News & Views
Pueblo docs lead fight against commercial marijuana
The City and County of Pueblo's three largest healthcare providers are backing a ballot initiative to end commercial marijuana for recreational use. Among their physicians' chilling findings: Half of all babies born at one hospital last month tested positive for...
UN supports international drug conventions
During a landmark special session in New York last week, the United Nations reaffirmed its commitment to upholding the international drug conventions that are the cornerstone of world drug policy. It was a resounding defeat for proponents of the legalization of...
CBD for epilepsy treatment shows more promise
The news from London-based GW Pharmaceuticals is worth celebrating: Epidiolex -- purified, pharmacy-grade and nonintoxicating cannabidiol extracted from the cannabis plant -- has both Orphan Drug Designation and Fast Track Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug...
Legal drugs harm poor countries
My friend, George Ochieng Odalo, serves as director of the Slum Child Foundation, a nonprofit organization assisting children living on the streets and in the most unstable households of Nairobi, Kenya. Today, on his first visit to the United States, he will address...
GAO pillories marijuana law enforcement
The U.S. Justice Department has failed to track marijuana's impact on the nation and specific states where the drug has been sanctioned, according to a report examining marijuana law enforcement and released by the independent, nonpartisan Government Accountability...
DEA eases CBD research requirements
Research of cannabidiol, a non-intoxicating component of the cannabis plant, has been made easier because of new regulations released this week by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The federal agency has waived certain registration requirements for researchers...
Colorado leads nation in youth pot use
Colorado now leads the nation in past-month, youth marijuana use -- a dubious distinction the state has earned since voters sanctioned the drug for recreational use in 2012. The findings are based on a report issued this week and based on 2013 and 2014 National Survey...
MTF: Youth marijuana use still stubbornly high
The national landscape of drug use among the nation's middle-school and high-school students is showing both signs of promise and trouble ahead, according to The University of Michigan's annual Monitoring the Future study, released today. A quick background of the...
Epidiolex helping kids with epilepsy
This week's annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society has included the presentation and discussion of several papers about Epidiolex, a purified CBD oil produced by GW Pharmaceuticals. Epidiolex, which is now in clinical trials, is widely considered among...
Helping families face teen addiction
Every week, parents looking for help with issues and problems related to substance use contact us through this website -- so my wife, journalist Christine Tatum, and I have written a book designed to help them act quickly, efficiently and effectively to care for their...
Read the book
Clearing the Haze is a guide designed to help parents determine whether their child may have a substance problem and, if so, how to begin to address it. This book includes the voices and insight of experts in substance abuse counseling, young people in recovery, and parents who have lived the nightmare of adolescent addiction.