Shaw's Eco-Logic

This HND piece discusses the seemingly miraculous properties of CBD, a Cannabis extract, that's got all the therapeutic benefit—without the high. Pre-clinical research (using cell culture and non-human subjects) has shown anti-seizure, antioxidant, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-tumor, anti-psychotic, and anti-anxiety properties.

There have also been wonderful results with formerly intractable cases of pediatric epilepsy. Heck, some of the most glowing reports come from the belly of the beast...NIDA (The National Institute on Drug Abuse).

As with all natural remedies, though, the FDA is in a bit of a quandary. By all rights, any therapeutic claims should be subject to regulation, which means expensive clinical trials. But, since CBD is not proprietary, why would any supplier pay for such testing? Here's a thought: Take a small amount of the hugely wasteful medical research grants budget, and have that cover the trials.

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Since April is Autism Awareness month, this HND piece takes another look at the condition.  In fact, we examine this within the context of conventional wisdom, which has been an unmitigated disaster in autism.  Really...how hard is it to charge parents lots of money to tell them that there's no hope for their kids?

The good news is that unconventional voices are finally making headway, and are even curing autistic kids.

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This HND piece starts off with idiotic conventional wisdom on tennis elbow, and segues into the equally idiotic death of George Washington, a true victim of conventional wisdom.  The final example in Part 1 looks at the deeply flawed mission statements of nearly all hospitals.

Along the way, we invoke Freakonomics and The Affluent Society, two works that also skewered conventional wisdom.

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This HND piece is a reminder that there are still way too many of these infections.  The latest outbreaks occurred in an unnamed hospital, causing two deaths.  Maybe the best thing would have been for the hospital in question to 'fess up.  We explore that aspect, and take a dimmer view of the situaiton than even Sen. Patty Murray's recent report.

Also covered are several recent articles strongly indicating that ethylene oxide sterilization is the answer to this problem.  Read the complete article.