A small, new study backs a long-standing claim of advocates of medical marijuana: pain patients can safely use cannabis while taking opioid painkillers, and may actually need fewer pills because of it.
Marijuana
Why Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Traffic Deaths
States that legalize medical marijuana see fewer fatal car accidents, according to a new study, in part because people may be substituting marijuana smoking for drinking alcohol.
Why Kids With High IQs Are More Likely to Take Drugs
People with high IQs are more likely to smoke marijuana and take other illegal drugs, compared with those who score lower on intelligence tests, according to a new study from the U.K.
Is Nicotine a ‘Gateway’ to Cocaine Addiction (and Cancer)?
Some have claimed that tobacco and alcohol are “gateway” drugs that people use before turning to illicit substances. While causal conclusions are hard to draw, at least one new study in mice shows that smoking may indeed increase …
Study: Legal Medical Marijuana Doesn’t Encourage Kids to Smoke More Pot
Despite warnings from opponents of medical marijuana, legalizing the drug for medical purposes does not encourage teens to smoke more pot, according to new research that compared rates of marijuana use in Massachusetts and Rhode …
Trick or Treat: L.A. Sheriff Warns of Marijuana-Laced Halloween Candy
From the department of incipient urban legends comes a press release from the L.A. County Sheriff, warning that officers have seized medical marijuana products “packaged to resemble licensed commercial candy and snacks” and that …
Obama’s Misguided Crackdown on Medical Marijuana
(Updated) Why is the U.S. government cracking down on medical marijuana, a $1.7 billion business — and one of the few that seems to be thriving in a moribund economy?
More Evidence That Marijuana-Like Drugs May Help Prevent PTSD
Could a marijuana-based medicine potentially prevent the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? If the findings of a new study in rodents hold up, they may offer a new avenue for treatment of an illness that affects …
The Healthland Podcast: We Debate the Long-Term Health Effects of 9/11
This week we talk about the lasting physical and mental-health effects of Sept. 11, 2001 — not just for New Yorkers but everyone who lived through the attacks. Click the play button below to listen immediately, or you can …
Marijuana Slims? Why Pot Smokers Are Less Obese
If cannabis causes the munchies, how is it possible that pot smokers are thinner than nonsmokers?
Viewpoint: Smoke a Joint, Lose Your Child?
People caught with small amounts of marijuana in New York State are supposed to receive no more than a $100 fine, the equivalent of a traffic ticket. Instead, in New York City, many such people are being accused of child neglect, …
Marijuana Derivative May Offer Hope in Cocaine Addiction
A new study in mice has found that activating a receptor affected by marijuana can dramatically reduce cocaine consumption. The research suggests that new anti-addiction drugs might be developed using synthetic versions of …
Study: Marijuana Not Linked With Long Term Cognitive Impairment
The idea that “marijuana makes you dumb” has long been embodied in the stereotype of the slow, stupid stoner, seen in numerous Hollywood movies and TV comedies and going unquestioned by much of American culture. But a new …