Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who authored a 2009 Time Magazine article entitled "Why I Would Vote No on Pot", apologized in his CNN report (published Wednesday) for "not looking hard enough" on the research about medical marijuana helping chronic pain and PTSD victims.
For many years, the CNN chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon has been strongly against the substance, with the government classifying it as a "schedule 1" and one of the most dangerous and substances that have "no accepted medicinal use and a high potential for abuse." Now with his upcoming documentary entitled Weed, Dr. Gupta hopes to set the record straight.
"I didn't look far enough. I didn't review papers from smaller labs in other countries doing some remarkable research, and I was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannabis. Instead, I lumped them with the high-visibility malingerers, just looking to get high," Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares in his CNN report Why I Changed My Mind on Weed. He also added that he was 'unsettled' by the lack of science in Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Roger Egeberg's recommendation in 1970 that marijuana should be classified as a 'schedule 1'.
At the time of his opposition against marijuana he pointed out that "As a doctor, smoking the stuff is not going to do your health any good," Now, he is saying that while there is 10% dependence among adult pot users, that is still only half of the percentage among cocaine users, which is only classified as a 'schedule 2' substance 'with less abuse potential than schedule 1 drugs.' As for heroin, it has about 25% among its users with tobacco ranking as worst having 30% of its users getting addicted.
He also adds that throughout his research, Gupta shares that he's never encountered a weed overdose.
On giving pot a try "a while ago", Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells Piers Morgan in an interview last Wednesday night: "I didn't particularly care for it, actually. It made me kind of anxious. It wasn't a very pleasant feeling,"
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
