Topic: research

If we’re going to rely on science in decision-making, we should at least make certain it’s good science.

Assumption: Without that reinforcement, use will simply stop on its own.

When the push to use more opioids for pain began, we kept hearing that there were 100 million chronic pain patients in the United States, most of whom were untreated (or undertreated).

It’s also possible for one study to validate a viewpoint and another study to validate a contradictory view.

This goes back to a problem in assessing pain. There’s no physical test for what is essentially a subjective experience.

As the old chief says in the movie Little Big Man: “Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

So where does that leave us? Without a standard.

We need the knowledge and skill to evaluate claims of effectiveness as medical treatments– for instance, to determine whether the research that supports that claim is solid, or if it’s unreliable.

Producers and distributors are eager to attract the higher-end customer, mostly likely an adult daily user who needs stronger pot to manage dependence on the drug.

I suspect that the methodology for measuring success was far too narrow. Focused entirely on crime, they missed a host of other gains from participation in treatment.