cannabisnews.com: The FDA Should Review Medical Marijuana
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The FDA Should Review Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on June 09, 2015 at 04:23:22 PT
By Dan Perkins, Contributor
Source: Hill
Washington, D.C. -- Many states across the nation are considering the legalization of marijuana; some are talking about the medical uses for marijuana, while other states are talking about the fun derived from being high and also being high on the possible tax revenues to be gained through the open sale of this controlled substance. My home state of Florida last fall had a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amendment would have made medical marijuana legal in the state. The proponents chose the route of trying to amend the state constitution to make marijuana legal in Florida; for those of you who don't know, the voters summarily rejected it.
I do not consider myself the kind of person who would deny relief from a debilitating disease through the use of medical marijuana. But it seems to me, that for some reason, nobody who is in favor of medical marijuana can explain to me why it has not gone to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval. Why are we wasting significant amounts of time and money to get the drug legalized when we already have a process in place to make it legal? If marijuana is in fact a treatment for the side effects of several different diseases, then it seems to me it would be a pretty straightforward review by the FDA. The process could eliminate objections for its use in treating some illnesses and improve the quality of life for people all over the world.If marijuana went through the review process of any drug that goes through the FDA, then the questions or at least the majority of questions about marijuana's effectiveness will be answered once and for all. I'm no great scientist, but as a professional investor I have invested in many pharmaceutical companies that have developed drugs to treat the symptoms of the disease. Not all drugs have been proven to be effective; in fact, some have failed the review process and never come to maket. Recently, Gilead Health Science released a drug that cures hepatitis C. The drug went through clinical trials to prove that it could cure people of hepatitis C; that process to a few years to complete. The company put up its own money to pay for all of the trials and all of the research. Let the supporters and detractors of marijuana set up a fund and pay for the research.We have been talking about the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes for many years; it seems to me that it's about time to find out if all the representations of the great power of marijuana needs to be proved. The regulatory process used by drug companies to prove to the FDA that a drug does what the company says it can do must be once and for all applied to medical marijuana. Insurance companies and healthcare professionals will always be skeptical about the curative powers of marijuana without any reasonable scientific research to prove the claims.It is true that, currently, there is no major pharmaceutical company willing to test the curative power of marijuana. I think the FDA must open a research study of its own into all of the claims people have made about the ability of marijuana to solve so many medical problems. It would be best if a company that is in the business of developing new drugs could run the program and submit it to the FDA for review. I realize that this research will take a number of years to complete; people with various afflictions will be necessary to test the effectiveness of the drug. Those people in the study must be exempt from any possible prosecution for the consumption of what is currently considered an illegal substance, at least at the federal level.Only an objective study can bring out the truth about whether marijuana is a drug or just a weed. I wonder, when faced with the possibility of a true scrutiny test of the effectiveness of marijuana, will the proponents change their tune and argue against the FDA review? Will the supporters be willing to accept findings of analytical research, especially if it disapproves some or all of their contentions? By the same token, will those who are opposed to medical marijuana capitulate when scientific evidence is presented that says it does do what it has been purported to do?Let's put this issue to bed and call for the FDA to research medical marijuana once and for all. Let's stop wasting taxpayers money and clogging up the legal system on a state-by-state basis and let the scientists tell us the answer to the question.Perkins is a registered investment adviser with over 40 years of investment experience. He is also the author of the Brotherhood of the Red Nile trilogy and has appeared on over 400 radio and television shows during the last year as a commentator on current events.Source: Hill, The (US DC)Author: Dan Perkins, ContributorPublished: June 8, 2015Copyright: 2015 The HillContact: jennifery thehill.comWebsite: http://www.hillnews.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/0jWlIHPICannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on June 14, 2015 at 14:00:33 PT
Other ways Perkins true agenda peeked out...
"... Other states are talking about the fun derived from being high and also being high on the possible tax revenues to be gained through the open sale of this controlled substance..." The very first sentence is a lie!"But it seems to me, that for some reason, nobody who is in favor of medical marijuana can explain to me why it has not gone to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval."Another lie. Perkins is way too shifty and deceitful to be trusted with anyone's money.This piece certainly should hurt his reputation, if he has one, as an honest businessman and as an intelligent, decent human being. It ought to!A quote from Abraham Lincoln certainly fit's Perkins efforts with this contribution to The Hill. Dan Perkins, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."Perkins' work reeks of ignorant and foolish arrogance.
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Comment #9 posted by schmeff on June 13, 2015 at 13:52:38 PT
Investor?
Dan Perkins is self identified as an investor. Really? If he brings the same astute analysis to investment decisions that he demonstrates analyzing Florida's Medical Marijuana ballot measure, "summarily rejected", then he must surely now be living in a cardboard box.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on June 13, 2015 at 09:21:39 PT
One thing I must say...
If he reads and comprehends some of the people posting comments to his article in that paper, he will be a whole lot smarter about it all.Fellow activists have laid a beautiful education on the matter before him. He probably won't pay any attention, though. But I am very impressed with the knowledge of the commenters there. Good job, people!
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on June 13, 2015 at 09:18:34 PT
Indeed, schmeff.
He let his true agenda peek forth in the very first paragraph. He's a prohibitionist and liar trying to sweep up some more of "Those who didn't know."Dan Perkins looks creepy, manipulative, self-righteous, arrogant, and dishonest, to me. A nasty man, slithering around... hissing lies.
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Comment #6 posted by schmeff on June 13, 2015 at 08:50:32 PT
Perkins Has No Credibility
He is lying from the first paragraph."My home state of Florida last fall had a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amendment would have made medical marijuana legal in the state. The proponents chose the route of trying to amend the state constitution to make marijuana legal in Florida; for those of you who don't know, the voters summarily rejected it." For those of you who don't know, the amendment was approved by 58% of Florida voters. Perkins uses the word "summarily" to suggest that the amendment was decisively rejected. I call bullshit.Perkins, crawl back under your rock, you slimy con man.
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on June 11, 2015 at 13:39:40 PT
Dan Perkins is a barely disguised Prohib.
He's trying to appear to be open minded and rational. I see several signs in his piece that he is indeed a prohibitionist.There is also a guy or woman in the comments with the name Bong Star ... that I think is a prohib, too. I think they are both sickening. Cunning people are sickening in my opinion. They look down on others when they should be listening.
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on June 11, 2015 at 05:21:10 PT:
'Rip Van Winkle', indeed
Sometimes, as drug law reformer, dealing with people like Perkins, I feel like this scene in Idiocracy http://tinyurl.com/l7xuk9nTake a guess who the reformer is. And take a guess as to which character this Perkins fellow is. You've got a lot to choose from.
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Comment #3 posted by observer on June 09, 2015 at 08:31:09 PT
FDA exists so you can't use pot, opium
But it seems to me, that for some reason, nobody who is in favor of medical marijuana can explain to meTo a reasonable person (?), I'd point out how FDA is a corrupt department that takes orders from the top, its political appointee head. why it has not gone to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approvalWe all know that The FDA is set up to prevent Americans from using natural medicines, so that big Pharma companies, which have captured the FDA, who call the shots, keep their competition away from American consumers. Which means keep natural, non-patentable medicines (like pot and opium) illegal, and demonized. Like they have been since 1913 or so. Voila. There it is. That's why.All the claptrap propaganda that FDA exists to save the children from impure drugs and snake-oil is agitprop bunk, aimed at people with an average I.Q. of 80 or so. Or 13-year old mentalities, take your pick.
http://drugnewsbot.org
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on June 09, 2015 at 07:16:48 PT
Who is Dan Perkins
and why is he writing this article 20 years too late? Is he obtuse or just a "plant"?The FDA was created by big pharma for big pharma. The FDA is a shill agency created to guell all competition to big pharma.Remember when they attacked off the shelf food suppliments? They do not even have their own lab, they just report what they are told. Big pharmas are cutthroat capitalist and the FDA is their hitman.Now, about cannabis? Used for medicine in China for 5-7 thousand years. There are over one billion Chinese and growing, we should be copying them.What about 300 years of documented medical application here in America?What about medical studies in Isreal?What about thousands of medical doctors here in the USA?What about the dozens of medical organizations that now approve of cannabis?Now, last but not least; millions of sick people with a myriad of different illnesses are getting relief and healing.The FDA is another federal bureaucracy bought and paid for by another preditory industry. I would say to Dan here; spend some time on Google search and less time playing the preditory stock market, then you may not sound like Rip Van Winkle just woke up.
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