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So there’s a thing going on in Illinois, which is so far limited to a battle of words in the press, but appears on track to escalate.
On one side of the battle is the State’s Attorney for McHenry County, Patrick Kenneally. He has made issues like the opioid epidemic and mental health his focus, and while there’s a lot that’s good to be said for that, he’s going further and including marijuana on his list of drugs that society needs to rid itself of. Marijuana dispensaries are legal there, and Kenneally recently imposed a rule on them requiring warning signs that “Cannabis use may contribute to mental health problems,” a claim which is false, but is often repeated by mainly Christian anti-marijuana advocates. Kenneally’s main thesis on marijuana is that it worsens mental health problems in users, and he attributes half of the county’s homicides to this. (!!)
On the other side is a group of Illinois state congresspeople dubbed the “Marijuana Moms” including the state’s Speaker Pro Tempore. They issued a statement that refutes Kenneally’s false claims, and carefully did not go much farther.
Other marijuana advocates, however, often do go much farther, crediting marijuana with being a miracle cure for just about anything — a misguided attempt to get wider acceptance for their favorite recreational drug. Kenneally, in an op-ed which triggered this whole thing, rightly criticized those claims as pseudoscience.
Here’s what the real science actually says:
THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, has proven benefits for some people suffering from anxiety, some seizure conditions, and chronic pain. The science is in on this. (As far as the claims that it also treats just about everything else, these claims are patently false. The science is in on that too.) *
CBD has no benefits at all, except for the profit margin of the party selling it as an additive in pretty much everything. (It has been found mildly effective as an ingredient in a drug for treating two very rare types of epilepsy, but since that’s not why anyone buys CBD supplements, it doesn’t really count.)
Many of the associations with marijuana — such as psychosis, depression, and schizophrenia — are real, but they are correlations and not causations. Individuals with these conditions are simply more likely to seek solace in marijuana use.
Kenneally is right in aggressively addressing mental health concerns and opioids, and deserves much credit for that. But when it comes to his understanding on the science of marijuana, well, he should start seeing the “Marijuana Moms” as his allies and not his opponents.
I expect Kenneally’s warning signs will soon end up in court; their message is misleading at best. At any rate, the whole affair is a lesson in being open to changing your mind when the science shows you’re wrong. Both sides, in this case, are guilty of failing to do that.
* - The relationship between marijuana and depression is complex and not fully understood. It may or may not be useful for some suffering from depression, but there’s insufficient evidence to recommend it as a treatment.
I don't know if CBD does anything good, but it is definitely psychoactive -- taking a concentrated tincture for a few months put me in the hospital! I see that the Skeptoid article mentions the demonstrated side effects towards the bottom.
I live in a city of 300,000 and we have the highest murder rate in the state and it's largely over illegal substances and mostly marijuana. I wonder if legalization would keep these idiots from killing each other over pot?