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November 18, 2009
Different Responses To Similar Information
We live in a constantly changing world ; one in which taking things for granted can have disastrous consequences, as was dramatically demonstrated in Minneapolis on August 1, 2007 when a relatively modern bridge collapsed during rush hour, killing 13, injuring over fifty, and shutting down a vital traffic artery for 18 months. In the aftermath, it was revealed that the bridge, in company with many others that are routinely inspected at intervals, had been known to have serious problems for years, but for one reason or another, hadn’t been either retrofitted or replaced, a non-decision that implicitly assumed there would be time to do one or the other before a collapse. We also know there are many similar bridges in daily use. The term commonly used for such avoidance is “calculated risk.”A different type of calculated risk is involved in the recommendation announced on Monday by the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force, an official- but little known government agency, recommended changing long-accepted guidelines for performing routine mammography, a decision that, when implemented, would affect not only a large number of women, but the reimbursement of large numbers of health care providers.
The response was predictably rapid and intense. Given my interest in another controversial Public Health issue, I can't help comparing the open "debate" over mammography, which is legal, to the non-debate that frustrates users of "medical marijuana" (cannabis) my study clearly shows to be treating themselves safely and effectively for conditions that are otherwise far more damaging to both them and society when treated with pot's legal alternatives: alcohol and tobacco.
In fact, given the amazing responses, in California and elsewhere, in terms of the gray markets created by medical cannabis laws, one could reasonably claim that the adverse Public Health consequences of keeping cannabis illegal may be much greater than is presently either realized or imagined.
Doctor Tom
Posted by tjeffo at November 18, 2009 04:25 PM