A new study reports that long-term marijuana users have little to worry about in terms of lung damage. Paul Armentano writes in Alternet: The inhalation of one marijuana cigarette per day over a 20-year period is not associated with adverse changes in lung health, according to data published online ahead of print in the journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Investigators at Emory University in Atlanta assessed marijuana smoke exposure and lung health in a large representative sample of…

In a recent article in Alternet, Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum of the Drug Policy Alliance suggested that not only will making marijuana legal for adults likely not lead to increased teen use, but could improve the methods and resources we use to educate them about drugs. Many worry that legalization might “send the wrong message,” leading to an escalation in teenage use. [caption id="attachment_8379" align="alignright" width="190"] Dr. Marsha Rosenbaum[/caption] As a federally funded researcher, I regularly…

Researchers at the University of Michigan have sifted through nationwide data to determine the prevalence of different drug-related emergency room visits and (surprise, surprise!) their recently released results show that “marijuana dependence was associated with the lowest rates” of emergency room visits. NORML’s Paul Armentano has broken down the study here on Alternet: Among those surveyed, subjects that reported using cannabis were the least likely to report an ED visit (1.71 percent). Respondents…

After word spread of DEA raids on medical marijuana collectives in San Diego and Mendocino County last week, many are left wondering if federal agents deliberately violated the Obama administration’s instructions to not interfere with state medical marijuana laws. Under the Department of Justice policy announced in an October memo, federal agents are no longer supposed to target or prosecute medical marijuana patients or providers who operate in “clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state…