Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Fish Oils, Dry Eyes and Related Topics...

A recently published study from Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Schepens Eye Research Institiute, both in Boston, has demonstrated a correlation between a diet high in Omega 3 fats, specifically fish oils, and a lowered incidence of Dry Eye Syndrome, perhaps as much as a 68% reduction.

The data on the benefits of fish oils continues to mount. No real surprise, here. Fish oils reduce inflammation, and provide lubricants. Using supplemental high dose, pharmaceutical grade fish oils will provide benefits for almost every chronic condition we suffer from, be it Dry eye to joint pain, to high blood pressure and beyond.

This study made me wonder, however, about research on glaucoma, medical marijuana, drug law reform, which, from there is but a short jump to the state of our world in general.

Med. MJ research does seem to suggest that THC may have a positive effect on reducing pressure in glaucoma patients. The question I have is would fish oils work even better, and with fewer side effects?

The data on the anti-inflammatory action of EPA is much more convincing than the data that THC is systemically anti-inflammatory. And you can't convince me that inhaling the smoke from smoldering leaves is good for you, even though there is some evidence that pot smoke is less carcinogenic than tobacco smoke. That's akin to saying Saddam Hussein isn't as bad as Hitler, because he didn't gas quite as many people.

Ingesting poison to get delivery of a potentially healing nutrient is a flawed approach.

Which brings me to the whole subject of Med. MJ research. It's ultimate purpose is to promote legalization, not cure disease.

Don't get me wrong, I support legalization. But I've been critical of the pot lobby's efforts, because their approach is back door, instead of hitting the issue headon. Pot should be legal because there is not now, nor has there ever been a single, legitimate reason for it to be illegal. This emperor hasn't had any clothes for over 30 years.

This is supposedly the largest cash crop in the country. Allegedly, as much as half the population uses it at least occasionally. Why is this such a political football? You can't tell me that if NORML started backing candidates for local, state and congressional seats using legalization as their primary platform, the public wouldn't start saying enough, already. It's "high" time we started to reap the tax benefits of this and quit criminalizing behavior that isn't criminal.

Then we can stop with this Med. MJ as primary therapy for these disorders and focus researching compounds with a less toxic method of delivery.