The Medicine in Marijuana 2018
Distributed by Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-FROG (3764)
Produced by Ben Daitz and Ned Judge
Directed by Ben Daitz and Ned Judge
Streaming, color, 35 mins
Marijuana; Research
Date Entered: 10/31/2019
Reviewed by Kay Hogan Smith, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Lister Hill Library of the Health SciencesThe Medicine in Marijuana video provides a brief, cogent overview of the health benefits and risks of cannabis and the scientific basis – or lack thereof – for these health claims. With input from experts, including one of the authors of a recent National Academies of Sciences consensus study report on the “current state of evidence,” as well as numerous interviews with patients who’ve turned to cannabinoids for relief from intractable conditions, the film provides an unbiased look at what we do and do not know about therapeutic cannabis.
With brisk pacing and clever visual production, the film reviews the long history of the therapeutic use of cannabis, including the racist origins of US federal prohibition of marijuana for any purpose. This continuing prohibition has hindered research in this country into the effectiveness of cannabis for addressing health issues such as chronic pain, epilepsy, PTSD and cancer and cancer treatment effects.
In one interview with a medical expert in the film, he frankly admits that dispensaries of marijuana in states where it is legal are better equipped to advise patients about dosing and other questions than healthcare providers.
This fascinating, balanced overview of this issue will find welcome audiences with those interested in healthcare, research and social policy.