Scientific populariser and science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, a longtime friend of Bermuda who regularly lectured on the nature of things at local astronomical events in the ‘70s and ‘80s, had a famously limited tolerance for all forms of quackery.

But he was sanguine about the prospects of ever fully discrediting what have become known as the fields of pseudoscience or pseudohistory.

Asimov once described the late 20th century flowering of junk science, conspiracy theories and anti-establishment paranoia as a recurring theme in Western life, the unavoidable price a society pays when freedom of speech fully protects the right to spout and profit from gibberish.

And he openly rued the fact there would always be an audience almost eager to be rooked by such claptrap: to have their biases, prejudice and ignorance affirmed (loosely speaking) by mercenary charlatans posing as specialists.

“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life,” said Asimov, “nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge’.”

The proliferation of fact-free science and instant revisionist history — Trutherism, Birtherism and other lunatic -isms of that ilk — in the internet age would have saddened Asimov but certainly not surprised him. In the era of the information superhighway, there is now an off-ramp for even the most preposterous misinformation into every home equipped with a computer. And since fantasy is always so much more alluring than prosaic fact, such nonsense will always find cultish adherents

In recent weeks Bermuda has been subjected to twin bombardments of pseudoscience and pseuedohistory on an almost unprecedented scale, barrages of pseudo truths, half-truths and outright untruths intended to soften up public opinion in advance of last week’s parliamentary take-note motion on the Cannabis Reform Collaborative report.

We have had what might be called The Secret & Subverted History Of Marijuana traced back virtually to the Garden of Eden. And cannabis’ supposedly miraculous properties have been extolled in terms which suggest it is a Universal Panacea, one which can be used to treat or alleviate the symptoms of illnesses including spinal cord injuries, diabetes, ulcers, arthritis, migraines, insomnia, infections and clinical depression.

According to those who claim to possess the Revealed Truth about marijuana, the once widely available weed was subjected to sinister crackdowns throughout the 20th century. These, of course, were hatched by Big Pharmaceutical Concerns which crossed Big Government’s hands with silver in order to protect the profitability of the pills they were pushing.

Controlled clinical studies show health benefits certainly exist, but they are limited. For instance, marijuana has been demonstrated to effectively treat neuropathic pain, and it has also been shown to boost the appetites and reduce the nausea experienced by cancer and AIDS patients. But other widely circulated claims about marijuana’s effectiveness as a cure-all simply don’t bear close scrutiny.

The US Glaucoma Research Foundation dismisses the idea that medical marijuana provides effective treatment for that disease. “The high dose of marijuana necessary to produce a clinically relevant effect,” the foundation’s website explains, makes it a poor choice for the treatment of glaucoma, especially given its “significant side effects” and the availability of safer, more effective drugs.

In addition, those who use marijuana to treat mental health symptoms rarely acknowledge the scientific data which demonstrates the drug may actually cause these same symptoms.

The overstated claims, in too many instances either unsubstantiated or contradicted by scientific research, actually did a disservice to the cause its advocates were championing.

Only the most reactionary elements in our society would argue that Bermuda’s antiquated marijuana laws aren’t long overdue for reform. As is the case in North America, the Caribbean and Europe, there is broadening social and cultural acceptance of the need to decriminalise small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

In Bermuda, the ramifications for possession can be penal, absurdly disproportionate to the magnitude of the crime. Convictions involving even minute amounts of the drug routinely land young (or middle-aged) Bermudians on the US stop list for life, blocking educational and career opportunities and severely curtailing their freedom of movement.

Marijuana is a rite of passage for Bermuda high school and college students, a staple relaxant for many otherwise abstemious and serious-minded adults and a religious sacrament to a few. But, at best, the entire question of cannabis reform remains a side issue for the majority of Bermuda residents who tend to be preoccupied at the moment with questions of job security or perhaps even finding a job.

And Opposition Leader Marc Bean’s unprompted admission during last week’s take-note motion to the effect he “cured” his asthmatic daughter’s condition with a “big cup of ganja tea” may ensure the matter will now remain a side issue.

To his more vocal critics Mr Bean has become the poster boy for politicians putting themselves above the law. To his defenders he is the champion of do-it-yourself alternative medicine. But to rank-and-file Bermudians he is likely seen as a case study in negligent parenting.

Adults making informed decisions about their own marijuana use is one thing. But even to those entirely sympathetic to the idea of decriminalisation, the thought of dosing a three-year-old with a home remedy involving cannabis is understandably being viewed as grossly irresponsible if not actually criminal.

Mr Bean has demonstrated, in the starkest terms imaginable, precisely why his ignorance is not as good as the scientific community’s knowledge when it comes to the medical uses of marijuana. And Bermudians may well be having second-thoughts about rushing through reforms which would make the drug more widely accessible to those who share his uninformed views.