Pubdate: Sun, 28 Jun 2015
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2015 The Arizona Republic
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24

CAUSE FOR PAUSE: ZEALOTS NEED TO INHALE THE FACTS

Ours is a hard-headed world cemented over with firm convictions. 
Whether you're a green environmentalist or a doubting "denier." 
Whether you're convinced of the medical virtues of marijuana or are 
determined to keep pot illegal. Whatever your perspective on the 
issues of the day, a defining characteristic of your viewpoint is 
that it is absolute. Beyond dispute. An analysis of 79 studies on the 
efficacy of marijuana did not turn out well for medical marijuana 
advocates. It shows pot provides little help to patients with medical 
disorders.

In many respects, we have forgotten how to put our beliefs to the 
test of counterarguments and force ourselves to accept the better of the two.

This will come as a shock to many of our most earnest issue 
advocates, but admitting the other side has a reasonable point is a 
sign of argumentative strength, not weakness.

We're talking to you, medical-marijuana advocates. And to you, 
environmentalists. A recent evaluation of 79 studies involving more 
than 6,000 patients on the efficacy of marijuana in treating ailments 
did not turn out well for medical-marijuana advocates. According to 
the met analysis, medical marijuana appears to be helpful in 
alleviating muscle pain among sufferers of multiple sclerosis. Other 
than that, the evidence is thin that pot provides much, if any, help 
to patients with medical disorders.

Yes, we are inviting the very committed supporters of medical 
marijuana - as well as their ardent kin, marijuana decriminalizers - 
to come down on our heads for this.

But we're only passing along the research we've found. According to 
the Journal of the American Medical Association, the states that have 
passed laws approving marijuana for treating conditions such as 
Alzheimer's, epilepsy and glaucoma did so based on poor-quality 
studies, patient testimonials and other non-scientific evidence.

Likewise with committed, world-changing environmentalists.

A University of Chicago study has found that retrofitting your home 
with efficiency measures may not be quite the energy-saving miracle 
that advocates claimed it would be.

The study examining the economics of installing energy-saving 
add-ons, including big-ticket items like new windows, rarely made the 
kind of moneysaving impact they were promised to make. Projected 
energy savings, according to the study, were 2.5 times greater than 
real savings.

Considering the enormous investment governments, especially the 
federal government, have put into home improvement energy-saving 
programs, these findings should be cause for pause. Since 1976, the 
federal Energy Department has weatherized 7 million homes. In total, 
the $5,000 average cost of such weatherizing returns an average of 
$2,400 in savings. That is a huge investment that doesn't seem to 
come close to penciling out.

Neither of these studies constitutes the last word on these issues, 
of course. But they should, at least, give advocates cause to stop and think.

Nothing is ever as perfect as we want it to be.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom