Free Republic

Led by an outspoken legalization opponent, Jeff Sessions' Justice Department is reviewing federal marijuana policy, with significant changes possible soon. Almost nothing about the review process is publicly known and key players in the policy debate have not been contacted. The outcome of the review could devastate a multibillion-dollar industry and countermand the will of voters in eight states if the Obama administration's permissive stance on non-medical sales is reversed.

Several drugs are scoring big wins against common cancers, setting new standards for how to treat many prostate, breast and lung tumors. There's even a "uni-drug" that may fight many forms of the disease. What's especially striking: The drugs are beneficial in some cases for more than a year, much longer than the few months many new drugs provide.   Here are some highlights from the world's largest cancer meeting, the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago:

Let's talk about marijuana. Specifically, let's talk about how and why I came to be one of the countless parents across America (and around the world) who have let their chronically ill children try it. A groundbreaking new study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine reported on the health benefits of cannabidiol for children with epilepsy. The randomized, double-blind, controlled study found that among children with Dravet syndrome taking cannabidiol, the decrease in the frequency of convulsive seizures was 23 percentage points greater than the decrease in seizures among children taking a placebo. Cannabidiol is one...

he only hope is to arm our children with backbone and teach them about self-discipline, responsibility and holistic medicine I recently wrote that our ancestors endured great hardship when they landed in America. They hacked down forests and tried to survive in the new land. Now, they would roll over in their graves if they knew North Americans had become a nation of wimps. Readers of my column confirmed my damning verdict. J.W. from B.C responded, “Thanks for your refreshing honesty, calling a spade a spade. We do take a pill for every damn ache and pain. I don’t think...

For the more than 3 million Americans infected with potentially deadly hepatitis C, a relatively new cocktail of drugs is considered a miracle cure. The problem: Gilead Sciences’ list price is $84,000 for a 12-week treatment. From Martin Shkreli’s Turing Pharmaceuticals jacking up the AIDS drug Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $750 in a single day to Mylan’s allergy-fighting EpiPens rising from $100 to $600 in just a few years, Americans are getting sick of astonishing drug prices. It’s why Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders both used their presidential campaigns to roast Big Pharma. In a primary-season rally in...

"Eating wood and leaves has become my habit now," Butt was quoted as saying. Lahore - A man in Pakistan's Punjab province has been surviving on fresh leaves and wood for the last 25 years and has never fallen ill. Mehmood Butt, 50, who hails from Gujranwala district in Punjab province, started eating on leaves at the age of 25 as he had no work and could not afford a basic meal. "There was too much poverty in my family. Everything was beyond limit and it was very difficult for me to get a meal, so I thought it is...

President Donald Trump plans to sign legislation to extend temporarily a program that gives veterans access to private-sector health care. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump will sign the bill Wednesday at the White House. The extension will provide stopgap services while Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin develops a longer-term plan to allow veterans to more easily go outside the VA medical system for care. Under the bill, the VA will be allowed to operate its Choice program until the funding runs out....

Scientists believe they have found a way to treat and perhaps reverse Parkinson's disease, by making replacement cells to mend the damaged brain. They say human brain cells can be coaxed to take over the job of the ones that are destroyed in Parkinson's. Tests in mice with Parkinson-like symptoms showed that the therapy appeared to ease the condition. Many more studies are needed before similar tests can begin in people. Experts say the research published in Nature Biotechnology is hugely promising, although at a very early stage.

With the country once again debating the future of health care, activists rallied Tuesday in Albany, NY in support of a bill that would create a universal, publicly-financed health-insurance plan for all New Yorkers. Green Party candidate for Albany Mayor Dan Plaat believes having a state single-payer plan in place would have a positive impact on local economics. "It reminds me a lot of the anti-fracking movement. Each year the rally gets a little bit bigger. More partners are made and more people catch on to the necessity and the importance of this issue in getting this law passed, this...

Researchers have successfully used spinach leaves to build functioning human heart tissue, complete with veins that can transport blood. To tackle a chronic shortage of donor organs, scientists have been working on growing various tissues and even whole organs in the lab. But culturing a bunch of cells is only part of the solution - they simply won't thrive without a constant blood supply. It's notoriously difficult to build a working network of fine blood vessels (also called vasculature), especially when you get down to capillaries, which are only 5 to 10 micrometres wide. Blood vessels transport the oxygen and...

A blood test which not only detects cancer but identifies where it is in the body, has been developed by scientists. The breakthrough could allow doctors to diagnose specific cancers much earlier, even before signs such as a lump, begin to show. It is simple enough to be included in routine annual health checks alongside other tests such as for high blood pressure or cholesterol. The test, called CancerLocator, has been developed by the University of California, and works by hunting for the DNA from tumours which circulates in the blood of cancer patients. The team discovered that tumours which...

The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) has a mission that is built upon our members’ commitment to advocate for the improvement of health care and health care delivery to all people. We believe that health care is a human right and as such, we will always advocate for the rights of our patients. AMSA supports a publicly and progressively financed, privately delivered federal single-payer system of high quality, affordable health care for all persons. In the absence of such of a single-payer system, we support a health care system which expands comprehensive coverage and access for all persons living in...

Common Sense Medicine: Restoring the Patient/Physician Relationship Common Sense Medicine, hot off the press, is a powerful, easy-to-read, and entertaining exposé of the root problems plaguing American medicine and the simple solutions to increase access to high-quality, low-cost medical care!We are offering bulk discounts on this POWERFUL new book.Buy copies to give to patients, friends, and family!...A Kindle version is available...Read PDF version: http://aapsonline.org/CommonSenseMedicine.pdfCommon Sense Medicine: Restoring the Patient/Physician Relationship by Association of American Physicians and Surgeons on Scribd ...Meet the Author: Jeff DanbyJeff received a Bachelor of Arts in History with Honors from DePaul University in 1985, and...

An Oklahoma mom has decided to give birth to her terminally ill daughter so that she can donate the newborn’s organs. Keri Young, from Oklahoma City, was devastated to discover that her baby, whom she named Eva, would be born without a portion of her brain and skull due to a condition known as anencephaly. Keri — who learned of the child’s fate during her 20-week ultrasound — is scheduled to give birth to her child May 7 and will likely only spend a few days with the newborn before she dies. Her husband, Royce, was in awe of his...

Caption -- New research suggests people with chronic pain would rather use cannabis over their recommended medicine. Chronic pain sufferers and those taking mental health meds would rather turn to cannabis instead of their prescribed opioid medication, according to a new study. "This study is one of the first to track medical cannabis use under the new system of licensed producers, meaning that all participants had physician authorization to access cannabis in addition to their prescription medicines," says UBC Assoc. Prof. Zach Walsh, co-author of the study. The study tracked more than 250 patients with prescribed medical cannabis--people treated for...

An irate man contacted me recently to complain he’d been turned down for back surgery because he’s a smoker. “It’s just not right,” said the Charlotte man, who suffers from chronic hip and leg pain. “I need this surgery. It’s to the point where I can’t walk around the block with my dogs.” He acknowledged smoking is a “bad habit,” but after 35 years, he’s not sure he can quit. And he doesn’t think he should have to. (snip) Spector said it’s part of a national trend for doctors to run down a checklist of behaviors in preparation for elective...

This criminalization of everyday life is not just insanely costly and insanely counter-productive--it's insanely punitive. The average person has little exposure to the criminalization of everyday enterprise in America via over-regulation and outsized penalties for even accidental violations of rules and regulations. One field that continues to be burdened with excessive/counter-productive regulations and outsized penalties is the practice of medicine. I received the following email from a physician correspondent: "As you will see, physicians have to deal with the federal government's increasingly crazy and copious rules (like which patients they can screen for disease and how often). The following is...

A cobra's deadly venom is being used to heal chronic aches and pains. Tom's handling a Southeast Asian Cobra he raised at his farm. Twice a month, he milks the venom that's used to help people and pets with chronic pain. (Photo Courtesy: NBC) It's a toxin turned treatment that can be used by both pets and people. They are not the friendliest creatures. And they can be intimidating... "Right now I'm removing a cobra from its cage," says herpetologist and venom supplier Tom Crutchfield. "This is the cobras' keep for the venom line for the pharmaceutical company Nutria Pharma."...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's Cabinet confirmations (all times EST): 7:53 p.m. The Senate has confirmed physician David Shulkin to serve as secretary of Veterans Affairs in the Trump administration. The vote Monday was 100-0. Shulkin is a former Obama administration official who had served as the VA's top health official since 2015. He is the first non-veteran to lead the government's second-largest department....

The CNN healthcare debate between Senators Ted Cruz & Bernie Sanders on February 7 was dubbed a success by the network, ranking first in its cable time slot. With healthcare once again thrust into the headlines, and with two big personalities squaring off, this was certainly the marquee event, as was advertised. It turned out to be what one would have expected; a clash of ideologies, but a deeper look into what was said, and specifically what wasn’t, turned out to be most revealing. Senator Sanders’ positions contained very little substance as he clung to his talking points which reflected...