Marijuana Fantasy Buster: We want extra analysis!
“We want extra analysis!”
If I had a greenback for each time a politician uttered these phrases about hashish, I might in all probability have the funds for to fund a number of lifetimes of analysis. It is change into the go-to response each time the subject of legalization comes up, a handy option to kick the can down the street whereas showing considerate and accountable.
However here is what retains me up at evening: How a lot analysis is sufficient? We at present have over 28,000 research on hashish, spanning a long time of scientific inquiry. That is not counting the 1000’s of years of documented human use, courting again to a few of humanity’s earliest agricultural endeavors. Hashish wasn’t simply any crop – it was one of many first vegetation our ancestors selected to domesticate. Take into consideration that for a second.
But in some way, in 2024, we’re nonetheless being informed we want “extra analysis” earlier than we will definitively say that hashish is safer than alcohol – a substance that claims tens of 1000’s of lives yearly. It is as if we’re caught in an infinite loop of “finding out” whereas ignoring the mountain of proof already at our disposal.
At present, I am going that will help you lower by means of this smokescreen of perpetual analysis necessities. We’ll have a look at the numbers, study the information, and hopefully put this drained outdated excuse to relaxation as soon as and for all. As a result of let’s be trustworthy – if we’ve not gathered sufficient information after 1000’s of years of human use and tens of 1000’s of scientific research, then we by no means will.
Buckle up, of us. It is time to bust this delusion broad open!
Let’s discuss numbers, as a result of the figures are completely staggering. In line with NORML’s current evaluation of PubMed.gov information, scientists have revealed over 35,000 scientific papers about hashish simply since 2014. That is not a typo, of us – thirty-five thousand research up to now decade alone.
To place this in perspective, we’re seeing over 4,000 new hashish research revealed yearly. Meaning by the point you end studying this text, one other researcher someplace has in all probability revealed their findings about our favourite plant. The tempo of hashish analysis is not simply regular – it is exploding.
As NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano completely places it, “It’s time for politicians and others to cease assessing hashish by means of the lens of ‘what we do not know’ and as a substitute begin partaking in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform insurance policies which can be indicative of all that we do know.”
Here is a mind-blowing statistic: over 70% of all peer-reviewed scientific papers about marijuana have been revealed in simply the final ten years. We’re speaking about essentially the most intensively studied plant in trendy historical past, with PubMed.gov now internet hosting over 49,500 scientific papers on marijuana courting again to 1840.
And what have all these research taught us? Nicely, we all know with certainty that hashish is considerably safer than alcohol and tobacco – two completely authorized substances that declare a whole lot of 1000’s of lives yearly. We all know it is much less harmful than just about each different substance listed within the Managed Substances Act. We all know it has authentic medical purposes – that is not up for debate anymore. And we all know its dependancy potential is corresponding to espresso, not heroin (regardless of what its Schedule I standing would possibly counsel).
So once I hear politicians trot out the drained outdated line about needing “extra analysis,” I can not assist however really feel my blood strain rise. It isn’t only a cop-out – it is an insult to the 1000’s of researchers who’ve devoted their careers to understanding this plant. We now have greater than sufficient scientific proof to create wise, evidence-based hashish insurance policies proper now.
Let’s be actual: persevering with to cover behind the “we want extra analysis” smokescreen is not about science – it is about politics. Sure, there’ll all the time be extra to study hashish, identical to there’s all the time extra to study any topic. However we all know sufficient – greater than sufficient – to maneuver ahead with full legalization and sensible regulation.
The following time somebody tells you we want extra analysis earlier than we will legalize hashish, ask them what number of research could be sufficient. Then watch them squirm as they attempt to justify ignoring the mountain of proof we have already got.
Whereas our trendy scientists proceed to churn out research about hashish, there’s one other vital piece of proof that prohibitionists conveniently ignore – humanity’s 1000’s of years of direct expertise with this exceptional plant. In truth, if you have a look at human historical past, hashish prohibition stands out because the unnatural anomaly, a quick however harmful departure from our long-standing relationship with this plant.
Let’s discuss timeline. The earliest proof of human hashish use dates again to round 8,000 BCE in Asia, the place it was one of many first vegetation cultivated for fiber, meals, and drugs. That is 10,000 years of documented human use! The traditional Chinese language pharmacopeia, the Pen Ts’ao Ching, courting again to 2700 BCE, particularly referenced hashish as a drugs for treating quite a lot of illnesses. Queen Victoria famously used hashish tinctures for menstrual cramps, and even George Washington grew hemp at Mount Vernon.
Here is the place it will get actually fascinating – our our bodies really developed alongside this plant. The invention of the endocannabinoid system reveals that now we have a whole community of receptors that work together with hashish compounds. Whether or not you imagine in clever design or evolution, it’s important to acknowledge the exceptional symmetry right here. We actually have a organic system that responds to hashish – that is not coincidence, of us.
Each main civilization all through historical past has documented helpful makes use of of hashish. It appeared in the US Pharmacopeia from 1850 till 1942, acknowledged for its therapeutic properties in treating quite a few situations. Historic Egyptians used it for glaucoma, Indians for digestive points, and Chinese language docs prescribed it for over 100 illnesses. This is not historic superstition – many of those purposes are being validated by trendy analysis.
So what occurred? In 1937, towards the recommendation of the American Medical Affiliation, hashish was successfully banned in the US. This kicked off our grand experiment with prohibition – an 87-year detour that has introduced nothing however struggling, incarceration, and dying. The one beneficiaries have been pharmaceutical firms, personal prisons, and legislation enforcement companies who’ve constructed empires round hashish criminalization.
Let’s put this in perspective: now we have 10,000 years of documented helpful use versus 87 years of prohibition-induced chaos. When somebody claims “we do not know sufficient” about hashish, they don’t seem to be simply ignoring trendy science – they’re dismissing millennia of human expertise.
Subsequent time somebody tries to inform you we want extra analysis, remind them that hashish has been extensively studied not simply in laboratories, however in the true world, throughout numerous cultures, over 1000’s of years. The proof is not simply in peer-reviewed journals – it is written within the historical past of human civilization itself.
We do not have a data hole about hashish – now we have a honesty hole amongst politicians who refuse to acknowledge what we already know.
After diving deep into the mountain of proof surrounding hashish – from over 35,000 current scientific research to millennia of documented human use – one factor turns into crystal clear: claiming “we want extra analysis” is nothing however a smokescreen for sustaining prohibition.
I am writing this text to arm you with data, to inoculate you towards the virus of prohibition that has contaminated our political discourse for a lot too lengthy. The following time somebody regurgitates the “we want extra analysis” speaking level, you’ll be able to confidently counter with information: now we have tens of 1000’s of contemporary research, 1000’s of years of documented use, and an precise organic system in our our bodies designed to work together with this plant.
These nonetheless clinging to prohibitionist views aren’t simply uninformed – they’re actively selecting to disregard an unlimited physique of proof. It is like standing in a library and claiming books do not exist. The one clarification for such willful ignorance is the highly effective affect of particular pursuits who revenue from retaining hashish unlawful. Huge Pharma, personal prisons, and sure legislation enforcement companies have constructed empires on the muse of prohibition, they usually’re not about to let information get in the best way of their earnings.
Here is the last word irony: whereas our authorities was floating the concept of a “Ministry of Fact” to fight misinformation, they have been one of many main sources of hashish disinformation for almost a century. From Reefer Insanity to modern-day fear-mongering concerning the “risks” of marijuana, they’ve constantly ignored science, dismissed historical past, and perpetuated lies to take care of their prohibitionist stance.
It is time to name out this hypocrisy. It is time to shut down bad-faith arguments about “needing extra analysis” with the overwhelming proof we have already got. The reality is, we do not want extra analysis to know that prohibition has failed – we want extra braveness from our legislators to face as much as particular pursuits and implement evidence-based insurance policies.
So the following time somebody tells you we want extra analysis on hashish, ask them: “What number of research could be sufficient? What number of years of human use would fulfill you? How a lot proof do you should acknowledge what we already know?” Then watch as they wrestle to defend the indefensible.
The sticky backside line is that this: now we have the proof. We now have the science. We now have the historical past. What we want now’s the political will to behave on it. And that, my buddies, begins with refusing to let drained outdated myths about “needing extra analysis” go unchallenged.
Information is energy, and it is time we used that energy to finish prohibition as soon as and for all.
INSPIRATION:
https://norml.org/weblog/2024/12/23/analysis-over-35000-scientific-papers-
published-about-cannabis-during-the-past-decade/
HOW MUCH RESEARCH IS ENOUGH, READ ON…
