Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Just The Marijuana Facts, Doc. No, Wait -- The REAL Facts.

The truth will set you free.

By Steve Elliott in Chronic City

Medical advice "City Bright" Doc Gurley published a column over at SFGate purporting to be the latest, bias-free, data-based information on marijuana. On the face of it, that's a great and laudable idea; we'll agree there is, indeed, a "desperate need for data-based information looking at marijuana in the less emotional context of a pharmaceutical medication." So we suppose we'll have to give an "A" on the concept. But, disappointingly, the execution ranks a "C minus" -- at best.

Gurley's summation of what she represents as "bias-free information" certainly makes a game attempt at seeming impartial, and we have no reason to doubt the doctor's fairness -- at least, until we actually read the article. That's where the danger lies, you see: Allowing one's personal biases and opinions to creep into a piece that dares to call itself "data-based."

If Doc Gurley is going to present her information as "bias-free," then she'd damn well better make sure that's what she's giving you -- because "bias-free" information pretty much settles it, right? Right?

Read the rest at Chronic City in the SF Weekly blog, "The Snitch":

Just The Marijuana Facts, Doc. No, Wait -- The REAL Facts.

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