Marijuana

She was middle aged, chronically anxious and doing well from her past cancer. When I asked her about her weight, she replied, “I was losing weight until I started smoking marijuana.”

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Unmasking Medical Marijuana

At age 60, I can pretty much say I will never recommend marijuana to any of my patients. I have far too clear memories of my teenage years, when I knew many friends and family who smoked pot, to their detriment. In high school it wasn’t hard to tell who was using regularly because it interfered with their learning. They seemed slightly disoriented and less aware of what was going on around them.

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Marijuana: Profits, Politics and Popularity Over People

When it comes to medical marijuana, many people prefer profits, politics and popularity over people. And physicians are not exempt. In this special blog post, Dr. James Avery explores the current movement of medical marijuana and how physicians need to actively confront the view held by so many that marijuana is a safe, natural and weak hallucinogenic.

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The Commercialization of Marijuana

What happens when marijuana is legalized for either medical or recreational use with little regulation and almost no enforcement? Unfortunately, we know by looking at what has happened in Colorado over the last few years, as Ben Cort relates in his excellent book Weed, Inc.

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Research Shows Use of Medical Marijuana not Always Beneficial

The evidence wasn’t as strong to support marijuana’s use for nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, sleep disorders, HIV-related weight loss and Tourette syndrome. Also, any benefits of marijuana or cannabis use must be weighed against the risk of side effects, which include dizziness, dry mouth, nausea, sleepiness and euphoria, according to the study’s lead author.

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