I would rather use my vaporizer’: Medical pot users say clinical proof could help fight stigma

published on May 31, 2016 by Philip Lee-Shanok in CBC News

Some say pot helps treat everything from PTSD to multiple sclerosis, HIV-AIDS and even cancer

While moving to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, Toronto Public Health acknowledgesthat there may be therapeutic benefits associated with cannabis, such as help with pain relief, nausea and inflammation.

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‘Green rush’

“Humans have never had a panacea in terms of something that will cure such a wide range of conditions as has been claimed,” says M-J Milloy, an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, who researches how Canadians are using cannabis as medicine.

But he says there are a number of promising small studies that show that marijuana could be a substitute for opioids, treat cancer, even shrink inflammation caused by HIV-AIDS and a broad range of other conditions.

“What we need now is human studies to really determine the effectiveness of cannabis for these conditions,” he says.

In the midst of a “green rush” as investors look to get into the marijuana industry medical and otherwise some say a portion of the money rolling in should be earmarked for research.

“Some of the funding should definitely come from industry and we are seeing that, along with government,” says Pradyum Sekar, co-founder of Lift Resource Centre, which organizes the Cannabis Expo, a national marijuana industry trade show.

“But interested parties that would want to see cannabis having more clinical-based evidence should put more effort and resources into it.”