This newspaper article has a misleading title and the author should be embarrassed for publishing such a nonsense article. The research methodology itself is flawed. As the users are self reporting, there's no possible way they can measure the dose of THC/CBD, the frequency, methods of delivery, anything. At the end of the day, they have pretty much taken a group of opoid users who are in pain, asked them to report if they have used cannabis, and then asked how they feel.
I'll go ahead and list the holes in this article and research for anyone interested. I can only qualify my opinion with the fact that i'm about 6 months out from turning in my PhD thesis in drug discovery and efficacy (inflammation related; first paper already under consideration for publication in a reputable journal), shoddy reporting of scientific articles for media attention is a pet peeve of mine so consider this my rebuttal
1. "Cannabis' medical benefits have suffered a serious blow, with a major study finding it does almost nothing to help people with chronic pain." - first line of the article. Its by no means a serious blow, uses weasel words such as serious blow, does 'almost nothing', its reductive and an exaggeration at best.
2. Other terms in the article, using more weasel words, such as 'may', 'could', and 'we found no evidence'. The last one is the biggest logical fallacy, finding evidence does NOT imply a lack of evidence, merely that the scientists has failed to find any (and with their study design, you can imagine why)
3. They are reporting on the article, but then talking about massive profits. This makes the reader suspicious of the company's and other stakeholder's claims before they have made any as its logical that they stand to make 'fortunes'. Note the research mentioned in the last line says 'well designed studies show a 50% pain reduction' however this is immediately doubted by the reader due to the person (company man) saying it. The author of this news article could have gone and found the research himself, and made a more accurate statement about the research rather than quoting a ceo, making it look like heresay evidence
4. The study itself. It's a public health article, NOT a pharmacology article. These patients are self-reporting (error #1) on a 'pain severity score' which is very subjective in and of itself (error #2), taking an unknown dose (error #3) at unknown intervals (error #4) of a plant containing unknown amounts of THC/CBD (error #5) all the while taking prescription painkillers (error #6) which may interfere too. The lead scientist themselves said "It’s really difficult to disentangle the reasons" which in itself is a statement with no context (error #7 for those still counting). They are more than likely getting whatever shitty weed their dealer has, and smoking it in a variety of ways. Not only that, there is no mention of research between pain pathways of the opiod and endocannabinoid systems, or the complex interplay between them.
5. Reading to the end of the article (its no accident that this is at the end of the article, most readers have switched off by now and already read and digested the misleading title), there's more shitty anecdotal evidence from some hippy lady designed to make the article seem like its addressing both sides, but its a *** and any reasonable person reading it would dismiss this lady's claims.
Either the author of this article is stupid, desperate for views, or intentionally misleading his audience. Pick your favourite, but don't believe the negative sentiment that this writer is trying to spread. His understanding of science is lacking to say the least.
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