Tag Archives: opiates

Marijuana…Know The Truth Campaign

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth. “Marijuana…Know the Truth” is a new campaign of the Drug Free America Foundation, Inc.  Its producers designed two videos to educate the public about the real consequences of marijuana use. The initiative begins with public service announcements (PSAs) that examine the connection between marijuana use and opioid abuse and overdose. A thirty-second commercial begins this week and will run in select movie theaters throughout the country for 10 weeks. The video features a mother, Karen Bailey, who tells the story of how her son started smoking marijuana in middle school. His marijuana use turned into an opioid addiction that ultimately took his life.

Please share the video on your social media and with your contacts.
Drug Free America targets the commercial to cities and states that have been hard hit by drugs and overdose deaths. By a long shot, drugs cause far more accidental deaths in the US than both guns and traffic incidents. To drive home that point, the campaign will run digital PSAs, too. The theater PSAs appear in CO, CT, DC, FL, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MT, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, and WV. For theater information, contact Amy at [email protected].
The Drug Free America Foundation has a longer version of the video on their homepage. In this video, Karen Bailey explains in more detail the gripping story of how her son’s marijuana use transitioned into an opiate pill problem.

What is the evidence for medical marijuana to treat the addiction epidemic?

The Marijuana Policy Project promotes their drug as a substitute for opiate pain pills.  Like the worst offenders in the opiate industry, the cannabis lobby follows an addiction-for-profit business model. Their master plan needs 80% of the demand to be met by 20% of the users.  Science shows no evidence for using medical marijuana as a substitute for pain pills.

Governor David Ige of Hawaii wisely refused to cave to lobbyists, and he vetoed a measure that would have allowed medical marijuana to treat opiate addiction.

A large-scale, major study from Australia Continue reading What is the evidence for medical marijuana to treat the addiction epidemic?

Don’t Believe the False Claim that Marijuana Reduces Opiate Deaths

Today SAM issued a statement refuting the notion that states with medical marijuana have fewer opiate deaths.  We have noticed that marijuana is an adjunct to opiate dependence and abuse, not a replacement.   Here is what the SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) statement said:

Top-Line Understanding (Download Full PDF Here):

A recent study found that before 2009, the existence of legally protected pot dispensaries in a state correlates with a lower number of opiate deaths in that state.

This correlation disappears after 2009. Authors interpret this as the “post-Ogden memo era” and surmise that pot dispensaries were more strictly controlled after 2009.

The study does not control for naloxone distribution Continue reading Don’t Believe the False Claim that Marijuana Reduces Opiate Deaths

Celebrity doctors pushing medical marijuana need others’ evidence

Celebrity doctors who channel their education into the pursuit of fame should be especially careful of misleading people with harmful advice.  One wonders why Dr. Sanjay Gupta and more recently, Dr. Oz, are singing the praises of medical marijuana. Most likely the marijuana industry has been working hard to get their support.

Dr. Bertha Madras, Harvard University

On the other hand, Dr. Bertha Madras, Harvard Professor, explained five reasons marijuana is not medicine in the Washington Post.  She coined the phrase, “It’s not a war on drugs, but defense of our brains.”   Dr. Madras will be giving a webinar Continue reading Celebrity doctors pushing medical marijuana need others’ evidence