Public-health specialists worried that Shoppers Drug Mart will sell pot
By CARLY WEEKS, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 25, 2016
Leading public-health and addiction specialists are condemning plans by Canada’s largest drugstore chain to investigate the idea of selling marijuana, calling it a profit-motivated move that would have devastating effects.
The Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday that Shoppers Drug Mart is exploring the possibility of selling marijuana in its stores. According to people involved in the discussions, the company has held meetings with licensed medical-marijuana producers. It also has not ruled out a move into selling marijuana for recreational purposes. Currently, pharmacies are not permitted to sell medical marijuana, but the federal government has promised to legalize the drug, which could open the market.
“This is corporate greed,” said Meldon Kahan, medical director of the substance use service at Toronto’s Women’s College Hospital. He said it would be “destructive and dishonest” if Shoppers and other health-care facilities were to present their plans as a medical service.
Dr. Kahan compared the sale of marijuana in drugstores to the Prohibition era, when pharmacists could fill prescriptions for alcohol. There is little convincing scientific evidence that either substance can treat medical conditions, and pharmacies are not the appropriate venue for the sale, he said.
Ian Culbert, executive director of the Canadian Public Health Association, said there is “insufficient evidence to call [cannabis] medicine,” and warns opening the market to pharmacies could lead to increased use and serious side-effects. ....click "Read More" below to continue.....
19.3.16
Vaping Not Safe
Dr. Oz's Daily Tips: Escape the vape
by: Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Mike Roizen, February 25, 2016
Ant Man (Paul Rudd) may have been 2015's most endearing super bug, but there's nothing to like about the antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA and other hard-to-defeat pathogens.
In fact, you want to do everything you can to stay clear of them.
And now that includes just saying "No" to vaping!
Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine recently did a lab-based test on the effects of e-liquids from seven manufacturers.
Their study published in the Journal of Molecular Medicine found that daily inhalation of e-cig vapors triggers inflammation, kills off cells in your airways and lungs, and boosts the virulence of bacteria.
For example, vaping makes staph infections (Staphylococcus aureus) able to resist antimicrobials -- not a good thing, since runaway staph infections can be lethal.
Plus, while one group of lab mice all recovered from infection with the antibiotic-resistant superbug S. aureus (MRSA), 25 percent of another group died when they were infected with MRSA that had been pre-exposed to the vapors from e-cigs. Egad!
If this isn't enough to convince you to put down the vape, maybe it will convince regulators that vaping poses a huge public health risk by cultivating super, superbugs.
For help recovering from nicotine addiction or habituation to vaping non-nicotine liquids, go to sharcare.com or clevelandclinic.org -- search for Dr. Mike's "smoke-free plan for successful quitters."
It takes commitment, time and the ability to try and try again if you slide backward, but with support, the right plan and determination you can escape the vape!
https://www.baytoday.ca/columns/dr-ozs-daily-tips/dr-ozs-daily-tips-escape-the-vape-200296
by: Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Mike Roizen, February 25, 2016
Ant Man (Paul Rudd) may have been 2015's most endearing super bug, but there's nothing to like about the antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA and other hard-to-defeat pathogens.
In fact, you want to do everything you can to stay clear of them.
And now that includes just saying "No" to vaping!
Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine recently did a lab-based test on the effects of e-liquids from seven manufacturers.
Their study published in the Journal of Molecular Medicine found that daily inhalation of e-cig vapors triggers inflammation, kills off cells in your airways and lungs, and boosts the virulence of bacteria.
For example, vaping makes staph infections (Staphylococcus aureus) able to resist antimicrobials -- not a good thing, since runaway staph infections can be lethal.
Plus, while one group of lab mice all recovered from infection with the antibiotic-resistant superbug S. aureus (MRSA), 25 percent of another group died when they were infected with MRSA that had been pre-exposed to the vapors from e-cigs. Egad!
If this isn't enough to convince you to put down the vape, maybe it will convince regulators that vaping poses a huge public health risk by cultivating super, superbugs.
For help recovering from nicotine addiction or habituation to vaping non-nicotine liquids, go to sharcare.com or clevelandclinic.org -- search for Dr. Mike's "smoke-free plan for successful quitters."
It takes commitment, time and the ability to try and try again if you slide backward, but with support, the right plan and determination you can escape the vape!
https://www.baytoday.ca/columns/dr-ozs-daily-tips/dr-ozs-daily-tips-escape-the-vape-200296
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