Every few weeks a story appears crediting cannabis with an extraordinary effect, for better or worse. Most of those stories are not false: they are incomplete. And an incomplete health story can do more damage than a false one, because it looks well founded.
These five questions work for any health information, including the information we publish ourselves.
1. What is the original source?
Look for the link to the study, the report or the official release. If the story does not include one, you already know something important. When the source exists and is accessible, check that it says what the headline claims.
2. What kind of study is it?
A cell culture, an animal model, an observational study and a randomised controlled trial are not the same thing. Each design answers a different question, and none is “the good one” in the abstract; the problem is presenting a preliminary result as if it were settled.
3. Who was studied?
Age, previous health status, concurrent treatments and patterns of use all change the result. A finding in one population does not transfer automatically to another.
4. Is there a conflict of interest?
Public, private or mixed funding; authors’ ties to industry. It does not invalidate the result, but it should shape how you read it, and it is worth knowing before you share the story.
5. What does the headline leave out?
The nuances that get dropped from a headline are usually the useful ones: small samples, short durations, modest effects, no control group, or results that only appear in one subgroup.
If a health story promises to settle something complex in one sentence, the question is not whether it is exciting but what has been left out.
Our commitment
When we publish a health story we will link the source, describe the type of study and avoid recommendations. The foundation does not give medical advice and does not replace a consultation with a healthcare professional.
If you have doubts about a specific story, write to highdoctorcsc@gmail.com and, if we can, we will review it.