{"id":4746,"date":"2022-07-20T04:20:48","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T11:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?p=4746"},"modified":"2022-07-20T07:29:35","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T14:29:35","slug":"neil-degrasse-tyson-discuss-cannabis-therapeutic-possibilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/neil-degrasse-tyson-discuss-cannabis-therapeutic-possibilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil deGrasse Tyson, \u201cPot Doc\u201d Discuss Cannabis Therapeutic Possibilities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Neil
Image: Courtesy of https:\/\/startalkmedia.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No one is quite sure where the idea for smoking the cannabis plant started, although most research seems to point to Asia<\/a>. But over the centuries, people have learned that the naturally occurring chemicals in cannabis can give you a buzz and also provide therapeutic value in alleviating pain, nausea, anxiety and more.<\/p>\n

Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson wonders if maybe the cannabis plant is not alone in that regard. In a recent episode<\/a> of his podcast Star Talk, Tyson spoke with Staci Gruber, a Harvard University neuroscientist. Their conversation covered a lot of ground on cannabis and its potential therapeutic uses.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many plants out there remain undiscovered simply because we don\u2019t have enough people sitting down [and saying], \u2018Hey, let\u2019s smoke that, or let\u2019s smoke this?\u201d Tyson asked. While he clearly meant it as a hypothetical – the safe way to evaluate new plants is scientific study – Gruber agreed that there remains \u201chuge potential in botanicals\u201d for their possible therapeutic applications.<\/p>\n

Both Gruber and Chuck Nice, a comedian who co-hosts the show, said people have used plants for many different reasons since at least 2700 BC.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have been getting high since people have been people,\u201d said Nice.<\/p>\n

The Therapeutic Uses of the Cannabis Plant<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Gruber, known as the \u201cpot doc,\u201d is Director of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core and Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. She also is a professor at Harvard University.<\/p>\n

Gruber spoke at length about the therapeutic applications of cannabis and CBD<\/a>, the non-psychoactive chemical in cannabis that is increasingly used to treat many different conditions<\/a>. For example, she said there is compelling work showing that CBD is extremely effective as an anti-inflammatory.<\/p>\n

She also spoke about the potential of CBD to treat CTE, the brain injury condition that has come to light in recent years in relation to professional football players.<\/p>\n

Taking on Marijuana Myths<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Tyson and Gruber also spoke about myths around cannabis<\/a>. She said while cannabis does not appear to cause any mental health issues in healthy people, those with pre-existing psychological conditions may experience cannabis differently (although CBD may be an effective anti-psychotic treatment). She also said other medications patients take may alter the experience. It\u2019s important to consult with a doctor before using medical marijuana.<\/p>\n

She said research so far has discovered that cannabis seems best for treating chronic pain, nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, and muscle spasticity from multiple sclerosis. Also, treatment of seizures in children.<\/p>\n

She mentioned that researchers are increasingly finding evidence that CBD is effective in treating anxiety.<\/p>\n

Tyson has spoken about cannabis on the podcast before, including its potential use in sports. He also said<\/a> it is not surprising that President Joe Biden, who he said comes from the \u201cReefer Madness\u201d generation, does not support the legalization of cannabis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The nation\u2019s most famous scientist talks about cannabis with Harvard professor Staci Gruber, considered one of the foremost experts on cannabis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":4747,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[1297,97,87],"yoast_head":"\nNeil deGrasse Tyson, \u201cPot Doc\u201d Discuss Cannabis Possibilities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The nation\u2019s most famous scientist talks about cannabis with Harvard professor Staci Gruber, one of the foremost experts on cannabis.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/neil-degrasse-tyson-discuss-cannabis-therapeutic-possibilities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" 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