Contentions that scientists have failed to conduct sufficient research on the health effects of cannabis are unfounded. A keyword search on the National Library of Medicine database reveals nearly 23,000 peer-reviewed papers specific to the marijuana plant, and new scientific discoveries are published almost daily rebuking  the federal government’s assertion that the herb is a highly dangerous substance lacking therapeutic efficacy.

Here are five new cannabis-centric studies that warrant mainstream attention. 

1. Pot Use Linked To Better Outcomes In Brain Injury Patients

The use of cannabis is associated with improved outcomes in patients hospitalized with intracerebral hemorrhaging  (ICH aka bleeding in the brain). An international team of investigators from Argentina, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States evaluated demographic trends and patient outcomes in a cohort of 725 subjects with spontaneous ICH. Researchers reported  that cannabis-positive subjects possessed “milder ICH presentation” upon hospitalization and presented “less disability” post-hospitalization as...