A 20-year study of 5,115 adults, published in JAMA, found that smoking marijuana about once a week did not harm lung function the way cigarettes do. Results are hazier for heavy users: the data hint at decline, but too few heavy users took part to draw a firm conclusion.
Section archive
Marijuana
- All desks
- Abortion
- Accutane
- Acetaminophen
- Acid Reflux
- Acidic Foods
- Acne
- Acrylamide
- Acupuncture
- Additives
- ADHD
- Adiposity
- Advisories
- Aerobic Exercise
- Aflatoxin
- Agave
- Agent Orange
- Aging
- Agriculture
- AIDS
- Air Pollution
- Airline Passengers
- Airport
- ALA
- Alcohol
- Alcoholic Beverage
- Alerts
- Allergy
- Alli
- Aloe Vera
- ALS
- Alternative Medicine
- Aluminum
- Alzheimer's
- Amalgam
- AMD
- Ampyra
- Amygdala
- Anal Cancer
- And
- Anemia
- Angiogenesis
- Animal Protein
- Animals
- Anorexia
- Anthocyanins
- Anthrax
- Anti-Angiogenesis
- Anti-Obesity
- Antibacterial
- Antibiotic
Drug
Medical Marijuana boosts appetite in HIV and AIDS patients
A double-blind crossover study from the University of California, San Diego and the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research found inhaled cannabis stimulated the appetite hormones ghrelin, leptin and PYY in adult HIV and AIDS patients, the first to examine THC's effect on those hormones directly.
Environment
1 in 9 high school seniors try illicit drugs
A national survey found 11.4 percent of high school seniors, about one in nine, got high in the past year on synthetic drugs such as K2 or Spice, second only to marijuana. Poison control centers logged twice as many related calls in 2011 as in 2010, and 40-plus states have banned them.
Drug
The Medical Miracle You'll Get Arrested for Using (comment)
Mercola describes mounting federal pressure on medical marijuana: 15 states and the District of Columbia permit it, but the DEA still raids suppliers, the administration narrowed which patients are spared arrest, banks and landlords face threats, and the IRS denied dispensaries standard deductions.
Drug
AMA urges clinical studies of marijuana
The AMA voted to urge the federal government to move marijuana off Schedule 1 so cannabis-based medicines can be studied more easily. Its statement says this endorses neither state medical marijuana programs nor legalization, nor that the evidence meets prescription product standards.
Miscellaneous
Medical marijuana touted as cure for cities' budget woes
After Oakland voters backed a marijuana tax expected to raise about $294,000 in its first year, San Francisco and Berkeley are weighing similar measures. A state bill and a proposed 2010 ballot initiative would legalize and tax cannabis more broadly.
7 stories