RE: Only 6% of Drug Advertising Material is Supported by Scientific Evidence - British Medical Journal
It's scary to see how corrupt this system really is. There is a huge conflict of interests between plant/herb-based medicine and the pharmaceutical industry, due to the lack of patentability of mother nature. Where I live, in Norway, everything is illegal unless it has been granted a marketing licence. And to get a marketing licence you have to provide the results of clinical studies, which nobody wants to pay for because the economic incentive isn't there without the patent. It's insane, and it's causing so many people harm :-(
Most fortune 500 companies operate with a profit margin no higher than 5%, while the pharmaceutical industry operates with around 50%. It's sickening. Fortunately the research into cannabis have exploded, and will revolutionize the entire industry.
Oh my god. I did not know about that in Norway. I knew that Youtube is censoring info in Germany, Britain, and other countries. And yes, hopefully cannabis changes the industry.
You've made some very good points @partywalrus
One needs a lot of money if they wish to bring a new plant/herb based medicine to the market and this type of research rarely receives funding. My understanding (at least in some countries) is that plant medicine cannot be patented. This is yet another reason why homeopathy ceased being taught in medical schools many years ago. It is now illegal in many countries for doctors to recommend plant based medicines. Failure to comply may lead to the loss of your medical license.
I've had first-hand experiences with cannabis oil as medicine and the results that I saw were incredible.
@guernicamikan: Most people don't. Norway is like a Mekka for the pharmaceutical industry because of our healthcare system which provides a distorted image of our medical expenditures due to "egenandel"; a fragment of the total cost of the medicine that the Norwegian public has to pay out of their own pockets (the rest is covered through taxation). This gives people the impression that the medicines they use are pretty cheap, while in reality, they are dirt expensive because Big Pharma knows about the financial strength of Norway. Because of legislation, the entire price negotiation is held behind closed doors, and it always ends up leading to more expensive medicines.
@steemtruth: I didn't know homeopathy used to be taught in medical schools many years ago. After reading a metastudy on the subject, I started leaning towards a skepticism, but feel free to share some good articles on the subject I can look into.
Cannabis oil is amazing! My father dodged the wheelchair because of it, and I feel like a new person after I begin supplementing. I'm more relaxed, better focus, losing weight, got more energy etc. Amazing stuff! I'm actually quite involved in activism to legalize CBD oil in Norway. The low levels of THC makes it legal pretty much in all of EU, except in Norway.
Fun fact. The American Medical Association was formed with the main goal of destroying the reputation of homeopathy. At that time 1/3 of doctors in the US were homeopaths.
Just think of where we would be if that ratio still held today...
I've heard that before in my other research. Do you have a link to support the claim? I do know that there were a little over 150 medical schools in the USA in the late 1800's and early 1900's and a number of them were homeopathic schools. The AMA also went after chiropractors and labelling them quacks. The AMA was formed to protect the interests of corporations, period.
Canada has similar rules for supplements; they have to have research backing their use to get an NPN number to allow commercial sale. However bulk herbs I believe are exempt from this.
It is good to push for research validating natural health products. We need to get more holistically minded people into the national associations like the Canadian Cancer Society if we want to see more research in the field. Right now it is dominate by the medical establishment and we are getting the predicable results of suppressing symptoms.