former senior policy adviser at the
White House’s Office of National Drug
Control Policy, were quick to express
doubt. If THC were the culprit, we would
be hearing similar stories all the time,
but we don’t. “We know from really good
survey data that Americans use cannabis
products billions of times a year, collec-
tively. Not millions of times, but billions
of times a year,” said Humphreys. “So,
that means that if the risk of death was
one in a million, we would have a couple
thousand cannabis overdose deaths
a year.” So far, the government’s own
National Institute on Drug Abuse website
hasn’t changed its longstanding view:
“There are no reports of teens or adults
dying from marijuana alone.”
It’s important to know the difference
between anecdotal evidence and data.
Real people swear to the efficacy of CBD
for all kinds of ills, but, without deny-
ing their lived experience, we still need
to conduct thorough testing. Anecdotes
laud CBD as a miracle cure; data tells
us that CBD has proven very effective
in treating some things. The anecdotes
need to be checked out, because we will
surely be confirming the validity of many
of them. Further, we don’t yet know the
most effective CBD dosages, and only
science can help us find out.
Scientific inquiry doesn’t stop when
a drug gains acceptance. Last year
Epidiolex, a treatment for seizures for
people with Lennox-Gastaut or Dravet
syndromes, became the first and, to date,
only CBD product approved by the US
Food and Drug Administration. But a
recent study suggests that CBD, for all its
purported miracles, might also be associ-
ated with liver damage (as the Epidiolex
label duly warns). On the other hand, yet
another study shows that cannabis might
help prevent liver damage among people
who drink. These studies are not, in fact,
contradictory. Rather, they are contribut-
ing bit by bit to our understanding of the
products we consume and of our own
bodies.
So how do we assess the validity of
a scientific study? Always consider the
source of the information, who funded the
research and who is publishing the find-
ings. We should treat even peer-reviewed
studies with skepticism. The Harvard
publication Nieman Reports recently
recounted a number of problems with that
system and rendered a damning verdict:
“Given the uptick in retractions, journal-
ists can no longer rely on peer review to
be confident of a study’s legitimacy.”It is unfortunate that US policymakers
often give only lip service to science. In
June, New York Representative Alexan-
dria Ocasio-Cortez introduced legislation
that would have removed an existing
ban on research of Schedule I drugs
like cannabis, psilocybin and MDMA,
all three of which have shown promise
in treating depression, PTSD and other
ailments. “We cannot prove that medical
promise unless we fund the research,”
she testified.
Sadly, opposition to this sensible leg-
islation was bipartisan (giving lie to the
notion that Washington is irredeemably
divided). Representative Andy Harris
(R-MD) opposed the legislation, suggest-
ing that cannabis “induces psychosis in
young people” and that it is “a gateway
drug.” Harris has dinosaur views not
based on science, and here he was voting
against scientific research, thus keeping
ignorant ideas entrenched. The legisla-
tion was voted down.
Interpreting scientific studies requires
humility and skepticism, both of which
are the essence of science itself. Every
new study brings us closer to under-
standing, but no single study closes the
book on scientific inquiry. As always,
more research is necessary. m24 HIGH TIMES I OCTOBER 2019
POT TRUTH SERUM
In 1942, as World War II
raged, the United States’
newly established spy
agency, the Office of
Strategic Services (OSS),
asked its scientists to
create a truth drug to
interrogate prisoners
of war. After failing with
several substances,
OSS researchers settled
on marijuana, using a
tasteless, colorless and
odorless liquid extract
called TD that could be
injected into an unwitting
target’s cigarettes.
While an initial field test
on New York gangster
August “Little Augie” Del
Gracio yielded positive
results, TD proved to
be too inconsistent in
effectiveness over time.HOLLYWOOD SIGN
The Hollywood sign has
had several different
looks over the years due
to social and political
overtones. On New
Year’s Day 1976, with
the use of draping,
the sign was altered
to say “Hollyweed”
in celebration of the
passage of a state law
relaxing rules on pot.
Art student Danny
Finegood was awarded
an A for his class
assignment as a result
of this achievement.
While Finegood died in
2007, artist Zachary Cole
Fernandez similarly used
white tarps to make the
Hollywood sign once
again read “Hollyweed”
on New Year’s Day 2017.POT FOR PIGS
With recreational
marijuana now legal
in many states, new
cannabis growers face
a quandary over what
to do with the excess
stems, roots and leaves
from their plants.
Susannah Gross, a pig
farmer north of Seattle,
has decided to seize the
opportunity and feed
the weed waste to her
pigs. The plant leftovers
can contribute to an
average weight gain of
20 to 30 pounds per pig.
This is now proliferating
across weed-legal states.
Local butcher William
von Schneidau reports
that the pot pigs sell out
quickly and appear to be
“more savory.”IT’S IN THE AIR!
Trace amounts of weed
can be found in the air
in several Italian cities.
Researchers at Italy’s
Institute of Atmospheric
Pollution Research have
published the results of
a yearlong study that
monitored psychotropic
substances in the air
of eight Italian cities:
Rome, Bologna, Florence,
Milan, Naples, Palermo,
Turin and Verona. Trace
amounts were found in all
eight cities, but Florence
and Bologna had the
highest concentrations
of pot. Attractions such
as the Colosseum and
the Pantheon have a bit
of weed wafting through
the atmosphere—an extra
tourist appeal!STONER SHAKESPEARE
Some centuries-old pipes
found in the garden of
William Shakespeare
still contain traces of
cannabis, according to
South African scientists
who examined the relics
with forensic technology.
The study, published in
the South African Journal
of Science, examined
24 pipe fragments from
Stratford-upon-Avon,
where Shakespeare lived.
Using gas chromatography
methods, researchers
detected cannabis on
eight fragments—four of
which were confirmed as
from the Bard’s garden.
Nonetheless, there is no
proof that Shakespeare
himself owned the pipes or
smoked pot.WEIRD WEED FACTS
LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT CANNABIS. BY FRANK GREGORYHIGHWITNESS NEWSHIGH FIVE