{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/112883"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/112883","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Trial and Error : medical marijuana, the absence of evidence, and the allure of anecdote","abstract":"For the past four years, Christy Shake has given her son marijuana extract six times a day to ease his childhood epilepsy. Hers is a compelling story that highlights the potential benefits of medical cannabis. But in the wake of antiquated and inflexible federal legislation, anecdotal reports like these are essentially all we have. More than half the states in the U.S. have voted to legalize medical marijuana, as thousands contend it's a viable treatment for a growing list of conditions. Nevertheless, as more and more patients gain access to cannabis, neither they nor their physicians understand exactly what they're receiving from local dispensaries. Patients, caregivers, scientists, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and dispensary growers alike are calling for changes to government policies that restrict research. It's high time to separate politics from science.","abstract_html":"For the past four years, Christy Shake has given her son marijuana extract six times a day to ease his childhood epilepsy. Hers is a compelling story that highlights the potential benefits of medical cannabis. But in the wake of antiquated and inflexible federal legislation, anecdotal reports like these are essentially all we have. More than half the states in the U.S. have voted to legalize medical marijuana, as thousands contend it's a viable treatment for a growing list of conditions. Nevertheless, as more and more patients gain access to cannabis, neither they nor their physicians understand exactly what they're receiving from local dispensaries. Patients, caregivers, scientists, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and dispensary growers alike are calling for changes to government policies that restrict research. It's high time to separate politics from science.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McElvery, Raleigh"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["David Corcoran."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017","date_published":"2017","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:53Z","subjects":["Comparative Media Studies.","Graduate Program in Science Writing."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112883","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["David Corcoran."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.other","label":"Dc Contributor Other","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McElvery, Raleigh"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2017-12-20T18:15:59Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-12-20T18:15:59Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2017"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Comparative Media Studies.","Graduate Program in Science Writing."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112883"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, 2017.","Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["For the past four years, Christy Shake has given her son marijuana extract six times a day to ease his childhood epilepsy. Hers is a compelling story that highlights the potential benefits of medical cannabis. But in the wake of antiquated and inflexible federal legislation, anecdotal reports like these are essentially all we have. More than half the states in the U.S. have voted to legalize medical marijuana, as thousands contend it's a viable treatment for a growing list of conditions. Nevertheless, as more and more patients gain access to cannabis, neither they nor their physicians understand exactly what they're receiving from local dispensaries. Patients, caregivers, scientists, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and dispensary growers alike are calling for changes to government policies that restrict research. It's high time to separate politics from science."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M. in Science Writing"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Trial and Error : medical marijuana, the absence of evidence, and the allure of anecdote"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["David Corcoran."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing"],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Graduate Program in Science Writing."],"dc:creator":["McElvery, Raleigh"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2017-12-20T18:15:59Z"],"dc:date.available":["2017-12-20T18:15:59Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2017"],"dc:description":["Thesis: S.M. in Science Writing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Comparative Media Studies/Writing, 2017.","Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references."],"dc:description.abstract":["For the past four years, Christy Shake has given her son marijuana extract six times a day to ease his childhood epilepsy. Hers is a compelling story that highlights the potential benefits of medical cannabis. But in the wake of antiquated and inflexible federal legislation, anecdotal reports like these are essentially all we have. More than half the states in the U.S. have voted to legalize medical marijuana, as thousands contend it's a viable treatment for a growing list of conditions. Nevertheless, as more and more patients gain access to cannabis, neither they nor their physicians understand exactly what they're receiving from local dispensaries. Patients, caregivers, scientists, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and dispensary growers alike are calling for changes to government policies that restrict research. It's high time to separate politics from science."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M. in Science Writing"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112883"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Comparative Media Studies.","Graduate Program in Science Writing."],"dc:title":["Trial and Error : medical marijuana, the absence of evidence, and the allure of anecdote"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:53Z"}