SeniorJunior

Science Might Save Us Again Killing more Americans than guns or auto accidents, the opioid epidemic is a  monster in our midst. * As I noted below , there are promising scientific advances in pain killers (and if you've experienced serious pain, you surely want to kill it!) that might help, big time. This article in Science News covers research in this vital matter in clear, layman-readable prose, as usual.  It also summarizes what's happening in pain research on the controversial substances, kratom and cannabis, which certainly ought to be in the discussion. I'm encouraged.  ** My pessimistic side fears Prez Trump will cut research money or tighten the regulatory screws and make research on weed and kratom even more difficult.  * pix credit ** pix credit

The mighty Wall Street Journal (my favorite newspaper) has been hopping with pot talk lately. What's the Voice of Capitalism coming to? It started with an editorial page commentary on March 16 by constitutional expert Randy E. Barnett called "Reefer Madness". It was a learned assessment by Professor Barnett on how the federal courts go through constitutional contortions in maintaining the prohibition on medical uses of marijuana. The commentary was keyed by the Angel Raich story. On March 23 there were four letters in response. If you are a Journal reader, you know that's a lot for any one commentary, meaning there were probably hundreds that didn't get printed. There were letters from organizations "Common Sense for Drug Policy" and "Marijuana Policy Project" decrying criminalization of a useful drug. President Carter's drug czar Lee Dogoloff weighed in - saying "every major" scientist says there is no medical benefit. Ol