As experts in the health care of children and adolescents, pediatricians may be called on to advise legislators concerning the potential impact of changes in the legal status of marijuana on adolescents. Parents, too, may look to pediatricians for advice as they consider whether to support state-level initiatives that propose to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes or to decrimina...

Over 4400 adult internet users completed The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale and measures of marijuana use. We employed an internet survey in an effort to recruit the most depressed and marijuana-involved participants, including those who might prove unwilling to travel to the laboratory or discuss drug use on the phone or in person. We compared those who consumed marijuana da...

In accordance with the CSA rescheduling provisions, after gathering the necessary data, DEA requested a scientific and medical evaluation and scheduling recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). DHHS concluded that marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no accepted medical use in the United States, and lacks an acceptable level of safety for use even under m...

PURPOSE Since 1996, 16 states have legalized marijuana use for medical purposes. The current study provides a scientific assessment of the association of medical marijuana laws (MML) and adolescent marijuana use using national data. METHOD State representative survey data on approximately 23,000 12-17 year olds were collected by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health annually from 2002-20...

OBJECTIVE To determine if medical marijuana provides pain relief for patients with chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) and to determine the therapeutic dose, adverse effects, and specific indications. DATA SOURCES In April 2014, MEDLINE and EMBASE searches were conducted using the terms chronic noncancer pain, smoked marijuana or cannabinoids, placebo and pain relief, or side effects or adverse eve...

Copyright © 2014 Massachusetts Medical Society. In light of the rapidly shifting landscape regarding the legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes, patients may be more likely to ask physicians about its potential adverse and beneficial effects on health. The popular notion seems to be that marijuana is a harmless pleasure, access to which should not be regulated or consid...

In 1996, California was the first state to pass a Compassionate Use Act allowing for the legal use of marijuana for medical purposes. Here we review several current policy and land use environmental interventions designed to limit problems related to the influx of medical marijuana dispensaries across California cities. Then we discuss the special challenges, solutions, and techniques used for ...