Marijuana Does Not Work as Pain Killer, Says Alex Berenson
đź”´ WATCH THE FULL EPISODE: https://ept.ms/3NbJo9LShow more Marijuana expert Alex Berenson is convinced that Trump made a mistake with his executive order rescheduling the drug to Schedule III. Jan asked him why:
“Cannabis and THC are really good at doing one thing, getting people high. That's what they're good at,” he told me.
According to him, they are not useful as pain killers:
“You don't find lasting effects of pain relief from cannabis. I think the reason for that is that what cannabis is really good at, what THC is really good at, is enhancing sensation… but if you're in pain, in the long run, enhancing sensation actually is not a good thing for you…
And there was a really good study a few years ago in Australia where people who used [it] for a long period of time actually used more opioids than people who didn't use cannabis. And so the idea that cannabis is a substitute or a way out of our opioid problem is just not true.”
Nor does he think studies show that marijuana is beneficial against cancer and other health conditions:
“Unfortunately, for the most part, those studies, when they're done and done well, do not show much impact for cannabis on most of the things it's supposed to help, much less things like cancer.
And if you actually think about it, that's totally reasonable, because why would we think one plant is some magic cure for everything? That's not how medicine works. It's not how our bodies work. It's not how science works.” Show less
The other day, President Trump signed an executive order moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.
I don't think most people even understand the significance of this.
Some people say it means nothing.
Others say it's the legalizing of marijuana.
It's neither of those.
What's the truth?
Well, the truth is that it's something that the industry really wanted, the cannabis industry, because it's going to increase their profits a lot.
And you can tell this because in the days after the rumor that this was actually going to happen became public, the stocks of cannabis companies, big weed, as I sometimes call it, went way up.
This will give the industry more access to the financial system and it will increase the industry's profits by enabling to deduct some taxes.
As a practical matter, that's really what it does.
Okay.
President Trump said the other day, well, this will improve medical research and make it possible for more research on cannabis.
That's very unlikely for a couple reasons.
First of all, there has been a lot of research on the potential medical properties of cannabis and THC, which is the chemical in cannabis that gets people high, and a chemical called CBD, which does not get people high, but is also in cannabis.
And unfortunately, for the most part, those studies, when they're done and done well, do not show much impact for cannabis on most of the things it's supposed to help, much less things like cancer.
And if you actually think about it, that's totally reasonable because why would we think one plant is some magic cure for everything?
That's not how medicine works.
It's not how our bodies work.
It's not how science works.
Cannabis and THC are really good at doing one thing, getting people high.
That's what they're good at.
And when they're tested, you know, against other conditions, they generally don't work very well.
And do you mean like treating those conditions or the pain reduction around those conditions?
I mean, I mean, both, actually.
So this was surprising even to me.
Seven years ago, I wrote a book called Tell Your Children.
Tell Your Children.
When it came out, it was controversial.
The core thesis, I'd say it's gotten less controversial over that time.
But the core thesis of it was: look, there's a lot of scientific evidence that cannabis, especially when kids or young adults use it, and especially when they use it in its current high-potency form and they use a lot of it, can have really severe mental health impacts.
And specifically, heavy use can cause a condition called psychosis.
Psychosis is a break from reality.
You know, literally, people will wind up in the emergency room thinking, you know, that their families are going to do terrible things to them or that the cop who's driven by once in the last hours actually had to get them, whatever it might be.
And so I would say that when I wrote Tell Your Children, that thesis was debated in the scientific community.
I think in the seven years since we've gotten even more evidence that it is correct, and I think even people who are in the industry would acknowledge that there's a risk.
Okay.
But to go back to your initial question, which was about pain and pain relief, I was very surprised to find that when cannabis and THC have been studied in placebo-controlled studies, meaning you test where you give one person THC and you give another person, you know, just a pill that or a pill that contains nothing, or they smoke a joint that actually has no THC in it, you don't find lasting effects of pain relief from cannabis.
I think the reason for that is that what cannabis is really good at, what THC is really good at, is enhancing sensation.
So people, you know, they want to use it when they're having a meal, when they're listening to music, maybe if they're, you know, having sex.
Those things it can enhance the sensation of.
But if you're in pain, in the long run, enhancing sensation actually is not a good thing for you.
And so Ultimately, when cannabis has been tested this way, they find doctors find that it doesn't have a very good lasting impact on pain.
And there was a really good study a few years ago in Australia where people who'd used for a long period of time actually were used more opioids than people who didn't use cannabis.
And so the idea that cannabis is a substitute or a way out of our opioid problem is just not true.
And I really can't emphasize that enough because it's been sold this way to people.
And I think President Trump, when I listened to his press conference the other day, I think there's part of him that means well about this.
I mean, he doesn't use drugs.
And I think he had a lot of people kind of yapping at him about this who do use cannabis and who like it and who want fewer restrictions on it.