[uxp]

I think it was Tim Minchin's Storm that brought the quip "You know what they call Alternative Medicine that works? _MEDICINE!_". This is an entirely true statement, but also seems to miss the R&D period. And I'm not specifically saying its a modern R&D period.

It was well known for centuries that willow and aspen tree bark had anti-inflammation properties, so R&D could simply be to test if chewing on branches or bark was what helped with inflammation, or does it need to be from a fresh tree or can a dead tree also provide benefit. Once it's been determine that it's the bark, then can one grind it up and drink it in tea? For centuries, drinking a tea made from some plant material was the cutting edge of drug delivery mechanisms. Then for modern times, what substance within that plant can be isolated that provides the specific function we've observed. Can it be synthesized? Can it be pressed into a pill, or placed in a capsule? Now it's what you and I may observe as modern medicine, but there is a fact that chewing on the bark, the so-called "alternative medicine" is just unrefined medicine, where the level of refinement is determined by your society's manufacturing and science communities. Some day, some culture will probably look back and think that it was uncivilized that we had to go find someone who we needed to convince to dispense physical chemicals that we had to consume in order to feel better, just as we might look at someone chewing on a stick to relieve a headache as wacky. That's what "Asprin" is for.

That said, I'm entirely in the camp that thinks that modern alternative medicine is a sham. Cannabis' biggest problem is obviously political, but it probably also has the biggest potential for being a candidate for research to isolate and properly identify the interactions with the human body today. It clearly has some effect on the body (and mind), but as far as I'm concerned it's flower is still a caveman era drug while CBD oils are essentially Victorian drugs. We might see some kind of modern medicine originate from it, but I'm skeptical for now.

[bitwize]

The thing about aspirin tablets vs. herbal tea, is not so much the delivery method itself. It's that the active compound in the tree bark has been discovered, isolated, and dosage-controlled so that you get a fixed amount in each tablet. Note that we still use drinks as a means of dispensing medicines -- consider cough syrup or Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold.