Aug 18, 2008
For a press guy, there's nothing like returning from vacation to find yourself quoted in a major newspaper. It's even better when the story -- in this case actually a set of articles examining medical marijuana in today's Los Angeles Times -- does a clear, thorough, and informative job.
Reporter Jill Adams looks at the latest scientific evidence regarding marijuana's medical benefits and its risks, citing several of the world's top researchers in the field. Unlike the once-over-lightly jobs that happen so often in the mass media, Adams seems to have taken the time to get the details right about everything from neuropathic pain to recent controversies regarding marijuana and mental illness.
Money quote:
"The truth, these researchers say, is that marijuana has medical benefits -- for chronic-pain syndromes, cancer pain, multiple sclerosis, AIDS wasting syndrome and the nausea that accompanies chemotherapy -- and attempts to understand and harness these are being hampered. Also, they add, science reveals that the risks of marijuana use, which have been thoroughly researched, are real but generally small."