Melissa Etheridge recently interviewed with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on the topic of legalizing cannabis for medical purposes. She said that marijuana immediately eased the pain and nausea she felt during chemo treatments for breast cancer in 2004.
In the interview, she also said she continues to use marijuana now to help with acid reflux.
Currently, fewer than 15 US states permit marijuana to be taken for medical conditions, but there is no formal prescription, only a recommendation from doctors.
DrugPolicy.org notes that the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can prosecute medical marijuana patients, even in states with “compassionate use laws” (2005 …read more

If you smoke both marijuana and tobacco, you’re at an even higher risk of developing a serious lung disease, say researchers.
According to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal last week, people who regularly smoked both tobacco and marijuana were about three times more likely than non-smokers to develop a COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a serious lung disease. The authors wrote:
Smoking only tobacco was associated with an increased risk of COPD, as defined in all 3 ways. Smokers who reported using both marijuana and tobacco were almost 2.5 times more likely than nonsmokers to have respiratory symptoms …read more

Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active compound in marijuana has been found to cut tumor growth by half in common lung cancer, aside from significantly reducing the ability of the cancer to spread.
Conducted by researchers at Harvard University, this is the first study to demonstrate that a cannabinoid compound inhibits EGF-induced growth and migration in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung cancer cell lines.
According to Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine:
“The beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to …read more