Medicine & Drugs, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 27, 2017

Bud in the Oven? Marijuana Use Rises in Pregnant Women

Marijuana is the illicit drug most commonly used by pregnant woman, and now its use is increasing, a new study finds. According to urine samples from about 300,000 women in California, more than 7 percent of them had marijuana in their systems while they were pregnant, the researchers found. This...

Jan 25, 2018

Why a Pot 'Breathalyzer' Won't Work

It's really tricky to measure how much marijuana a person has used on a given day — and how impaired their driving may be as the result of that use — a new opinion piece says. Amid the more widespread legalization of marijuana, there are calls for a roadside test...

Jan 26, 2018

Is Marijuana Bad for Your Heart? Science Can't Say Yet

As marijuana legalization spreads across the U.S., questions about the drug's effects on public health become more relevant. But in at least one area — heart health — there's just not enough scientific evidence to reach firm conclusions about the effects of regular marijuana use, a new review suggests. After...

Jan 30, 2018

Why Pot Smokers Scored Higher Than Nonsmokers on This Memory Test

Which came first, the burnout or the weed? Though various studies have linked teenage cannabis use to noticeable cognitive decline in adulthood, a recent paper published in the journal NeuroImage casts doubt on the existence of this straightforward cause-and-effect relationship. Among a sample of 28-year-olds who took a working-memory test...

Feb 8, 2018

Could We Beat the Opioid Epidemic by Easing Pain with Marijuana?

The number of Americans touched by the opioid epidemic has reached alarming proportions. Millions of people are affected each year, and death rates from overdoses have quadrupled since 1999, numbering in the tens of thousands annually, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). But there may be a...

Feb 12, 2018

The 4/20 Effect: Pot Celebration Day Tied to Rise in Fatal Crashes

It's the day to celebrate for marijuana enthusiasts: April 20, or 4/20. Each year, thousands of pot supporters mark the high holiday by lighting up at precisely 4:20 p.m. But the popular celebration may come with a buzzkill: an increase in the risk of fatal car crashes, a new study...

Feb 16, 2018

What's Worse for Your Brain — Alcohol or Marijuana?

Alcohol may take a greater toll on the brain than marijuana does, especially for teens, a new study finds. Specifically, researchers found that chronic alcohol use is linked to decreases in the brain's gray matter — which consists of brain cell bodies and synapses — in both teens and adults....

Feb 22, 2018

No, Medical-Marijuana Legalization Doesn't Make Teens Smoke More Pot

For years, people have debated whether legalizing marijuana could lead to an increase in the use of the drug among teens. But a new study finds that's not the case, at least for laws that legalize medical marijuana. The study found that teen use of marijuana doesn't seem to change...

Mar 15, 2018

Why Coffee Could Be the Opposite of Cannabis

What does coffee have to do with cannabis? According to a new study, your morning joe causes a drop in the levels of certain substances that are linked to the body's system for responding to marijuana. The levels of these substances — metabolites found in what's known as the endocannabinoid...

Mar 30, 2018

Doctors Don't Know Why This Synthetic Pot Is Making People's Eyes Bleed

Health officials in Illinois are warning people that synthetic marijuana can cause bleeding from the ears and eyes, according to news reports. According to a March 27 statement from the Illinois Department of Public Health, six people experienced severe bleeding; all six had reported using synthetic pot. Yesterday (March 29),...

Apr 2, 2018

How Medical Marijuana Could Help Curb the Opioid Epidemic

Rates of opioid prescriptions went down in states that implemented laws allowing access to medical marijuana, according to two studies published today (April 2) in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The findings suggest that access to medical marijuana may have cut patients' need for opioids to manage their pain, the...

Apr 9, 2018

This Mysterious Marijuana Syndrome Is Relieved by Hot Showers

A mysterious vomiting condition tied to marijuana use has an even stranger antidote: hot showers. The condition, called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, is characterized by recurring bouts of severe nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain in heavy marijuana users, who often take hot showers to relieve their symptoms. The condition was first...

Apr 11, 2018

Synthetic Marijuana Tainted with Rat Poison Linked to 3 Deaths

Synthetic marijuana that causes severe bleeding has killed three people and sickened more than 100 others, and now, officials believe they have identified the dangerous drug's contaminant: rat poison. Cases of severe bleeding in synthetic marijuana users first appeared in Chicago in early March, and the Chicago Tribune reported that...

Apr 13, 2018

Munchies, Anyone? Colorado Restaurant Workers Most Likely to Use Legal Weed

In 2014-2015, a full 32.2 percent of food service workers reported having used marijuana (or hashish) in the last 30 days. That's the most dramatic result of a new report from Colorado's Department of Public Health and Environment, which collected survey data from more than 10,100 people on marijuana use,...

Apr 20, 2018

A Marijuana-Derived Drug Is on Track for FDA Approval

A drug made from marijuana that does not produce a high may soon gain official U.S. approval to treat severe forms of epilepsy. Yesterday (April 19), a panel of advisers for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted unanimously to recommend approval of the drug, called Epidiolex, for treating seizures...