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A dozen niche physician practices have approved hundreds of patients for medical marijuana

Nancy Nangeroni, who says she has suffered
neck, shoulder, and back pain since a 2004 
auto accident  brought her medical records 
with her in a visit to Dr. Joey Rottman to 
get certified for medical marijuana.

The waiting room of Integr8, a new type of medical practice that opened in a Burlington office building last October, was crowded with patients. One leaned on a walker, another gripped a plastic grocery bag filled with pill bottles. There were twentysomethings and senior citizens. Many were drawn there by the same thing: medical marijuana.

Yuppie Prohibition League Denounces Pot Legalization

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta: 'I'm Doubling Down On The Legalization Of Medical Marijuana' Inbox x

Dr. Sanjay Gupta — CNN’s chief medical correspondent — revealed on aReddit “Ask Me Anything” this week that he’s “doubling down on the legalization of medical marijuana.”

In the AMA, Gupta tried to dispel some medical myths about pot and pointed out that it’s safer than many narcotic pain pills that doctors prescribe.

Gupta has waged a campaign to change perceptions about pot and argue for its medical legalization since he changed his opinion on the issue in August.

Here are a few highlights:

What are your thoughts towards using high percentage CBD strains to help people with Anxiety? Do you think that using CBD in combination with therapy could be effective and less dangerous than other drugs such as Prozac or Xanax?

I think so. We have a better understanding of how CBD works in the brain, and the receptors where it binds. There are many prescription drugs that have a much higher risk than cannabis, but are prescribed often. Narcotics, in particular. We consume 80% of the world’s pain meds in the United States.

What is the best method of marijuana ingestion?

It is probably vaporizing. I think smoking creates a lot of byproducts that we don’t know enough about. I think eating it leads to very uneven absorption. Vaporizing seems to activate the medicine without burning it. I also think oils absorbed in the mouth are effective, especially for kids.

This MSer believes marijuana helped put his MS in remission: soon however, Davidson will be forced to destroy the medicine he credits with saving his life

Robert Davidson

Robert Davidson’s multiple sclerosis left him unable to walk for 15 years. He had prescriptions for 13 different drugs – including high doses of morphine that left him feeling like a zombie.

Since 2000, however, when he started using cannabis as a medicine, his health has markedly improved. He is now “clean” from all those pharmaceuticals. He can walk again. He has rekindled a relationship with his children. Twenty years after his initial diagnosis, he can even skateboard and snowboard.

“I am able to take care of myself. You don’t know how empowering that is,” said the 50-year-old from Langley Township, B.C.

“It had been 15 years not going up the mountain, and now I can rip big air again.”

He believes marijuana helped put his MS in remission, a phenomenon observed in enough patients to attract the attention of researchers. Several studies have been conducted on the effects of marijuana for patients with MS, some suggesting it could be effective in protecting the nervous system against the disease’s advance.

Job Seekers Swarm Marijuana Job Fair As Colorado’s Green Rush Continues

 If there was any doubt that the “green rush” is on in Colorado, the scene outside a marijuana industry career fair in Denver on Thursday looked like a throwback to the Great Recession.

Thousands of people waited for hours with resumes in hand in a line that stretched several blocks. The O.penVAPE Cannabis Job Fair featured 15 different businesses associated with recreational marijuana sales, and it had turn people away by the day’s end.

Does medical marijuana equal bad parenting?

Shawnee Anderson's voice is shrill, quavering -- on the edge of desperate. She clutches her 11-month-old son, Sage, while trying to comprehend the situation unfolding in front of her.

Her boyfriend -- Sage's father, Aaron Hillyer -- is in handcuffs.

"Why are you doing this?" she pleads with police officers standing on the lawn outside her home.

"Your baby doesn't need to be subjected to marijuana," an officer replies, in an audio recording made by Anderson on her cell phone.

But she could explain: Anderson and Hillyer have legal prescriptions for the marijuana in their home. His is prescribed for anxiety and chronic pain; hers for depression and anxiety.

"I told them we had our cards, our prescriptions," said Anderson, 27. "They didn't want to see them."

Not long after that exchange, according to police video of the family's encounter, a social worker arrived at the home and decided to place Sage in foster care.

"I was pleading with them, 'Look, you guys, I understand your perception, but we are wonderful parents, hardworking members of our community,'" said Hillyer, 34.
"They could not conceive of the fact that you can be a wonderful parent, a decent human being, and medicate with marijuana."

Recent Research on Medical Marijuana

Investigators at the University of California at San Diego reported in 2008 that inhaled cannabis significantly reduced objective measures of pain intensity and spasticity in patients with MS in a placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system that causes inflammation, muscular weakness and a loss of motor coordination. Over time, MS patients typically become permanently disabled and, in some cases, the disease can be fatal. According to the US National Multiple Sclerosis Society, about 200 people are diagnosed every week with the disease -- often striking those 20 to 40 years of age.

Pot For Dogs: Is Medical Marijuana Safe For Your Furry Pals?

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Study: Smoking pot may ease pain, muscle spasms in people with multiple sclerosis

(CBS News) Smoking marijuana may provide relief from multiple sclerosis symptoms, a new study suggests. People with MS who smoked pot reported less pain and spasticity - or muscle tightness - but it came at the expense of their cognitive abilities, the study found.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell open to the idea of players using medical marijuana in states where the drug is legal Medical marijuana is a banned substance in the NFL, even for players in states where it is legal Many argue marijuana could better treat pain for NFL players than prescription narcotics Former NFL player suspects half of all current players currently use marijuana

NFL Commissioner Roger Godell said last
week that he was not entirely opposed
to allowing NFL players to use marijuana
in places where it is not illegal

NFL players could soon be allowed to use marijuana to treat pain if they are in states where the drug has been legalized for either medical or recreational use, the league's commissioner said last week.

Currently, marijuana is on a list of banned substances prohibited under the NFL's substance abuse program.

However, the marijuana recently has been legalized for medical and recreational use in a number of states, including Colorado, Washington and Arizona. But because the drug is on the league's list of banned substances, players living in those states could face consequences from the NFL even if they are using the drug legally.

Pain: Much of Percy Harvin's career
has been plagued by migraine headaches,
which could be treated by medical marijuana

'I don't know what's going to develop as far as the next opportunity for medicine to evolve and to help either deal with pain or help deal with injuries but we will continue to support the evolution of medicine,' NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in an interview with the Associated Press on January 7.
Marijuana has been approved in several states to treat varying ailments, including chronic pain. Given the addictive qualities of other pain medications NFL players often

18 Photo Slideshow: A Clinician's Guide to Medical Marijuana Carol Peckham: Bret Stetka, MD; Charles P. Vega, MD

This is 1 of the 18 photos in this slideshow

WATCH THIS SLIDESHOW ON MEDSCAPE: YOU MIGHT NEED YOUR MEDICAL ID

Study: Cannabidiol provides long-lasting protection against the deleterious effects of inflammation in a viral model of multiple sclerosis: a role for A2A receptors.

Abstract: Inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) is a complex process that involves a multitude of molecules and effectors, and it requires the transmigration of blood leukocytes across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the activation of resident immune cells. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic cannabinoid constituent of Cannabis sativa, has potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. Yet, how this compound modifies the deleterious effects of inflammation in TMEV-induced demyelinating disease (TMEV-IDD) remains unknown. Using this viral model of multiple sclerosis (MS), we demonstrate that CBD decreases the transmigration of blood leukocytes by downregulating the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), chemokines (CCL2 and CCL5) and the proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β, as well as by attenuating the activation of microglia. Moreover, CBD administration at the time of viral infection exerts long-lasting effects, ameliorating motor deficits in the chronic phase of the disease in conjunction with reduced microglial activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Adenosine A2A receptors participate in some of the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD, as the A2A antagonist ZM241385 partially blocks the protective effects of CBD in the initial stages of inflammation. Together, our findings highlight the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD in this viral model of MS and demonstrate the significant therapeutic potential of this compound for the treatment of pathologies with an inflammatory component. Read more

How Rich People Smoke Pot

The Volcano Vaporizer has become a coveted status symbol for posh pot smokers, who say it draws out the drug's aroma like "the bouquet of a wine"

 As the executive director of NORML, the leading lobbying organization for pot smokers’ rights, Allen St. Pierre gets asked a lot of strange questions. But the one he’s been getting lately is, “What is that metal thing they use onWeeds?”

The answer is the Volcano Vaporizer, a smokeless inhalation device that has recently shown up on both the Showtime series and HBO’s Bored to Death, in which a sexy stoner played by Jenny Slate lures Jason Schwartzman into her bedroom to test one out. (“Just squeeze down on that nipple and suck in the vapors,” she coaches him.) It’s even used at the renowned Chicago restaurant Alinea, albeit unconventionally, to pipe aromas of nutmeg and coffee to diners as they eat dessert.

The Volcano is affectionately known as the “Mercedes Benz” of toking up.

“If you live in Ohio, or if you’re a baby boomer who has no problem with cannabis, and you see them using that, you’re asking, ‘What’s going on?’” says Pierre. “There’s a veneer of sophistication to it. This is not your daddy’s bong.”