The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    The status of marijuana to treat pain and nausea

    Dr. Frederick Burgess, who is clinical associate professor of surgery (anesthesiology) at Brown University in Rhode Island, has these thoughts from the American Academy of Pain Medicine Annual Meeting this past February.

    Although animal research has identified cannabinoid receptors that modulate pain and nausea, human data are anecdotal. Dr. Burgess says, “It is hard to come forward as a medical professional and say that we should use this treatment without good evidence? It is difficult to justify advising our patients to smoke street-grade marijuana, presuming that they will experience benefit, when they may also be harmed.”

    There was a consensus for more government support to evaluate medical marijuana. At present, research-grade marijuana or THC [delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol] is available from one location, which leads to the belief that this restricts the development of a greater understanding of medical marijuana.

    The bottom line?

    There is no guarantee, but unless decent research is done we are likely to have political decisions based on the foolishness (here, here, and here) that passes as marijuana research today.

    4/8/07 22:04 JR

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