Marijuana Explained | “Don’t Be a Dope!” | Dr. Miles Hassell

Dr. Miles Hassell takes an honest look at marijuana and CBD and concludes that the benefits are few, with thin evidence to support them; the risks are huge; and safer alternatives exist for everything someone would use marijuana for.

Benefits may include:

• chronic (soft tissue) pain

• muscle spasticity

• chemo therapy-induced nausea and vomiting

• rare childhood epilepsy (CBD).

However, these are all based on small studies and thin levels of benefit. This is the full known benefits list.

Risks include:

• Impaired motor control

• Increase in motor vehicle deaths in states with legal marijuana; often the victim was not using but was hit by someone using marijuana

• Increase in anxiety and depression over time (symptoms people are often using marijuana to address)

• Impaired memory, learning, attention, judgement, motivation

• Cyclic nausea and vomiting (expensive to treat)

• Heart disease: heart attacks, strokes, blood pressure problems, abnormal heart rhythms (with both acute and chronic use)

• Psychosis, schizophrenia

• Blackouts

• Shrinking of critical areas in the brain

Dr. Hassell notes that these risks are not rare or unusual, and many are commonly seen in the GreatMed practice. Moreover, he states that In decades of practice, they are not aware of any situation where marijuana was the best alternative.

Dr. Hassell states, “Look at the evidence, not the anecdotes. Marijuana has been extremely well studied.”

Regarding CBD, Dr. Hassell states that the evidence is so thin, they have no confidence in its use.

Dr. Hassell recommends not using marijuana.

Dr. Miles Hassell is the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of GreatMed.org. Find the full podcast on the GreatMed YouTube channel.