Weed Science: Cannabis Controversies and Challenges

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT MARIJUANA AND HOW DO WE KNOW IT? Marijuana is the most frequently consumed illicit drug worldwide, with over 158.8 million users, according to the UN. Responding to public pressure, the US federal government is likely to legalize recreational marijuana within the next few years. With increasing numbers of people using cannabis both medically and recreationally there are many looming questions that only science can answer. These include:

What's likely to happen, both good and bad, if the US legalizes marijuana? What are some simple, science-based rules to separate fact from fiction and to help guide policy in the highly contentious marijuana debate? Exactly what is cannabis doing in the brain that gets us high? A journey through THC neuroscience Does cannabis really have medical benefits - what's the evidence? To what extent does cannabis impair driving? Can smoking marijuana in adolescence affect IQ or risk for developing schizophrenia? Is marijuana safe to use during pregnancy?

Reviews the endocannabinoid system and why our bodies are full of "weed receptors"Introduces readers to the various forms of marijuana: flower, dabs, hash, edibles, shatter, vapes, tinctures, oils and synthetics, THC, CBD and terpenes.Demonstrates how and why cannabis affects different people very differently. Discusses how MRI and PET scans can help show the effects of marijuana on the brain.Discusses long-term effects of adolescent and adult cannabis use.Examines the evidence for cannabis’s role in increasing the risk for schizophrenia-like illnesses.

1. Introduction - how the author became acquainted with cannabis 2. Good Science and Bad Science - how science helps us think about contentious social issues 3. Holi - what an ancient Hindu festival can teach us about safe marijuana use 4. Archaeology and Ethnobotany - the long historical relationship humans have with cannabis 5. Neuroscience - the endocannabinoid system, how it evolved and what it does 6. Psychology + Human Behavior - what is it like to be stoned and what goes on in our brains when we are? 7. Epidemiology - what can population studies tell us about cannabis risks? 8. Toxicology - cannabis’ side effects and how they occur. Synthetic cannabinoids 9. Chemical Analysis and Extraction - the eternal quest for a higher high 10. Medical Marijuana and Clinical Trials - what’s the evidence for marijuana as a medicine? 11. Economic/Business -who stands to gain and to lose, if cannabis is legalized in the US? 12. Summary/Conclusion - harm reduction; lessons from ending alcohol prohibition and from what’s going on in Canada