Which cultivator will name a strain AEF0117 to mock this prohibitionist “experimental drug for marijuana addiction” bullshit?
Here’s how NBC presented news about an “experimental drug for marijuana addiction” to its millions upon millions of readers and viewers: “There’s no FDA-approved medication to treat cannabis use disorder, which may affect millions of Americans … ”
The key words being “may,” because the researchers behind this nonsense are full of snot. Here’s their baseline, which draws from a number of questionable studies:
Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the world, and a meaningful subset of individuals who have used cannabis (19.5%) develop cannabis use disorder (CUD). In the United States, 14.2 million individuals were diagnosed with CUD in 2020, and 14% of those receiving substance use disorder treatment reported cannabis as their primary drug of abuse.
And yet, according to NBC, this new “experimental drug for marijuana addiction,” currently called AEF0117, “shows promise,” per this “small study.” Exactly how small, you ask? Twenty-nine “adult men and women diagnosed with cannabis use disorder” who “were smoking on average roughly 3 grams of marijuana a day, six days a week”—that’s how small. In other words, completely insignificant.
Still, according to NBC, in the process researchers found that “the lower dose reduced the subjective ‘good effects’ of cannabis by 19 percent, while the higher dose managed to reduce it by 38 percent.”
It’s really too absurd to be real, and yet it’s happening, with a second trial due out next year. All so they can get people off of weed and onto AEF0117, presumably so they can then move on to some other non-cannabinoid addiction that is far more dangerous.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that CUD affects up to 30% of cannabis users, while a 2021 report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration put the total number of Americans struggling with the made-up disorder at 14 million Americans. There’s a study which estimated that approximately 3 in 10 people who use marijuana have the disorder, while another study put that number at around 10%.
If you think I’m being harsh but are nonetheless confused about how professional estimates can vary so widely, it’s because according to the CDC, essentially everyone who gets stoned has CUD. Here are their “signs” that someone has the disorder:
- Using more marijuana than intended
- Trying but failing to quit using marijuana
- Spending a lot of time using marijuana
- Craving marijuana
- Using marijuana even though it causes problems at home, school, or work
- Continuing to use marijuana despite social or relationship problems.
- Giving up important activities with friends and family in favor of using marijuana.
- Using marijuana in high-risk situations, such as while driving a car.
- Continuing to use marijuana despite physical or psychological problems.
- Needing to use more marijuana to get the same high.
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when stopping marijuana use.
Only people who have never consumed cannabis would look at that list and do anything but laugh, but sadly prohibitionists still have access to power in this realm, while television news producers need sensational stories. Here’s to another generation of young people having their lives ruined because their idiot parents think they’re addicted to weed.
