In 2013, the cardiologist Dr. David Allen conducted a survey at US universities to determine which schools teach the endocannabinoid system. Only 13 percent of medical schools mentioned it in their courses. Now this is not about cannabis, but about a neurotransmitter system that was discovered in the early 1990s. Neurotransmitters are messenger substances that transmit excitation from one nerve cell to other cells at chemical synapses. It is scientifically proven that the ECS is crucial for homeostasis in the body. And yet medical students are not trained in it.
If a doctor does not know the ECS and its components such as the neurotransmitters anandamide, 2AG and dopamine and their effect on the body, he also does not understand how cannabis can be used as a medication for migraines, MS, epilepsy, Crohn's disease, arthritis, chronic pain and many others suffering and illnesses can be used. This is incomprehensible for cannabis patients.
The US federal government has done much to suppress discussion of the ECS. Oddly enough, she went out of her way to misrepresent the medical benefits of cannabis and its cannabinoids - even though the US Department of Health and Human Services holds a patent on the popular cannabinoid CBD. The US government has also known since 1974 that cannabis kills cancer cells.
An example that illustrates this point is the way the U.S. government used important research by the distinguished University of California (UCLA) pulmonologist Dr. Donald Tashkin, dealt with. Tashkin was tasked with proving the connection between smoking cannabis and lung cancer on behalf of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). But his study proved the opposite.
Tashkin's team surveyed 1,212 patients from the Los Angeles cancer registry. His control group consisted of 1,040 cancer-free citizens matched for age, gender, and demographics. Tashkin found that increased smoking of cannabis did not lead to a higher risk of developing lung cancer. In fact, they had a lower risk than those who didn't smoke at all. Tobacco smokers, on the other hand, were at greater risk the more they consumed. Tobacco smokers who also smoked cannabis were able to reduce the risk somewhat.
But that wasn't what the US government wanted to hear. Dr. Tashkin's research was concealed and they attempted to undermine his credibility. Instead of its findings, the government seized on a much smaller study from New Zealand. This study had exactly the same findings, except for a handful of very heavy users. These were too few to be representative. However, the US government seized on these statistically insignificant outliers to prove the dangers of smoking cannabis. They misrepresented the results of the New Zealand study and said it contradicted Tashkin's. The media also ignored the very small size of the study - 79 smokers took part, 21 of whom only smoked cannabis - and published the incorrect interpretation of the study as the latest findings.
This is concerning and one should ask what other lies we are being told about cannabis. The existence of the endocannabinoid system in our bodies should actually be proof enough that it is not a dangerous drug and that it has great medicinal potential as a medicinal plant. It is to be hoped that the ECS will find its place in medicine very soon. And that knowledge is not withheld from medical students. Patients all over the world talk about their good experiences with cannabis as a medicine. Hopefully doctors can no longer ignore this at some point.
