No disrespect to budtenders, but they’re not the ones you should be talking to when you’re talking medical marijuana — or any other cannabinoid remedy, for that matter.
Rather, people suffering from conditions ranging from opioid addiction, arthritis and chemotherapy’s side effects, to epilepsy and PTSD, need to be talking to a cannabis-certified M.D.
That’s a major message of author Rebecca Siegel’s new resource book, The Brain on Cannabis (Citadel Press). Siegel is a New York-based M.D. and board-certified psychiatrist who for several years has also been a state-certified prescriber of medical marijuana.
“My side gig,” Siegel joked in a recent interview. But in her book, she’s deadly serious about the perils as well as the promise of medical marijuana. Reason: Lacking FDA regulation and extensive research, today’s medical products come in all kinds of potencies and from all kinds of origins – some sketchy. Some also carry unproven claims, trusted unfortunately by uninformed consumers desperate to relieve their pain.
“In the course of research for my book,” Siegel wrote, “I learned that the cannabis landscape is changing rapidly, and it’s difficult for patients to keep abreast of how these developments might impact their own condition and course of treatment.”
Indeed, her book starts small with the basics, like CBD versus THC, but moves on to new developments in the field that are less well-known. These include:
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Joan Oleck is a freelance writer based in Northampton, Mass
Photo Credit:
- Medical marijuana and CBD have helped people suffering from arthritis, seizures, PTSD, ... [+] THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY IMAGES
- "The Brain on Cannabis" author Rebecca Siegel, M.D. BEN GABBE
Source : Forbes
Link to original : Medical Marijuana Is An Exciting Therapeutic Tool – But Watch Out Where You Get Your Advice
