Marijuana/Cannabis News and Research

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Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant (Cannabis sativa). Cannabis is a term that refers to marijuana and other drugs made from the same plant. Other forms of cannabis include sinsemilla, hashish, and hash oil. All forms of cannabis are mind-altering (psychoactive) drugs.

Lawsuit filed against federal government over medical cannabis misinformation

The patients advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California demanding that the federal government cease issuing misinformation on medical cannabis and correct the information it has released.

21 Feb 2007

Marijuana gives relief from chronic pain for AIDS sufferers

Researchers have found that people suffering from chronic foot pain as a result of the AIDS virus gained relief from smoking marijuana.

14 Feb 2007

UK backpackers drinking their way across Australia

The perception that UK backpackers do a lot of drinking while they are travelling across Australia has been supported by new research. Forty per cent reported drinking five or more times a week when in Australia, compared to only just over 20% when they were at home.

16 Jan 2007

New diabetes drug Rimonabant again proves to be a good option

A new study has found that a new diabetic drug helped improve blood sugar control and also promoted weight loss in people with type 2 diabetes.

6 Dec 2006

Parents too often unaware of child's drug abuse

According to the latest research parents do not provide valuable information about their children's use of alcohol and drugs because they are often unaware of it; and this is true of even the most observant parents, with the most open family relationships who are often oblivious to their children's use and abuse of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs.

25 Sep 2006

Links between musical tastes and lifestyle

The music we listen to can tell a lot more than you might think about what kind of people we are, according to research findings by a University of Leicester psychologist.

14 Sep 2006

Fewer teens using illicit drugs, but no let up with the baby boomers

According to a new survey the use of illicit drugs among teenagers has dropped for the third year in a row.

13 Sep 2006

Prevention programs for teens can reduce methamphetamine abuse

New research supported in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, shows that prevention programs conducted in middle school can reduce methamphetamine abuse among rural adolescents years later.

4 Sep 2006

The endocannabinoid system controls key epileptogenic circuits in the hippocampus

The same brain machinery that responds to the active substance in marijuana provides a central "on-demand" protection against seizures, researchers have found. They said their discoveries suggest that the "endocannabinoid" system might constitute a prime target for drugs against seizures of epilepsy and other neurodegenerative diseases.

16 Aug 2006

Conception and pregnancy put at risk by marijuana use

According to new research the use of marijuana when a woman is trying to conceive or has just become pregnant, is not recommended as it endangers the passage of the embryo from the ovary to the uterus and can result in a failed pregnancy.

2 Aug 2006

Getting high on mothballs lands teens in hospital

Doctors were mystified when an 18-year-old French woman appeared at a hospital with scaly skin on her legs and hands, and was unsteady and mentally sluggish.

30 Jul 2006

Psychotherapeutic interventions for cannabis abuse

Marijuana dependence and abuse can be moderately improved by various psychotherapy treatments - but reduced use rather than abstinence may be the best clinicians can hope for at this time, a new review finds.

21 Jul 2006

First trial to investigate effects of cannabinoids on progression of multiple sclerosis

Clinicians from across the UK have now embarked on the world's first trial to investigate whether cannabis derivatives could play a role in slowing the progression of multiple sclerosis.

11 Jul 2006

Association between marijuana use and the incidence of transitional cell carcinoma suggested

Like tobacco smoking, marijuana smoking has been implicated as a causative factor in tumors of the head and neck and of the lung.

28 Jun 2006

Cannabis to lower blood pressure!

A new method for lowering blood pressure (hypertension) through use of a compound that synthesizes a cannabis (hashish) plant component has been developed.

19 Jun 2006

PET imaging of cerebral cannabinoid CB1 receptors with [11C]JHU75528

A team of Johns Hopkins researchers developed a new radiotracer - a radioactive substance that can be traced in the body - to visualize and quantify the brain's cannabinoid receptors by positron emission tomography (PET).

6 Jun 2006

Heavy marijuana use not linked to lung cancer

Despite popular belief, a new study shows that people who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk of developing lung cancer.

24 May 2006

OK from the FDA for synthetic marijuana drug

Despite saying quite recently that it does not support the use of marijuana for medical purposes, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given marketing approval for a drug which is a synthetic version of the active ingredient in marijuana.

17 May 2006

Cannabis effective at relieving pain after major surgery

A cannabis plant extract provides pain relief for patients after major surgery such as knee replacements, a study by Imperial College London and the Medical Research Council has shown.

17 May 2006

Peanut - kiss not the culprit in Canadian teens death

According to a coroner in Quebec a severe asthma attack was responsible for the death of a 15 year old girl last November and not a peanut-contaminated kiss.

14 May 2006