Swickard: The not-so-high times on medical cannabis

Commentary by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. - There is a brisk debate about what patients in several categories may find helpful in their quest to endure that which is somewhat unendurable. There is pain that modern pharmacology does not alleviate. Likewise, there are other conditions that do not respond well to conventional treatments. Some patients find medical cannabis does give relief. There are three major problems with using medical cannabis: First, there is not clarity as to the difference between current street drugs illegally for sale and medical cannabis. Second, the use of medical cannabis, while legal in some states, is not legal nationally. A citizen can be both legal and illegal at exactly the same moment. Finally, there are questions as to the proof of beneficial effects. In general medical cannabis is not intended to get patients high. In fact, that is not at all what is wanted by most patients because then those patients cannot drive or go to work. There are two main varieties of cannabis, sativa and indica, and each has medicinal qualities. They are seriously different, though. What many people who are looking for relief seek are the cannabinoids rather than the compound tetrahydrocannabinol, abbreviated as THC. Often street marijuana is loaded with THC to produce the high, but it has little of the important cannabinoids for people with chemotherapy nausea. Most media attention about medical cannabis seems to proclaim that all cannabis is exactly alike and those using medical cannabis are using the same substance as is sold illegally on street corners. This is simply not so. In fact, medical cannabis is more expensive than street marijuana. Read column

Swickard: The not-so-high times on medical cannabis