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cannabis patient care
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vol. 2 no. 2 cannapatientcare.com
of CBD is to start at a low dose and increase over a period of
months, looking for the desired effects."
The use of other anti-epileptic medications, which can in-
teract with CBD, can complicate the course for these patients,
requiring close follow-up, said Dr. Goldstein.
What Science Is Not Seeing
While she has seen firsthand the benefits of cannabis as
medicine in her pediatrics work (9), there is still much that the
medical science world does not see.
"There is absolutely still a stigma within the medical commu-
nity in regards to cannabis," she said, a truism that has dogged
cannabis practitioners and researchers alike for years. "Re-
member that the majority of scientific studies that came out
between the 1970s and 1990s reported on the detrimental ef-
fects, leading physicians to regard cannabis as a drug of abuse.
It is this brainwashing that we must overcome with education
and research."
Goldstein is currently working with a company that is doing
research on how cannabinoids may benefit children with au-
tism (10) by looking at numerous biomarkers. "We are study-
ing how cannabis may correct the physiologic imbalances of
children with autism who are being treated with cannabis, and
should be publishing our results by end of 2021."
While Dr. Goldstein is a believer in what cannabis can do for
patients, seeking to do the best she can for her patients as
her Hippocratic Oath demands, she is seeing a sort of evolu-
tion of thinking about cannabis coming from patients that is
beginning to influence their doctors. "I don't think any doctor
anywhere has not been asked about medical cannabis," she
said. "In order to have a proper conversation with patients, it
is incumbent on physicians to, at minimum, understand the
endocannabinoid system and the plant compounds and how
they interact to impact human health."
Working to Build Awareness
Dr. Goldstein is a popular speaker on the medical cannabis
trade show and special event circuit, sharing her story about the
discovery of cannabis as a treatment for many human maladies,
and her excitement about the future of cannabis as medicine.
She is also the author of Cannabis is Medicine - How Medi-
cal Cannabis and CBD Are Healing Everything from Anxiety to
Chronic Pain, released in September 2020, and revised from
her self-published book in 2016. It is described by Amazon as
a book that "explains the current state of scientific research
on how cannabis interacts with human physiology to create
balance, leading to good health" (11).
"The idea of writing a book came about from an interaction
with a chronically ill patient who was very curious about how
cannabis was helping him," she said. "In our appointments,
he was more interested in asking me about the science rather
than talking about his medical condition. He asked me where
he could get the information I was sharing with him.
"What I hope people will take away from the book is a basic
understanding of the endocannabinoid system and how the var-
ious compounds from the cannabis plant can interact with the
human brain and body to provide beneficial medicinal effects."
Conclusion
Despite all of the propaganda against cannabis, Dr. Goldstein finds
it to be a very safe and efficacious medicine, especially when used
under medical supervision. "Hopefully my book helps people get
away from the nonsense of 'Reefer Madness (12),' and promotes us-
ing science to help inform them rather than propaganda," she said.
Asked what she would like to see happen in the medical canna-
bis research field in the next 2-5 years, she responded enthusiasti-
cally: "Deschedule so that meaningful research can move forward!"
References
(1) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/hippocratic-oath-today/.
(2) https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/first-do-no-harm-201510138421.
(3) http://www.bonnigoldsteinmd.com.
(4) https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/08/health/gupta
changed-mind-marijuana/index.html.
(5) https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/07/health/charlotte-
child-medical-marijuana/index.html.
(6) https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/types-epilepsy-syndromes/dravet-syndrome.
(7) https://www.health.com/mind-body/cbd/best-cbg-oil.
(8) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789136/.
(9) http://www.bonnigoldsteinmd.com/cannabis-for-pediatric-epilepsy/.
(10) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7759327/.
(11) https://www.amazon.com/Cannabis-Medicine-
Medical-Healing-Everything/dp/031650078X.
(12) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028346/.
doctor focus
Dr. Goldstein with one of her pediatric patients who has
benefitted from cannabis medicine. Photo credit: L. Palacio.
