What Will Destroy our Profession? Not the AMA, Not Big Pharma ... The Pot Leaf
Dear Editor:
For many years I have enjoyed the articles in Dynamic Chiropractic. I have found many of them to be very useful in my practice in helping my patients live healthier and more active lives. Over the years, Dynamic Chiropractic has become, in my opinion, one of the best publications concerning the art and practice of chiropractic.
It is not mine to argue the merits of medicinal marijuana or its derivatives, but rather the marijuana leaf and what it symbolizes and has symbolized for a number of decades, and why it has to be on the pages of your publication.
The marijuana leaf symbolizes marijuana, not hemp oil, CBD oil, or a safe and reliable medication. In fact, the surgeon general has recently come out with a statement that there is no such thing as medicinal marijuana and very little research has been done in terms of its benefits or those purported by those selling hemp and CBD oils.
And yet when I look through chiropractic journals, or drive down the streets of my town and see the Dr. Weed dispensaries and head shops, all I see is the pot leaf. I know the difference, but how about the children who are seeing this image and others who are being desensitized to the dangers of not only marijuana, but all drugs? (Interestingly, if one reads this letter and laughs at the "old guy" who wrote it, this is the desensitization I am describing.)
In most interviews with recovering addicts who were lucky enough to survive, marijuana was the gateway drug that they started with – the same leaf that appears in your journal!
Consider the drug wars in Mexico and Central America, and the hundreds of thousands of people trying to get into the United States, and out of those countries where drug lords rule. People and children are murdered in the streets. What does the pot leaf mean to them? Consider the number of shootings in cities like Chicago – these are drug wars. What does the pot leaf mean to them?
I understand that the violence described above is not solely related to the pot leaf, nor am I saying cannabis and cannabinoids do not possess medicinal properties that can be of benefit to some people. My issue is strictly with the pot leaf symbol.
The more and more people who associate this symbol, along with the likes of Dr. Weed, etc., with health care, the less they will associate the dangerous and harmful effects caused by drugs; including the opioids described in the most recent issue of Dynamic Chiropractic [Publisher's Report of Findings, July 2019: "Only We Can End the Opioid Epidemic.]. One can argue that the dispensaries are nothing more than head shops, but they use the same pot leaf symbol I see in your publication. What's the difference to the average consumer? Eventually, if not already, not much. You can get pot leaf products from the chiropractor.
Chiropractic will not be destroyed by the AMA or Big Pharma, but in time will be assimilated into some giant, homogenized "health" corporation led by those in our profession who never really understood the importance of chiropractic in a world where people sell pills and chemicals indiscriminately to those who ask for them solely for profit. Chiropractic is drug-free health care, plain and simple. The pot leaf is just another nail in our coffin.
When I see the pot leaf in publications like yours, and the number of chiropractic schools who are now health universities offering a number of other degrees just to keep the doors open, I know I am looking at the end of chiropractic ... a healing art that, in my opinion, was one of the last great hopes for mankind.
Instead of standing on our merits and principles, and teaching those merits and principles to students and the public at large, it seems our professions is more interested in getting on the pot leaf bandwagon for profit. Publications like yours are leading the way.
R. David Welch, DC
Phoenix, Ariz.
Creating Fear Instead of Logic
Dear Editor:
Your headline and promotion of the 1200studies.com site through Dr. Palmer's editorial ["Vaccine Danger: 1,200 Studies Can't Be Wrong," August 2019 issue, Letters to the Editor] is upsetting. One fact that needs to be addressed in this vaccination-autism conversation is the ever-changing definition of autism. It is a subjective diagnosis that many resources benefit from, including the children and the educational system.
The definition of autism has changed so more people fit into the diagnosis. Remember that in the past, we only gave attention to obvious cases of autism. Any correlation to past numbers of cases cannot be compared to now. It is like comparing basketball with and without the three-point line and saying players are better players now because they score more. It's a different game now in basketball and autism diagnosis.
Dynamic Chiropractic's headline hurts the progression of safer vaccines and autism research by creating fear instead of logic. By the way, I have two autistic kids and have been practicing chiropractic full time for 12 years.
Bob Benaderet, DC
Long Beach, Calif.
What's Happening to Our Profession?
Dear Editor:
I am a doctor of chiropractic in Georgia and read the article on The Chiroport ["What Direction Is Airport Chiropractic Taking Us?" by Dr. James Lehman, July 2019 issue]. Great article that describes what I feel is happening to our profession. I will go a step further and say that I believe places like The Joint, $20 Dollar Chiropractic, etc., are putting our profession along the lines of massage therapy (nothing against massage therapists, but we pay a lot more for schooling and are held to a higher standard of care). There is a lot more I can say about what is happening to our great profession. We worked so hard to build our reputation, but after 29 years of practicing, I wish I could afford to retire.
Alan Gilenson, DC
Suwanee, Ga.