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  • 2016-09-28 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Chelsea Clinton Say That Marijuana Is Killing People? (en)
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  • At a 24 September 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign event in Youngstown, Ohio, her daughter Chelsea controversially asserted that anecdotal evidence from Colorado indicated that marijuana use (which is now legal in that state) has led to drug interaction fatalities: The younger Clinton didn't expressly state that marijuana use itself could be fatal, but she did maintain that anecdotal evidence from Colorado included coroners' reports of deaths caused by adverse interactions of marijuana (taken for medicinal purposes) with other drugs (presumably of the prescription, rather than recreational, variety). In a broader context Clinton seemed to be saying (in response to a question from an audience member about the possible rescheduling of marijuana by the DEA) that insufficient evidence was available regarding the effects of medicinal marijuana usage in conjunction with various medical issues and medical treatments and thus there was a danger of fatal interactions Marijuana advocate Tom Angell tweeted that he attempted to obtain additional detail from the Clinton campaign about that topic but did not receive a response: Without clarification from Clinton, it is virtually impossible to determine what purported incidents she was citing. Several high-profile deaths have occurred in Colorado in which families claimed marijuana was a contributing factor, but not as part of a drugs interaction. Moreover, those deaths largely involved recreational (not medicinal) use of cannabis: Three of the deaths described as marijuana related in Colorado were suicides, and a fourth was an alleged murder. None involved the purported interaction of marijuana with any other substance, and marijuana is largely believed to have either no adverse effect or a synergistic effect when used in concert with other medications. On 27 September 2016, cannabis researcher Dr. Michele Ross reiterated that information, asserting Clinton's anecdotal evidence claim elided vast published research into marijuana (and specifically drug interactions with cannabis): Chelsea Clinton did imply anecdotal evidence from Colorado indicated adverse interactions involving marijuana had led to documented deaths, but we were unable to corroborate that claim. Moreover, the claim seemingly contradicts a body of research suggesting that cannabis is unlikely to interact adversely with other medications. Clinton also maintained that marijuana's classification as a Schedule I drug meant little research had been performed on it to determine whether it was safe, but marijuana researchers have firmly rejected that claim. (en)
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