Finnish-Swedish study analyzes link between psychotropic drugs and homicide risk.

A study analysing the Finnish homicide and prescription drug databases discovered that the use of certain drugs that affect the central nervous system are associated with an increased risk of committing a homicide. The greatest risk was associated with the use of painkillers and tranquillizing benzodiazepines, while anti-depressants were linked only to a slightly elevated risk. The study is the first one of its kind in the world.

Professor Jari Tiihonen's research group analysed the use of prescription drugs of 959 persons convicted of a homicide.

A teenager in an induced coma in Wellington Hospital is the first to have received a cannabidiol product signed off by a Government minister.

On Tuesday Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne approved the one-off use of Elixinol, a cannabidiol (CBD) product from the United States for Alex Renton.

The 19-year-old Nelson man has been in hospital since early April and remains in "status epilepticus",  a kind of prolonged seizure.

Dunne said doctors have been able to apply for medicinal cannabis products for many years but this is the first time this particular avenue has been used for this particular product.

Understanding of neurological mechanisms opens door to new treatments

Irvine, Calif., June 9, 2015 — Brain inflammation caused by chronic nerve pain alters activity in regions that regulate mood and motivation, suggesting for the first time that a direct biophysical link exists between long-term pain and the depression, anxiety and substance abuse seen in more than half of these patients, UC Irvine and UCLA researchers report.

The family of Nelson teenager Alex Renton are "absolutely over the moon" to hear a Government minister has approved a cannabinoid oil to try treat his seizures.

Renton has been in an induced coma in Wellington Hospital for over two months, in status epilepticus",  a kind of prolonged seizure.

Supporters had been petitioning the Ministry of Health and staging protests in both Nelson and Wellington, calling for access to the oil.

Renton's older sister Jessie said they were relieved, shocked and "over the moon" when they heard the decision.

"We are so relieved we have been heard and action has been taken. We are grateful to the Ministry of Health and the hospital, in particular our neurologist Ian Rosemergy. Without him this wouldn't have happened."

For years, Garden City resident Shona Banda has been self-medicating her Crohn’s disease with cannabis oil and making no secret of it, touting her homemade vaporizer on YouTube and in a self-published book.

Now, Banda could face up to 17 years in prison for doing so, in a case that has medical marijuana advocates enraged and legislators from both parties saying it is past time to re-examine the state’s drug laws.

“We are terrified,” said Lisa Sublett, founder of the medical marijuana advocacy group Bleeding Kansas. “We are outraged. We are heartbroken. Many are planning to move.”

Medicinal cannabis oil may not be enough to save the life of a Nelson teenager.

Associate health minister Peter Dunne has given one-off approval for the 19-year-old to receive cannabis oil.

Wellington Hospital staff have already tried more than 40 medications to treat Alex Renton since he was put into an induced coma two months ago.

Mr Dunne doesn't expect the oil to work, and Drug Foundation executive director Ross Bell says he's probably right.

"There is guarantee this product, because it's new, will work on this case, because it's rare."

Ross Bell says there are many other patients who may benefit from medicinal cannabis, and this case may force other cases to be reconsidered.

As more and more Americans consider the pros and cons of cannabis legalization, many points are worth repeating, and chief among them: cannabis actually decreases the risk of lung cancer.

It’s a counter-intuitive notion, since tobacco smoking causes cancer, marijuana smoking must as well. But as the LA Weekly highlights Monday, it’s just not true. Decades of pulmonary research is in: pot decreases the risk of lung cancer and does not cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

According to results of an animal study published in Journal of Leukocyte Biology in June 2015, the cannabinoid delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) may be a safe and effective alternative or add-on therapy in the prevention of organ and tissue transplant rejection.

A new clinic promising to help patients get signed up for Minnesota's medical marijuana program has been suspended by the state, a potential blow to hopeful patients and a New York company seeking to connect them with willing doctors.

The Minnesota Certification Clinic in Bloomington billed itself as a solution for residents struggling to get a physicians' sign-off to obtain medical marijuana. But the clinic informed would-be patients Tuesday in an email obtained by The Associated Press that it was canceling all appointments for certification. It cited a Department of Health decision last week to suspend its accounts with the state.