Are Lab Rats Smarter Than US Politicians?

So if rats can deduce that whole cannabis works better as a medicine than a single synthesized molecule, what’s stopping our federal politicians and bureaucrats from reaching this same conclusion?

Antihyperalgesic effect of a Cannabis sativa extract in a rat model of neuropathic pain: mechanisms involved
via PubMed

This study aimed to give a rationale for the employment of phytocannabinoid formulations to treat neuropathic pain. It was found that a controlled cannabis extract, containing multiple cannabinoids, in a defined ratio, and other non-cannabinoid fractions (terpenes and flavonoids) provided better antinociceptive efficacy than the single cannabinoid given alone, when tested in a rat model of neuropathic pain.

On a separate but related note, am I the only one offended that most scientists appear to be more inclined to document pot’s healing powers in rats and mice than in, say, human beings?

Of course, if you want to enroll in clinical trials intent on documenting so-called “marijuana abuse,” you can take your pick here.

Reuters: “Low Dose Pot Eases Pain While Keeping Mind Clear”

A funny thing happens when the US government begrudgingly allows for double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials evaluating the therapeutic efficacy of inhaled cannabis.  

Investigators discover time after time that it works! 

Here are the results from the latest study, conducted at California’s Center for Medical Cannabis Research.   

Low-dose pot eases pain while keeping mind clear
via Reuters News Wire

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) — Giving carefully calibrated doses of smoked marijuana to people with neuropathic pain, which can be difficult-to-treat and extremely painful, can ease their pain without clouding their minds, California researchers report.

Read the full story here. 

Unfortunately, according to recently released legal filings, fewer than 20 investigators in the United States currently possess federal approval to conduct legal clinical research on whole smoked cannabis. (Not surprisingly, most of these researchers are conducting trials that seek to assess the potential physical and mental harms allegedly associated with the drug.) In addition, state funding for the CMCR — which has backed virtually all of the medical cannabis research conducted over the past several years — has dried up and no new appropriations are likely.

Of course, federal officials could readily step in with grant money to keep this important clinical research going — after all, just last month the US National Institute on Drug Abuse announced that it would be spending millions to establish the first-ever ‘Center on Cannabis Addiction‘ — but, needless to say, I’m not holding my breath.