america doesn t have a marijuana problem as nyt

America Doesn’t Have A ‘Marijuana Problem,’ As NYT Claims—It Has a Cannabis Education …

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Emerging findings or policy developments worth monitoring closely.
PolicyResearchSafetyDosingMental Health
Why This Matters
When media and policymakers frame cannabis use as a “problem” rather than an education gap, it slows the development of clinical programs, physician training, and insurance coverage that patients need to access safe, guided care.
Clinical Summary

The framing of cannabis as a “marijuana problem” in mainstream media reflects a deeper failure in clinical education, research access, and regulatory coherence rather than an inherent danger of the plant itself. Physicians are not trained in endocannabinoid medicine during medical school, research remains federally restricted, and patients are left navigating a fragmented system without proper clinical guidance. The real crisis is not that Americans are using cannabis but that the medical system has failed to build the infrastructure needed to guide them safely.

Dr. Caplan’s Take
“We do not have a marijuana problem in this country, we have a medical education problem, and until we train physicians to actually understand the endocannabinoid system, patients will keep getting fear instead of guidance.”
Clinical Perspective

🔬 The narrative that America has a “marijuana problem” fundamentally misdiagnoses the issue and delays real solutions for patients. After treating over 30,000 patients, I can say with certainty that the problem is not cannabis itself but the stunning absence of clinical education, research infrastructure, and regulatory coherence around it. Most physicians graduate medical school without a single lecture on the endocannabinoid system, one of the largest receptor systems in the human body. Until we fund research, train clinicians, and build standardized care frameworks, we are choosing ignorance over evidence and patients are the ones who suffer. The path forward is not prohibition or panic but education, integration, and the same rigorous clinical approach we demand for every other area of medicine.

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