Medicine & Drugs, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 26, 2017

Illegal Pot Use Is Rising in States That Have Legalized Medical Marijuana

In recent years, illegal marijuana use has risen faster in states that have legalized medical marijuana than in states without such laws, a new study finds. In addition, the percentage of people with marijuana use disorders — people who use the drug in unhealthy ways, or abuse it — has...

May 4, 2017

Marijuana-Related ER Visits Spike Among Colorado Teens

The number of marijuana-related ER visits made by teens and young adults more than quadrupled at one Colorado hospital after the state legalized the drug, a new report finds. Researchers analyzed information from people ages 13 to 21 who visited the emergency room at Children's Hospital Colorado or one its...

May 8, 2017

Marijuana's Mind-Altering Compound May Improve Memory

Marijuana's main psychoactive compound, THC, may improve memory, according to a new study in mice. However, more research is needed to see whether these findings would apply to people, the researchers said. The researchers found that old mice in the study experienced a dramatic improvement in cognitive functions after the...

May 18, 2017

Marijuana: Facts About Cannabis

Marijuana is the slang term for portions of the Cannabis plant. It is one of the oldest psychoactive substances used by man. Marijuana, also called pot, weed, ganja, mary jane, and a host of other nicknames, is made from the Cannabis plant, which has three species: Cannabis sativa; Cannabis indica...

May 18, 2017

What is THC?

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects. It acts much like the cannabinoid chemicals made naturally by the body, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Cannabinoid receptors are concentrated in certain areas of the brain associated with thinking, memory, pleasure, coordination...

May 24, 2017

Marijuana Extract Reduces Seizures in Kids with Rare Disorder

A highly anticipated clinical trial has shown that treating patients with epilepsy with a compound derived from marijuana can significantly reduce and, in some cases, eliminate seizures in children and young adults. In the study, children and young adults with a rare and debilitating form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome...

Jun 6, 2017

Marijuana for Menstrual Cramps? New York Considers Medical Option

Women with menstrual cramps in New York state could have a new option for easing their monthly pains: medical marijuana. The New York State Assembly is considering a bill to add dysmenorrhea — the medical name for menstrual cramps — to the list of conditions for which doctors can legally...

Jun 6, 2017

Marijuana: Effects of Weed on Brain and Body

Marijuana is a combination of shredded leaves, stems and flower buds of the Cannabis sativa plant. Marijuana can be smoked, eaten, vaporized, brewed and even taken topically, but most people smoke it. The intoxicating chemical in marijuana is tetrahydracannabinol, or THC. According to research from the Potency Monitoring Project, the...

Jun 6, 2017

Medical Marijuana: Benefits, Risks & State Laws

Medical marijuana is legal in 26 states, the District of Columbia and Guam. Proponents of marijuana, backed by several studies, say the drug has many therapeutic uses. Opponents — and the U.S. government — however, say it has a high potential for abuse and no legitimate therapeutic value. Marijuana's medicinal...

Jun 7, 2017

Teen Pot Use Linked to Illegal Drug Use by Age 21, Study Suggests

Teens who regularly or occasionally use pot are more likely to take other illegal drugs or use other harmful substances by age 21, a new study suggests, adding weight to the idea that marijuana does indeed act as a gateway to the use of other drugs. Researchers found that teenagers...

Jun 13, 2017

Smoking Out Sleep Problems: Pot May Fight Restless Legs Syndrome

Marijuana may help relieve the symptoms of restless legs syndrome, a very small report from France suggests. People with restless legs syndrome (RLS) experience unpleasant and often painful sensations in their legs, and feel an irresistible urge to move their legs when resting, according to the National Institute of Neurological...

Jun 14, 2017

Science Calls Out Jeff Sessions on Medical Marijuana

Amid a drug crisis that kills 91 people in the U.S. each day, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has asked Congress to help roll back protections that have shielded medical marijuana dispensaries from federal prosecutors since 2014, according to a letter made public this week. Those legal controls—which bar Sessions's Justice...

Jun 22, 2017

With Legal Pot, Fatal Car Crashes Haven't Increased

In the three years following Colorado's and Washington's decisions in 2012 to legalize recreational marijuana, deaths in car crashes did not increase in those states, a new study finds. The results provide more facts in a nationwide policy discussion already rife with controversy. One of the arguments being made when...

Jun 23, 2017

Canada Issues Guidelines for Safer Use of Marijuana

As many countries move toward legalizing pot, officials in Canada are releasing guidelines for how people can lower the health risks that may be associated with the drug if they choose to use it. The guidelines, which were released today (June 23) by the Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Misuse,...

Jul 15, 2017

Pot Innovation: Patents for Marijuana Could Lead to Court Battles

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. It's hard to make sense of cannabis regulation. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues to categorize marijuana as a Schedule I drug. That means the government believes it has...