Indopedia All Things Marijuana
(Reuters Health) – Americans seem to have developed a very rosy view of marijuana that isn’t backed up by science, a new study suggests.
An electronic billboard displays a marijuana hashtag at Times Square in New York, U.S., November 7, 2016. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
A nationally representative online survey of 16,280 U.S. adults found that many ascribe health benefits to marijuana that haven’t been proven, researchers report in Annals of Internal Medicine.
“The American public has a much more favorable point of view than is warranted by the evidence,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Salomeh Keyhani of the University of California, San Francisco. “Perhaps most concerning is that they think that it prevents health problems.”
While studies have shown that cannabis can help quiet seizures in children with hard to treat epilepsy, quell the nausea and vomiting that can accompany chemotherapy and sooth nerve pain, there’s no evidence that it can help with the vast majority of other medical conditions, Keyhani said. And yet, people think of it as a cure all, she added.
“Google marijuana benefits and the top hit is a Business Insider story titled ‘23 Health…
