Mikhail Kogan - Medical Marijuana: Dr. Kogans Evidence-Based Guide to the Health Benefits of Cannabis and CBD

Andrew Weil, MD

I was always intrigued by the health benefits of plants and herbs, an interest that led me to become a botany major at Harvard in the early 1960s, when recreational use of pot first appeared on campus. In an introductory course on economic botany, I learned that marijuana (aka cannabis) had been used medicinally for thousands of years. In fact, since ancient times, its been used to treat myriad conditions, including convulsions, insomnia, nausea, headaches, menstrual pain, and others. However, all that had changed in the United States by the mid-twentieth century; marijuana not only fell out of favor as a medical treatment, it was deemed a dangerous drug and declared illegal.

Because of this designation, researchers in the United States have been prevented from conducting clinical studies into its effects. But as a determined Harvard medical student in the late 1960s, I was able to cut through a great deal of red tape and initiated a small, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study on the physiological and psychological effects of marijuanathe first such study allowed to be conducted in the United States. (The Federal Bureau of Narcotics provided confiscated pot for our study.)

Our results were published in 1968 in two leading journals, Science and Nature. We found that contrary to popular belief, marijuana did not cause the negative effects commonly attributed to it. I was convinced that additional clinical research would also reveal that marijuana was a safe and effective treatment for many conditions, and that it would be legalized within five to ten years. I couldnt have been more wrong! The ongoing designation of cannabis as a Schedule I illicit drug continues to stifle scientific studies in the United States. However, thanks to international research, there is now substantial evidence that it can help treat all the conditions mentioned above, as well as an ever-increasing number of other disorders. More good news is that, in spite of our draconian federal drug laws, marijuana is once again being recognized for its medicinal benefits and is now legal in most states.

The problem is that the internet and bookshelves are flooded with misinformation, questionable testimonials, and false advertising, all of which leave consumers confused and misled. And, unfortunately, most doctorseven those who recommend marijuana to their patientsknow very little about it. Dr. Mikhail Misha Kogan is a welcome exception; hes one of the few physicians who has expertise in the field of medical cannabis. Since 2012, Dr. Kogan has recommended it to more than three thousand patients and lectured on the subject to countless physicians across the country and internationally. He is the perfect person to convey to consumers the much-needed, evidence-based information they want on medical cannabis. He does thatand even morein this invaluable book, Medical Marijuana: Dr. Kogans Evidence-Based Guide to the Health Benefits of Cannabis and CBD.

I first met Misha in 2003 when he was a third-year medical student. He came to study at my integrative medicine fellowship program at the University of Arizona as part of his medical school rotations. In addition to taking courses, he worked with me in the clinic. I was impressed with his enthusiasm and exceptionally inquisitive mind. And, importantly, we shared a mutual interest in nature as a source of healing and the belief that the best medicines come from the natural world. Plant remediesincluding cannabisare often safer alternatives to many conventional medications, many of which have potentially serious side effects and may even worsen some conditions over time.

Misha and I have remained in touch ever since his student days. I was pleased that he became an integrative geriatriciana crucial and neglected specialty. I invited him to become the editor of the first textbook on integrative geriatrics, Integrative Geriatric Medicine,

Im now delighted to see that Misha has not only become a leading expert on medical cannabis, but he and his coauthor, medical writer and sociologist Joan Liebmann-Smith, PhD, have written this timely book for consumers on an important subject that is so clouded by misconceptions, misunderstandings, and misinformation.