For generations, medicinal plants and herbs such as cannabis sativa have been condemned, slandered, marginalized, and pejoratively relegated to the status of "alternative" medicine or even the bogus claim that cannabis is a dangerous "gateway drug." But cannabis medicine is anything but alternative; it is primary medicine. Research throughout the 20th century has confirmed what traditional and natural healers and doctors have known for millennia: phytocannabinoids (from the plant) and endocannabinoids (from your own body) are not marginal, illusory, or optional components of health; they are essential for wellbeing. The endocannabinoid system is our primary homeodynamic regulator and harm reduction system, modulating and regulating virtually all other neurophysiological systems and functions. Cannabis is not "alternative" medicine, it is primary care. It is foundational, ancient, natural, powerful, and essential.

Cannabis medicine is fundamental medicine.

Fundamental Medicine: A Cannabis Resource Site

This website serves as a resource directory for anyone seeking reliable, trustworthy information about cannabis and cannabis medicine. On the other pages of this site, you'll find lists of resources including books, articles, and videos discussing the cannabis plant and the endocannabinoid system ("endo" meaning "internal/from within," referencing the fact that our bodies make their own cannabinoids, which mimic the activity of the phytocannabinoids THC and CBD from the cannabis plant).

In the wake of legalization and increased medical use of cannabis, there has been an explosion of research and popular discussion of cannabis ranging from high-quality, peer-reviewed science to totally baseless, false, and misleading opinions spread through mainstream media, social media, and online discussion forums. Given this muddled informational situation, there is dire need for a way to access reliable and accurate information about cannabis. This website serves to provide a directory to such sources of information.

Through my 9 years of experience in graduate school and 4 years of PhD dissertation research on embodied cognition, autopoietic biology, and the neurophysiology of trauma and emotional regulation (and extensive coursework and research into interdisciplinary studies, qualitative/quantitative research methods, the philosophy of science, and related questions), I have discerned a vital need for learning to critically evaluate science and any claims made about medicine, health, and healthcare. Sadly, much of the content presented to us via mainstream media, social media, and even science journals themselves is of poor quality and often downright false. (E.g., the still-lingering propaganda that cannabis is a "gateway drug," which it emphatically isn't -- see the Myths and Misconceptions page for more information.) This is especially problematic in the context of cannabis, given generations of misleading, fear-driven, oppressive, and harmful propaganda campaigns waged against what in actuality is one of the safest and most effective natural medicines on Earth: phytocannabinoids and endocannabinoids. (Fun fact: your body/brain is currently full of cannabinoids, whether or not you have ever consumed something made from the cannabis sativa plant. This is thanks to our endocannabinoid system, which helps keep all our other systems in balance and functioning properly. See the Cannabis 101 page for more information.)

This site is my attempt to provide a home-base for your exploration of cannabis. While I make every effort to include only high-quality, reliable sources of information, I nonetheless do not directly or necessarily endorse, corroborate, or recommend any claims made by any of the authors or institutions to which I link. No individual person, organization, or institution has perfect knowledge of anything, and thus all claims and ideas must be considered critically and carefully. Toward this end, the Resources Lists & Links page includes a handful of books that discuss how exactly one can learn to critically evaluate research and claims made by professional experts (or really anyone). One such book and website is the excellent project Calling Bullshit: Data Reasoning in a Digital World. The authors of this project, Dr. Carl Bergstrom (Professor of Biology at the U. of Washington) and Dr. Jevin West (professor in the Information School at U. of Washington), explain in accessible detail the how, what and why of critically evaluating knowledge claims such that you aren't duped by slick rhetoric, manipulated data, or unreliable ideas -- in short, bullshit.

There is no shortage of bullshit surrounding the global revolution in cannabis medicine and culture, so if you would like to rise above the muck and inform yourself with reliable, accurate knowledge of this amazing plant, medicine, and experience, please wander through the other pages of this site and check out the links and resources I've shared. I will be periodically updating these lists to include more sources as they become available.