Maybe I'm just in a strange mood, but that is one of the most bizzare statements (with context) that I've ever heard. It's like something directly out of George Orwell.
"Party officials recently voted to approve a measure that would decrease the amount of poison included in medicine."
ahem
"New techniques developed by party scientists have caused medicinal purities to reach an all time high!"
"Your weekly chocolate rations have been increased from 100 grams to 80 grams."
It's actually even more accurate than you might think, because APAP works by acting on the endocannabinoid system. Essentially acetaminophen works exactly the same as weed, the only difference between tylenol and weed is that one kills several thousand Americans per year and the other kills zero. Well actually there is one more difference: weed actually works amazingly well as an analgesic, whereas tylenol doesn't do anything. (Except kill people.)
Your statements about weed are very likely exaggerated in one direction, while the statements about acetaminophen are exaggerated in another. The cited journal article does not give full backup to the statements in your post.
"Paracetamol also modulates the endogenous cannabinoid system.[44] Paracetamol is metabolized to AM404, a compound with several actions; most importantly, it inhibits the uptake of the endogenous cannabinoid/vanilloid anandamide by neurons. Anandamide uptake would result in the activation of the main pain receptor (nociceptor) of the body, the TRPV1 (older name: vanilloid receptor). Furthermore, AM404 inhibits sodium channels, as do the anesthetics lidocaine and procaine.[45] Either of these actions by themselves has been shown to reduce pain, and are a possible mechanism for paracetamol. However, it has been demonstrated that, after blocking cannabinoid receptors with synthetic antagonists, paracetamol's analgesic effects are prevented, suggesting its pain-relieving action involves activation of the endogenous cannabinoid system.[46]"
And as I have posted before, marijuana is an anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, anti-viral, antibacterial, neuroprotective, and pro-neurogenesis. It's down the most important of any drug there is. Plus it increases your IQ by an average of 6 points, decreases your diabetes risk by 66%, and can be used to treat everything from Parkinson's to cancer. There is even some research suggesting that up to 50% of all infant mortality may be the result of marijuana deficiency.
> There is even some research suggesting that up to 50% of all infant mortality may be the result of marijuana deficiency.
I was going to ask what you're smoking, but then I realized that was a dumb question. :-)
I'm all for using pot for medicinal (and recreational) uses, but I think you've crossed the line from advocacy to cheerleading. Believe me when I say that if pot did all of the things you claim, I'd be in perfect health.
"Believe me when I say that if pot did all of the things you claim..."
Reality has a well known liberal bias.
"...I'd be in perfect health."
You get different benefits depending the quantity and method of consumption, so if you're just using it recreationally you're not going to see most (or any) of those benefits.
Citing Wikipedia for medical information on pot makes clear what kind of research process is necessary to conclude that pot is beneficial, which is not the conclusion of most people who have done the most careful research. (I'm a wikipedian, and I'm painfully aware of the research standards on the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.)
I never cited Wikipedia on pot, I cited the Wikipedia summary of the research on tylenol-- after already linking to the most important of the original journal articles.
I also never claimed that smoking an ounce a week recreationally is a great idea, all I claimed was that you can potentially receive the benefits listed if you're using the proper dosage and method of ingestion.
What I did do however was to link to several hundred pages of academic journal articles about the medical properties and health effects of cannabis. So I don't see how you can believe that "people who study the issue carefully have come to the opposite conclusion" or whatever.
"Party officials recently voted to approve a measure that would decrease the amount of poison included in medicine."
ahem
"New techniques developed by party scientists have caused medicinal purities to reach an all time high!"