Potheads rescue Big Tobacco

(Memo to potheads: All fumes from all fires are harmful and carcinogenic -- there's no such thing as a harmless or healthy fume from a fire, any fire)

Is It Inevitable That Big Tobacco Will Shift To Big Marijuana?
 By Chris Morran, Consumerist.com, Apr 20, 2016

Four states and Washington, D.C., have already legalized recreational marijuana use, while medical

marijuana use is currently legal (or about to become legal) in around 20 states — not to mention the many states that have decriminalized the drug. At the same time, tobacco use continues to decline and the few remaining cigarette giants can only merge with each other so many times. So is Big Tobacco destined to become Big Marijuana?

The tobacco industry, for all its feigned ignorance about the health hazards of its products, is not stupid and has been thinking about dabbling in marijuana since at least the 1960s. ....click "Read More" below to continue....

Free At Last From Pot

Anna Pike, who until recently smoked marijuana daily for more than two decades, is amazed at how her life has improved since she quit and fears how liberal pot laws will harm others.

‘Get out of the smoky fog and get living’
By Anna Pike, The Province, April 17, 2016
My name is Anna.

I smoked marijuana solidly for 22 years. When I smoked my first joint at 18 years of age, I thought I had found the path to endless happiness. In my 20s, using the drug was wonderful and manageable. But in my 30s, it became a problem, as any addiction does as you age.

I have not smoked marijuana for the past three months.

As the smoke has cleared, I am the happiest I have been in my life. I am about to turn 40 and am excited for this turning point, particularly because I don’t have my old friend/enemy living with me and controlling so many of my choices.....click "Read More" below to continue.....

Revised medical marijuana manual lists many adverse effects

Health Canada is about to issue a newly revised medical marijuana manual, called "Information for Health Professionals," with many new warnings about adverse effects. CBC News obtained a draft copy.

By Dean Beeby, CBC News , Apr 11, 2016
Health Canada has significantly expanded its medical marijuana manual for health-care professionals, adding major new sections about the potential adverse effects on the teenaged brain and driving safety.

The document is much larger than the previous 2013 edition, and responds to doctors' complaints about having too little information on the medical science even as they're being asked to authorize marijuana for a growing number of patients.

The heavily revised manual arrives as the Liberals sort out how to legalize recreational marijuana as promised in the federal election – and the document's fresh litany of cautions may provide ammunition to opponents.

CBC News obtained a draft copy of the 158-page manual, dated Dec. 23, 2015, and due to be published this spring, under the Access to Information Act.

The document replaces a three-year-old, 94-page document, and features an "adverse effects" section that is more than 50 per cent longer than its predecessor. The section reviews in greater depth whether cannabis may affect the onset of schizophrenia or psychosis, among many other medical issues. .....click "Read More" below to continue.....