Did you know smoking pot can make you sick to your stomach? I didn’t know, either, until I read a piece in The Washington Post the other day, by Leona Wen, who made her bones as Baltimore City Health Commissioner. Dr Wen has written a number of articles in media since the start of the covid pandemic. She describes something termed Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, which affects a small percentage of marijuana users. Puking in excess while high – who knew? Dr.Wen did not suggest that most, or even a significant number of users are going to suffer bouts of vomiting, only one wonders what else can surface as cannabis products appear in greater amounts on the market. We tend to oversimplify pot as two substances: CBD which alleviates seizures, and THC, which gets you high. I’ll spare you the chemistry; suffice it to point out that there are a plethora of substances native to the pot plant, about the vast majority of which little is known. No, it’s not FDA to the rescue. Marijuana is not currently approved as a drug.
Speaking of which, STOP THE PRESSES: Just this week, DEA has initiated action to reschedule marijuana, at long last. The drug is currently listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, which lists other bad actors such as LSD and heroin. The reason? The drug has no accepted use in medicine. No, it’s nowhere near as dangerous or habit forming as other drugs listed there, but it has no accepted use, yadda, yadda. Catch 22. Well, maybe it does – or at least some of its components. Its new legal home would be in Schedule III. This would enable research into its effects, among other things, which is sorely needed.
Immigrants and migrants. The terms are used interchangeably. Outside of “indians” as we used to call native Americans (among other pejoratives), we are all either immigrants or descendants of immigrants. I realize we can’t fit all who want to live here, in here, but without them, who is going to do our scut work? Surely, we can develop a humane, fair process for letting people in (don’t tell me they would take jobs from Americans, especially since large portions of our male population seems to have dropped out).
We have at least two major active war zones going. Did you ever consider what the kids in these places are going through? Have you ever been around an explosion ? The noise, and shock, are major contributors to PTSD in adults, as we know only too well. What about small children? I’m not talking about injured or wounded kids, just ones hearing blasts, perhaps watching their dwelling fall apart. Most of them will never get therapy. Are we to cope with pathologies in future? Might some become terrorists?
What’s the most serious form of cancer? Arguably, it’s cancer of the pancreas. While it’s not, perhaps, as bad as some (none of them are any damn good, anyway), but most are treatable if discovered early. Unfortunately, no tests are available to detect this one. By the time symptoms are observed, it’s already too late. This cancer claimed the lives of Alex Trebek, Steve Jobs and numerous other luminaries – and my father. Whenever I have a physical, I always ask the doctor whether a test has been devised. The answer is always no.
Rogernarc 