The acute and long-term effects of THC on the brain and behavior are mediated via the vast endocannabinoid system (ECS), which was not discovered until the early 1990s and remains poorly understood. However, addiction is addiction and the psychopathology associated with marijuana, especially the high potency products, amid the drumbeat for full legalization in the absence of any serious scientific scrutiny is tantamount to political malpractice.
Use can be associated with psychosis, depression, suicidality and premature death…There is not a speck of scientific evidence to suggest that marijuana is a viable “Medically-Assisted Treatment” modality for opioid addiction…like all addictive substances, marijuana degrades neuronal signaling germane to reward incentive and processing, resulting in marked emotional dysregulation. Chronic use is associated with anhedonia, cognitive deficits and psychiatric disease. Marijuana Use Disorder comports with our known model of addiction at every level. The challenge is to educate a public that has been sold a bill of goods and manipulated by claims of efficacy, safety for everything from cancer to pain, without any FDA scrutiny for safety or efficacy
