News & Views
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 --...
Troubling pot trends continue
National and local reports about adolescent marijuana use are not trending in a good direction -- and both suggest youth living in states where marijuana is legalized face higher risks associated with the drug's use. First, the local report: Arrests related to...
Pot most prevalent in adolescent suicides
Colorado has ranked consistently among states with the highest rates of suicide in the nation. A report issued this month by the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment examines this serious public health problem with a special emphasis on adolescent...
Study: brains on pot work differently
Chronic marijuana users have less gray matter in the orbital frontal cortex, a region of the brain that the Los Angeles Times accurately describes as "a key node in the brain's reward, motivation, decision-making and addictive behaviors network." The findings,...
Gallup: Pot support plummets in 2014
Support for marijuana legalization has plunged 12 percent since 2013, even among self-identified liberals, according to a new Gallup Poll released today. The poll showed support for marijuana legalization stands at 51 percent, and opposition is at 47 percent --...
Nation not going to pot yet
Tuesday was a mixed bag for marijuana -- and today showed approval of the drug's legalization has plummeted 12 percent in the last year. Earlier this week, voters in Alaska, Oregon and the District of Columbia approved recreational use of the drug, while voters in...
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.