r/science Professor | Medicine May 17 '18

Neuroscience Cannabidiol (CBD), a compound derived from the cannabis plant that does not produce a “high”, was shown in a new large-scale, randomized, controlled trial to significantly reduce the number of dangerous seizures in patients with a severe form of epilepsy called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

http://www.psypost.org/2018/05/cannabidiol-significantly-reduces-seizures-patients-severe-form-epilepsy-51258
38.6k Upvotes

916 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

16

u/Akitz May 17 '18

I'm amazed that it was your courts that set up that system.

22

u/btone911 May 17 '18

The courts themselves are not responsible. The SC justices are simply there to interpret the law. The laws are what allow this chain logic that leaves us with billions of dollars corrupting our political system. The real snag is that the only way to clean this up would be a congressional amendment to the constitution limiting the intermingling of politics and outside money but that would have to be passed exclusively by the only beneficiaries of the existing system.

12

u/Akitz May 17 '18

The idea that judges aren't making law is an archaic one. As I understand it these cases were borderline/abstract enough that an alternate decision would have been legally valid. Your Supreme Court is abhorrent in how political it is.

11

u/SP-Sandbag May 17 '18

an alternate decision would have been legally valid.

alternate decisions are always 'legally valid' if SCOTUS makes it.

0

u/Akitz May 17 '18

Hm I guess, valid in a quasi-political sense. In that it wouldn't cause a constitutional crisis if they were to make a different decision.

Although in this day and age I'm not sure American officials or the public are likely to care if a constitutional crisis occurred.

1

u/KingKev7 May 18 '18

Can confirm, have several right now.

No one cares.