plant as a genuine medicine, not to get high.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a practicing neurosurgeon and CNN\'s chief medical correspondent.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a practicing neurosurgeon and CNN's chief medical correspondent.
It is about emerging science that not only shows and proves what marijuana can do for the body but provides better insights into the mechanisms of marijuana in the brain, helping us better understand a plant whose benefits have been documented for thousands of years. This journey is also about a Draconian system where politics overrides science and patients are caught in the middle.
Since our documentary "Weed" aired in August, I have continued to travel the world, investigating and asking tough questions about marijuana.
I have met with hundreds of patients, dozens of scientists and the curious majority who simply want a deeper understanding of this ancient plant. I have sat in labs and personally analyzed the molecules in marijuana that have such potential but are also a source of intense controversy. I have seen those molecules turned into medicine that has quelled epilepsy in a child and pain in a grown adult. I've seen it help a woman at the peak of her life to overcome the ravages of multiple sclerosis.
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I am more convinced than ever that it is irresponsible to not provide the best care we can, care that often may involve marijuana.
I am not backing down on medical marijuana; I am doubling down.
I should add that, although I've taken some heat for my reporting on marijuana, it hasn't been as lonely a position as I expected. Legislators from several states have reached out to me, eager to inform their own positions and asking to show the documentary to their fellow lawmakers.
I've avoided any lobbying, but of course it is gratifying to know that people with influence are paying attention to the film. One place where lawmakers saw a long clip was Georgia, where the state House just passed a medical marijuana bill by a vote of 171-4. Before the legislative session started, most people didn't think this bill had a chance.
More remarkable, many doctors and scientists, worried about being ostracized for even discussing the potential of marijuana, called me confidentially to share their own stories of the drug and the benefit it has provided to their patients. I will honor my promise not to name them, but I hope this next documentary will enable a more open discussion and advance science in the process.
Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, defined as "the most dangerous" drugs "with no currently accepted medical use."
Neither of those statements has ever been factual. Even many of the most ardent critics of medical marijuana don't agree with the Schedule I classification, knowing how it's impeded the ability to conduct needed research on the plant.
Even the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Nora Volkow, seems to have softened her stance; she told me she believes we need to loosen restrictions for researchers.
Along the way, the public has become intensely engaged. Our collective society has paid closer attention to this issue than ever before, and with that increased education, support for medical marijuana has only grown, including in some unexpected places.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/16/living...rticle_sidebar
'I like weed, and I'm a good person': Pot smokers fight stereotypes
Join the conversation
iReport CNN iReport
By Jareen Imam, CNN
updated 12:37 PM EDT, Tue July 8, 2014
[IMG]http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130814195816-01-marijuana-horizontal-gallery.jpg[/IMG
(CNN) -- Lighting up a freshly packed pipe is just the kind of afternoon delight iReporter robcat20 likes after dealing with a stressful day at work as an insurance agent. Usually he'll put on a movie from Netflix while enjoying a good smoke from Stella, his pipe.
There's just one problem: Smoking marijuana is illegal in his state of Ohio.
Robcat20, who asked not to be identified by name because he fears being "labeled as a bad person" in his small town, says it's time that changed.
"I like weed, and I'm a good person," he wrote on CNN iReport. "I am a successful businessman, a loving father, devoted husband, registered Republican, active in my community with charities, church and I give piano lessons in the evenings to children with disabilities."
The 33-year-old is not the only one who wants pot prohibition laws amended. A recent CNN/ORC International survey indicated a growing appetite for cannabis, with more than 55% of people across the United States saying marijuana should be legalized. More than half the respondents said they have tried it themselves.
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