The Colorado Board of Health had a rule making hearing about people with PTSD qualifying for medical marijuana at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment offices in Denver. Christopher Latona, center, and his dad Mike Latona, left, both testified in support of approving medical marijuana for PTSD, which Christopher has suffered from since returning from his US. Army service in Afghanistan. The board voted 6-2 not to approve the change. (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post )
Re: “Pot for PTSD isn’t anecdotal,” July 26 My Turn.
Todd Mitchem says the evidence that medical marijuana helps with post-traumatic stress disorder isn’t anecdotal, but he inadvertently makes the case that it is precisely that. The dictionary definition of anecdotal is “not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than fact or research.”
The opposite approach is the scientific method, in which a hypothesis is tested on many people in a way that attempts to eliminate bias in both the subject and researcher. Itap expensive, time-consuming, exacting and largely devoid of the wonderful energetic certainty that Mitchem brings to this issue. But it helps those of us with the responsibility of prescribing medication adhere to the first principle of medical practice. In Latin thatap primum non nocere; in English it means “first, do no harm”; and in plain English it means don’t go experimenting on folks until you have a darn clear idea of the risks and benefits, side effects and drug interactions involved.
When the federal government finally eases its restrictions on research, we’ll begin to understand more about marijuana. In the meantime, it is, in fact, all anecdotal.
Jonathan Sheldon, M.D., Denver
This letter was published in the Aug. 2 edition.
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