There
aren't any!
But here's why: The
FDA keeps approving
research projects left and right, and
Uncle Sam keeps telling the
Universities and
scientists they can't do the research (because it means
allowing some people to smoke pot for science!).
However, I did dig up some stats on where the current research has and hasn't gotten, so at least you can tell people who spout
pseudo-science at you to
shut the fuck up.
There's been
no official research on the effects of
marijuana on
arthritis,
tendonitis,
depression, and a lot of other stuff.
Unofficially, quite a lot of people claim that it fixes or helps all these things, and just the same number claim that it
causes them. But there is
chemical evidence that cannabinoids may contain
anti-inflammatories (explaining why it helps arthritis, etc.], and may help to ease the
symptoms of
depression, though nobody claims to know why.
A
study was recently completed which
tested the
addictive properties and
withdrawal symptoms of
marijuana--of COURSE Uncle Sam would allow THAT--and the
results are downright funny.
Only
heavy, long-term smokers were reported to have physical withdrawal. Mind you, to
qualify as a long-term heavy smoker, you had to a) have smoked an
average of a
doobie a day for at least
five years, and b) have smoked more than 5,000 times. (5,000 times is once a day for
thirteen years.) Of course, the headlines of the
project screamed "MARIJUANA IS ADDICTIVE!", and then the text below went on to explain, "Well, the symptoms were
mild and only lasted 28 days...". As I said, it was funny. But
their punchline, which I should at least give
lip service to, was that after smoking like a fiend most of your life, you will experience moderate to mild withdrawal, and the symptoms come from the same part of your brain that handles withdrawal from
heroin and
crack...and
chocolate and
The X-Files, for that matter.
Oh, and I actually read
several--meaning MORE THAN ONE--websites claiming that
pot caused
undue aggression in its users. Don't worry, none of the
legitimate sites said that, but STILL.