Paul- I reread it and I still see him ignoring substantive research results and relying on anecdotal information: For example- "A search through the U.S. National Library of Medicine this past year pulled up nearly 20,000 more recent papers. But the majority were research into the harm of marijuana, such as "Bad trip due to anticholinergic effect of cannabis," or "Cannabis induced pancreatitits" (sic) and "Marijuana use and risk of lung cancer."
His implication seems to me to be that research which includes a title that suggests a negative result is research *into* the negative effects (I have not read all those 20,000 results so I'm sure some presume negativity in their original hypotheses). He does point to some difficulties doing research in the US- For example, "The second thing you need is approval, and the scientists I interviewed kept reminding me how tedious that can be. While a cancer study may first be evaluated by the National Cancer Institute, or a pain study may go through the National Institute for Neurological Disorders, there is one more approval required for marijuana: NIDA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It is an organization that has a core mission of studying drug abuse, as opposed to benefit." That is troubling in terms of widespread research but his implication that NIDA is blinded (my read, admittedly) seems unfounded. I don't see very much specific research he provides to document a complete change in his decisions. His mentioning of research includes: "Looking forward, I am especially intrigued by studies like those in Spain and Israel looking at the anti-cancer effects of marijuana and its components. I'm intrigued by the neuro-protective study by Lev Meschoulam in Israel, and research in Israel and the United States on whether the drug might help alleviate symptoms of PTSD. I promise to do my part to help, genuinely and honestly, fill the remaining void in our knowledge." I've not read all those, however, they do not, in my mind, reach the criteria for game changing. Now admittedly, I may be reading Dr Gupta's thinking with my own bias- remember he does support such well researched conclusions as the efficacy of facilitated communication- "I've seen it work" is, I believe, pretty close to a quote. Tim _______________________________ Timothy O. Shearon, PhD Professor, Department of Psychology The College of Idaho Caldwell, ID 83605 email: tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu teaching: intro to neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; general; history and systems "You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." Dorothy Parker -----Original Message----- From: Paul C Bernhardt [mailto:pcbernha...@frostburg.edu] Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2013 2:26 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Sanjay Gupta on "Why I changed my mind on weed" I read the article as this: I read the literature from the USA and it did not support use of marijuana as a medicine, but in talking to others around the world I found out that there was a lot of research supporting medical marijuana. He then goes on to show that doing supportive research on medical marijuana in the US is virtually impossible explaining why he might have gotten the wrong impression previously. I think it is a good example of critical thinking and allowing one's previous misconceptions to be overturned by evidence. Paul On Aug 13, 2013, at 3:55 PM, Tim Shearon wrote: > > Carol and others: > Here is an interesting quote from his thoughts: > "I traveled around the world to interview medical leaders, experts, growers > and patients. I spoke candidly to them, asking tough questions. What I found > was stunning. > > 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." > > Basically, I read this as, I've read the literature and dismiss it because I > talked to some people who feel differently. Great example of critical > thinking Sanjay! I certainly hope, though I fear otherwise, this doesn't > reflect the current quality of critical thinking of most MDs. Actually, come > to think of it, the literature is pretty clear on that too. > Tim > _______________________________ > Timothy O. Shearon, PhD > Professor, Department of Psychology > The College of Idaho > Caldwell, ID 83605 > email: tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu > > teaching: intro to neuropsychology; psychopharmacology; general; > history and systems > > "You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." Dorothy Parker > ________________________________________ > > Subject: Sanjay Gupta on "Why I changed my mind on weed" > From: Carol DeVolder <devoldercar...@gmail.com> > Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2013 09:52:07 -0500 > X-Message-Number: 1 > > I wonder what impact this more or less open letter will have: > http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta-changed-mind-marijuana/ > > -- > Carol DeVolder, Ph.D. > Professor of Psychology > St. Ambrose University > 518 West Locust Street > Davenport, Iowa 52803 > 563-333-6482 > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13545.bae00fb8b4115786ba5dbbb67b9b17 > 7a&n=T&l=tips&o=26895 or send a blank email to > leave-26895-13545.bae00fb8b4115786ba5dbbb67b9b177a@fsulist.frostburg.e > du > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: pcbernha...@frostburg.edu. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13441.4e79e96ebb5671bdb50111f18f2630 > 03&n=T&l=tips&o=26986 or send a blank email to > leave-26986-13441.4e79e96ebb5671bdb50111f18f263003@fsulist.frostburg.e > du > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: tshea...@collegeofidaho.edu. 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