国家地理
Many cannabis users swear by the drug’s capacity for pain relief but experts say the evidence for it is “questionable”—and it may just be the placebo effect. It may seem like it doesn’t matter whether the positive results people experience in cannabis trials derive from taking the drug or thinking they did, as long as their pain is diminished. However, researchers say that isn't the case. “It’s not enough to know that something is working. We need to know why it is working to best help patients,” says Karin Jensen, who spearheaded the study and is a researcher in the pain neuroimaging lab at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute. Could the perceived benefits be more about expectation than the drug itself? Find out more at the link in bio. Photo illustration by Kurt Mutchler