You never know what you're going to get with Cheech & Chong. Actually, that's not true at all. For the most part, you know exactly what the '70s stoner comedy duo -- known for its various hit movies, including their 1978 debut feature film, "Up In Smoke," which was the highest grossing comedy (over $100 million) of 1978 -- is capable of. However, the one caveat is apparently you never know what you're going to get when interviewing Cheech Marin, 62, and Tommy Chong, 70. [continues 779 words]
The medical use of marijuana has polarized public opinion, particularly because of its widespread recreational use over the past 30 years. Those in favor of its medical use point to the apparent safety of this ancient and "natural" remedy, the profusion of anecdotal and survey-based evidence of marijuana's effectiveness, and the importance in today's culture of personal choice. This view has been expressed at the ballot box since November 1996 by referendums in several states. Those opposed, troubled by this potential gateway to serious drug abuse, especially among adolescents, regard acceptance of the medical use of marijuana as the camel's nose under the tent, legitimizing a dangerous relaxation of the nation's "war on drugs." Both sides come from all age groups and levels of society, and both claim their own scientific evidence. [continues 1014 words]
* Marijuana Indeed Shows Medical Potential, But The Delivery System Shouldn't Involve Smoking When a study on the medical use of marijuana was issued recently, advocates for legalizing the drug cheered the report's conclusions that marijuana's compounds do have some potential as medicine. Their opponents, however, cited the report's caveat that the harmful effects of smoking far outweigh marijuana's potential benefits for most patients. Both sides are right. And this is not scientific hair-splitting. To date, it has been nearly impossible to separate scientific evidence about marijuana's potential from larger societal concerns about its use. But doing so may be the key to advancing the rancorous debate over this issue since medical marijuana began to appear on state ballot initiatives in the mid-1990s. [continues 479 words]
Everyone seemed to declare victory when a study on the medical use of marijuana was issued last month. Advocates for legalizing such use said the report aided their cause by concluding that the compounds in marijuana do have some potential as medicine. Their opponents, on the other hand, cheered the report's conclusion that the harmful effects of smoking far outweigh potential benefits for most patients. In reality, both sides are right. The study -- which we led for the Institute of Medicine -- firmly concluded that the active compounds in marijuana do have potential as medicine. But that future does not involve smoking. [continues 616 words]
