Cannabis: Panacea, Placebo, or Poison? | Jeffrey Chen | TEDxPershingSq

Due to recent changes in state laws, a majority of the US population now has legal access to cannabis. Los Angeles is the largest legal cannabis market in the world. However decades of research restrictions have led to popular belief and anecdotal stories far outnumbering actual scientific knowledge. Depending on who you ask, cannabis is a wondrous panacea, nothing more than placebo, or a dangerous poison. In this TedX talk, Dr. Jeff Chen, MD/MBA, Director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, will separate some of the biggest facts from fiction about cannabis to help you make the most informed choices. Dr. Jeff Chen, MD/MBA, founded and is currently leading the new UCLA Cannabinoid Affinity Group, where he's recruited 40 interdisciplinary faculty members. We are currently working on building a world-class cannabis research center at UCLA.

He's spoken on the topic of cannabis at venues like UCLA, the RAND Corporation, and Senator Feinstein's Office. He is an experienced public speaker and has taught public speaking courses at Cornell. Jeffrey has sung with various internationally recognized groups (choirs, acapella, etc), which brought him to performances at venues like Carnegie Hall and the Vatican. He has also performed in various rock bands, and had a brief stint as a singer/songwriter. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx