News & Views
Marijuana no treatment for PTSD
I joined the U.S. Army in 2012 at age 42 largely because I am a psychiatrist who wants our active-duty and veteran service members and their families to receive the mental healthcare they need and deserve. I continue to serve and was deployed to the Middle East in the...
Clearing the Haze: Another look at pot
I am honored to have worked with the editorial board and publisher of The (Colorado Springs) Gazette on a perspective series about marijuana legalization titled "Clearing the Haze." I am a journalist and a native North Carolinian -- the great-granddaughter of tobacco...
NIDA corrects the record
Marijuana-legalization advocates frequently claim the National Institute on Drug Abuse has a monopoly on marijuana research and is biased in the projects it decides to fund. To support the claim, this quote, which first appeared in the New York Times in 2010, is often...
Use and diversion of medical marijuana among adults admitted to inpatient psychiatry
The results of this research were published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse in March 2015. For more information, see PubMed.gov Co-authors: Nussbaum AM, Thurstone C, McGarry L, Walker B, Sabel AL Citation: Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2015...
Experts: claims pot safer are bogus
There are few better examples of how science and journalism come together to confuse the public than last week's news coverage of research out of Europe assessing and comparing risks associated with use of several drugs, including alcohol, marijuana and tobacco. The...
Winning high school sportsmanship
A Texas high school basketball team’s extraordinary sportsmanship is also a winning approach to life.
Colorado on marijuana health effects
I am honored to have been asked to serve on an advisory committee of the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, which has issued a voluminous report detailing the real and possible impacts of cannabis use on health. "Monitoring Health Concerns...
GA bill calls for injectable THC
In May 2013, I observed spiking THC levels in my young patients and a rapidly growing market in Colorado for foods and drinks infused with the drug, the active ingredient of marijuana that produces a euphoric high. What I saw prompted me to raise concerns about what...
AAP opposes pot legalization — again
The American Academy of Pediatrics -- a professional organization of 62,000 pediatricians committed to optimal physical, mental and social health for children, adolescents and young adults -- today reaffirmed its strong stance against marijuana legalization and the...
Nebraska, Oklahoma sue Colorado
Today, the attorneys general of the states of Oklahoma and Nebraska announced that they have filed suit against the State of Colorado for its cannabis legalization -- a violation of federal law that has harmed Coloradans and people living in surrounding states --...
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.