Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

  Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/cRGaC_UU4Sk   Using marijuana to treat pain, both physical and psychological, is ineffective and places the patient at risk for developing marijuana addiction.  Psychiatrists at Harvard’s Mass. General Hospital studied 186 persons aged 18 to 65 seeking medical marijuana.  Two-thirds were women. The group was randomized 2 to 1 to either receive immediate or delayed marijuana therapy.   The data showed that those who began marijuana immediately compared with the delayed users were 28% more likely to develop cannibis use disorder and had a 17% higher incidence of addiction problems while enjoying no significant improvement in their pain, anxiety, or depressive symptoms.   Those already under treatment for the latter psychologic problems were more likely to develop addiction.    This demonstrates the oft-stated rule that all medical interventions may be double-edged swords.   https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2790261   #marijuana #addiction #pain #anxiety #