Marijuana Needs More Study

One more nail in the coffin of the anti-marijuana lobby: A study published this month in the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses shows that weed might actually slow or stop the spread of AIDS.

The Louisiana State University study was pretty simple. Monkeys who were infected with the primate form of HIV, known as RIV, were given doses of THC. The study found that THC reverses the damage by decreasing the number of immune-deficient cells in their digestive system and replacing them with healthy cells, thus reducing the risk of immunodeficiency and transmitting RIV. Bottom line, they were less likely to develop full-blown AIDS and more likely to develop the munchies.

Might it work in humans? We can't actually find that out. There isn't money out there to do research on the medical uses of a Schedule 1 illegal substance. Federal funding is, of course, impossible. So that's the message to people with AIDS: Sorry, but your needs cannot possibly stack up to those of the liquor lobby and the prison-industrial complex and America's treasured fuddy-duddery. It's a classic, stupid catch-22: The medical uses of marijuana need more study, but that can't happen because marijuana still "needs more study."