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Cancer Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Science

Does medical marijuana work? The answer is (mostly) “no” and “we don’t know”

My opinion about medical marijuana has been fairly consistent. First, the claims made by its advocates for it far exceed the evidence for its benefit, which is why I’ve referred to it as the “new herbalism.” Of course, it’s not really very new, but it is herbalism in that medical marijuana advocates make grandiose claims […]

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Cancer Medicine Politics Quackery

Why I despise Mike Adams: Blaming Beau Biden’s cancer on chemotherapy and glyphosate

I’ve been following Mike Adams a long time, going back to 2007 and even before. It’s difficult to find anyone who can pack more pseudoscience, conspiracy mongering, and outright hateful bile into an article when he has a mind to do so. I’ve documented this tendency many times, so many times that, each time I […]

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

In Memoriam: Wallace Sampson, MD

I have some sad news for my readers today. It’s even sadder given that it’s only been two and a half weeks since I last had to mourn the passing of one of our own, a champion of science-based medicine, a regular commenter of five years, lilady. Unfortunately, this time around, it is my sad […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Studying “disparities” in access to “complementary and alternative medicine”

When it comes to the use of what is sometimes called “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM) or, increasingly, “integrative medicine,” there is a certain narrative. It’s a narrative promoted by CAM proponents that does its best to convince the public that there is nothing unusual, untoward, or odd about CAM use, even though much of […]

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Politics Quackery Religion

J.J. has a chance to live!

Over the years I’ve written about a lot of topics. After all, I’ve been at this for more than a decade now, and I still grind out four or five posts per week, with only occasional breaks for vacations or medical or scientific meetings. Topics have included science-based medicine, antivaccine nonsense, topics of general skepticism, […]