Wednesday, August 24 Rethinking The Possibilities And Pitfalls Of Pot

Rethinking The Possibilities And Pitfalls Of Pot
Today, we take a look at the many faces of marijuana. Some say it could be a multi-billion dollar boon for the economy, while others believe it’s a dangerous gateway drug. Some view it as a pain-easing medication that might even have real potential in the fight against diseases like cancer. We're joined by host of medical and political experts who have looked into the possibilities – and pitfalls – of pot. We’ll hear from Jeffrey Miron, a senior lecturer in economics at Harvard University and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, about what the legalization of drugs could mean financially and socially. We'll also be joined by Kevin McKernan, CEO of Medical Genomics, a Marblehead firm that has just finished sequencing the cannabis genome in an effort to find the parts of the plant that are medicinally valuable and – here’s the buzz-killing twist – make them into drugs that don't also get people stoned. We'll also check in with Dr. Jodi Gilman, a research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital's Division of Psychiatric Neuroscience where she studies the neuroscience of drug abuse. She'll give us a sense of what science knows – and still doesn't know – about what's going on in the brains of marijuana users.