Erik Messamore, M.D., Ph.D., joins Dr. Dixon and Dr. Berezin to discuss suggestions for informing the public more effectively about the potential benefits and risks of marijuana in state medical marijuana programs.

Dr. Messamore is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Northeast Ohio Medical University and Medical Director of the university's Best Practices in Schizophrenia Treatment Center.

• How Dr. Messamore became interested in medical marijuana policy [2:33]
• Points raised by patients regarding the benefits and risks of medical marijuana [5:57]
• A history of the legalization of medical marijuana in the United States [7:54]
• The difference between the authorization of marijuana for medical use relative to recreational use [10:24]
• Discrepancies between the approval processes of regular medicines and medical marijuana [12:32]
• The role of industry and lobbying [18:09]
• Recommendations for what state governments should be doing [19:22]
• Side effects of cannabis [20:43]
• Arguments for the continued loosening of cannabis policies [24:40]
• Response to cannabis advocates [27:28]

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This article is part of the Think Bigger, Do Good series commissioned by the Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation, Peg's Foundation, the Patrick P. Lee Foundation, and the Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation. The full series can be viewed at www.ThinkBiggerDoGood.org.