Stoned: A Doctor's Case for Medical Marijuana

A doctor discovers the surprising truth about marijuana

No substance on earth is as hotly debatedas marijuana. Opponents claim its dangerous, addictive, carcinogenic, and a gateway to serious drug abuse. Fans claim it as a wonder drug, treatingcancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, glaucoma, arthritis, migraines, PTSD, and insomnia. Patients suffering from these conditions needand deservehard facts based on medical evidence, not hysteria and superstition.

In Stoned, palliative care physician Dr. David Casarett sets out to do anythingincluding experimenting on himselfto find evidence of marijuanas medical potential. He smears mysterious marijuana paste on his legs and samples pot wine. He poses as a patient at a seedy California clinic and takes lessons from an artisanal hash maker. In conversations with researchers, doctors, and patients around the world he learns how marijuana worksand doesntin the real world.

Dr. Casarett unearths tales of near-miraculous success, such as a child with chronic seizures who finally found relief in cannabidiol oil. In Tel Aviv, he learns of a nursing home thats found success giving marijuana to dementia patients. On the other hand, one patient who believed marijuana cured her lung cancer has clearly been misled. As Casarett sifts the myth and misinformation from the scientificevidence, he explains, among other things:

Why marijuana might be the best treatment option for some types of pain
Why theres no significant risk of lung damage from smoking pot
Why most marijuana-infused beer or wine wont get you high

Often humorous, occasionally heartbreaking, and full of counterintuitive conclusions, Stoned offers a compassionate and much-needed medical practitioners perspective on the potential of this misunderstood plant.