Dr. Peter Grinspoon

Congress has just recriminalized Hemp-derived Products Was this a good idea?

My latest blog, controversial issue:
"Congress has just recriminalized Hemp-derived Products: Was this a good idea?'
I present arguments on both sides of the issue (and, as such, will therefore annoy all parties involved...)
#cannabis #Hemp #THC
drpetergrinspoon.substack.com/p/congress-h...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I bet no one else has a 95 year old mom who smokes three joints at once and simultaneously visits Saturn....

Challenging the 25-year-old ‘mature brain’ mythology: implications for the minimum legal age for non-medical cannabis use The minimum legal age (MLA) for non-medical cannabis use remains a contentious issue. While current regulations range from 18 to 21 years across jurisdictions, some advocates propose raising the th...

'existing evidence does not demonstrate greater long-term cognitive or neurophysiological harm attributable to #cannabis use in individuals aged 18–25 years compared to those older than 25'
(it is the early/mid teens we need to focus prevention on)
www.tandfonline.com/eprint/KKVE8...

Cannabis, Aging and Cognition: An Urgent Need for Research | Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research

What these studies don't factor in is that people often use #cannabis INSTEAD of more dangerous pharmaceuticals (opioids, benzos, Ambien, etc), and that the health-related quality of life goes up with medical #marijuana
(though agree we need more research)
www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10....

Therapeutic Use of Cannabis and Cannabinoids This review discusses current evidence about the therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids in adults, potential harms, and evidence-based clinical guidance, including pretreatment screening and add...

1) Easy to not find evidence of benefit if you don't look
2) Few (if any) of these authors have ever treated single patient with medical #cannabis
3) One-sided, biased papers are why patients don't discuss #marijuana use with their doctors -- a huge loss!
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

UK Medical Cannabis Registry: An Updated Analysis of Cannabis-Based Medicinal Products for Multiple Sclerosis Abstract. Introduction Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease presenting with a wide range of motor, sensory and psychiatric symptoms. Although nabiximols is licensed for MS-induced sp...

'CBMP [cannabis based medicinal product] treatment over 24 months was associated with improvements in health-related quality of life and was well-tolerated in patients with MS.'
#cannabis
karger.com/mca/article/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Interesting article on #cannabis and #Alzheimers
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Why are so many primary care clinicians moving from Mass General Brigham to Beth Israel? - The Boston Globe The doctors' departures are expected to cost MGB millions of dollars in revenue.

Primary care at Mass. General Brigham is in free-fall; I know dozens of doctors who want to leave; if MGB would ONLY recognize our union (which 88% of PCPs voted for) AND stop stealing our wages (& giving us untenable amounts of work), it would be better.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/24/b...

Congress has just recriminalized Hemp-derived Products Was this a good idea?

My latest blog, controversial issue:
"Congress has just recriminalized Hemp-derived Products: Was this a good idea?'
I present arguments on both sides of the issue (and, as such, will therefore annoy all parties involved...)
#cannabis #Hemp #THC
drpetergrinspoon.substack.com/p/congress-h...

‘Hemp loophole’ closure pits patient access against a runaway marijuana industry The Capitol Hill battle over hemp products underscores the concerns about the increasingly wild market and the widespread medical uses.

Glad to be included in great article @statnews about contentious issue of recriminalizing hemp-derived products; just as in recent blog, I show the arguments for both sides.
www.statnews.com/2025/11/24/h...

What We’re Still Getting Wrong About Cannabis in Addiction Medicine Outdated training, exaggerated harms, and a curriculum that leaves new doctors unprepared to talk honestly with patients.

Please check out latest blog about how field of #addiction medicine does not understand context in which most people use #cannabis (i.e., "all use is abuse"); they are miseducating doctors about medical #marijuana by hyperfocusing on harms over benefits

drpetergrinspoon.substack.com/p/reefer-mis...

This Year’s Thanksgiving Surprise: Half of the Guests Are Stoned What started as a secret trip to smoke pot before dinner has mushroomed into a full-blown commercial holiday. Behold the ‘cousin walk.’

All things being equal...the turkey DOES taste better on #cannabis
(and some relatives might be easier to deal with...)
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/th...

When Doctors Get Addicted: Why the System Fails Them Dr. Peter Grinspoon’s story is a call to fix how we treat physician addiction.

A piece in @CarlatPsych on physicians and #addiction
'When Doctors Get Addicted: Why the System Fails Them'
www.thecarlatreport.com/blogs/1-the-...

Acute Effects of Cannabis on Alcohol Craving and Consumption: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial | American Journal of Psychiatry Objective:Cannabis use is strongly linked with heavy drinking and worse alcohol treatment outcomes; however, it may also contribute to decreased alcohol consumption. To date, no human studies have est...

"#Cannabis reduced the urge for alcohol in the moment, lowered how much alcohol people consumed over a two-hour period and even delayed when they started drinking once the alcohol was available."
(I see this, clinically & have substack blog about it.")
psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/...

What We’re Still Getting Wrong About Cannabis in Addiction Medicine Outdated training, exaggerated harms, and a curriculum that leaves new doctors unprepared to talk honestly with patients.

Please check out latest blog about how field of #addiction medicine does not understand context in which most people use #cannabis (i.e., "all use is abuse"); they are miseducating doctors about medical #marijuana by hyperfocusing on harms over benefits

drpetergrinspoon.substack.com/p/reefer-mis...

A randomized clinical trial of low-dose cannabis extract in Alzheimer's disease - PubMed BackgroundPreclinical and clinical evidence suggest that low-dose cannabinoids could ameliorate Alzheimer's disease (AD) signs and symptoms. We designed this trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of low-dose THC-CBD balanced cannabinoid extract in the treatment of patients with AD-associated dem …

Interesting!
'We initially demonstrate that low-dose THC-CBD potentially can be an effective and safe therapeutic option for AD-related dementia.'
#CannabisCommunity pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41160460/

The Miraculous Endocannabinoid System What is it and why does it matter so much?

A lot of people found this blog helpful, about the Endocannabinoid System, which explains how #cannabis works, how it helps regulate all of our other bodily systems, anad why people withdraw from #marijuana after heavy use.
drpetergrinspoon.substack.com/p/the-miracu...

YouTube video by Peter Grinspoon Cannabis EXPERT Shares Surprising Benefits for Seniors

Check out my video on #cannabis for older adults; this is what my next book (on 5/5/26) is about!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGJy...

thanks for sharing study!

I visited a concierge medical practice. It's not a mystery why the rich are living longer than the poor, while hospitals are cashng in. Check out my YouTube video on this topic to go with my blog.
Substack/blog:
drpetergrinspoon.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-...
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7tA...

I visited a concierge medical practice. It's not a mystery why the rich are living longer than the poor, while hospitals are cashng in. Check out my YouTube video on this topic to go with my blog.
Substack/blog:
drpetergrinspoon.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-...
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7tA...

YouTube video by Peter Grinspoon Cannabis EXPERT Shares Surprising Benefits for Seniors

Check out my video on #cannabis for older adults; this is what my next book (on 5/5/26) is about!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGJy...

A Tale of Two Clinics Visiting a concierge medicine practice

I visited a concierge practice and was blown away by the difference in the level of healthcare provided (from my inner-city clinic) -- all within the same hospital system. The rich are living longer & the hospitals are cashing in. Check out my blog:
drpetergrinspoon.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-...

I Lost My Sex Drive After Motherhood—Weed Helped Me Find It Again Years of IVF and chasing toddlers killed her mood. Now she pops a gummy, and it's on!

I'm quoted in Oprah Daily about how #cannabis can impact sexuality (usually for the better...).

www.oprahdaily.com/life/relatio...

In rural America, scarce doctors battle misinformation as they practice medicine Conspiracy theories about health fill a vacuum created by the lack of doctors in many rural communities. Meanwhile, doctors in these areas say patients have become increasingly distrustful and sometim...

This is brutal...
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

A Tale of Two Clinics Visiting a concierge medicine practice

I visited a concierge practice and was blown away by the difference in the level of healthcare provided (from my inner-city clinic) -- all within the same hospital system. The rich are living longer & the hospitals are cashing in. Check out my blog:
drpetergrinspoon.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-...

Association of semaglutide with reduced incidence and relapse of cannabis use disorder in real-world populations: a retrospective cohort study - PubMed Cannabis is the most frequently used illicit drug in the United States with more than 45 million users of whom one-third suffer from a cannabis use disorder (CUD). Despite its high prevalence, there a...

Interesting study about Wegovy-like drugs helping with #cannabis use disorder (the population of #marijuana users that have trouble controlling their usage).
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38486046/

YouTube video by Peter Grinspoon Cannabis EXPERT Shares Surprising Benefits for Seniors

As a primary care physician at MGH, I’m seeing more and more older adults turn to #cannabis and #CBD — not just for curiosity, but because these treatments are helping with sleep issues, anxiety, and chronic pain

Please check out my video on this topic
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGJy...

Cannabis Laws and Opioid Use Among Commercially Insured Patients With Cancer This cross-sectional study examines the association of medical and recreational cannabis dispensary availability with prescription opioid dispensing among commercially insured patients with cancer in ...

'This study’s findings indicate cannabis may be a substitute for opioids in the management of cancer-related pain.'
(Many of us have been using #cannabis to help #cancer pain for decades...glad medical community is catching up...)
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Developing Medical Cannabis Competencies This consensus statement describes the development of a set of core competencies for educating medical students about medical cannabis, including its clinical utility, risks, legal landscape, and evid...

t's good that @JAMA_current is finally advocating for teaching doctors about medical #cannabis
(and, only 54 years after my dad, Dr. Lester Grinspoon, was urging this for all doctors in his book 'Marihuana Reconsidered.").

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...