Anti-Cannabis Academics Funded by Prescription Painkiller Manufacturers

https://www.leafly.com/news/headlines/anti-cannabis-academics-funded-by-prescription-painkiller-manufac

Anti-Cannabis Academics Funded by Prescription Painkiller Manufacturers
By Sara Dilley — 9/8/2014

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This week, VICE proved that the leading academic opponents to cannabis are paid by drug companies who manufacture prescription painkillers. These include professors from Columbia and Harvard Universities, as well as one private practitioner who is certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Dr. Herbert Kleber of Columbia University has warned against the use of marijuana in the press, citing that it may cause “wide-ranging addiction and public health issues.” What he neglects to mention is that he has served as a paid consultant to leading prescription drug companies, including the maker of OxyContin (Purdue Pharma).

Dr. A. Eden Evins of Harvard Medical School is another anti-cannabis academic with ties to Big Pharma. A member of Project SAM, an anti-marijuana advocacy group, she is also a “consultant for Pfizer and DLA Piper, and has received grant/research support from Envivo, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer.”

This news confirms beliefs long-held by cannabis activists who suspected painkiller manufacturers of financially supporting anti-cannabis legislation, and it’s no surprise. Cannabis is known to effectively treat chronic pain without the dangerous side effects of opiates, as demonstrated by the 25% decrease in painkiller overdoses in states with medical cannabis access.