MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Penny F. Whiting, PhD
School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol
The National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care West at University Hospitals, Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol UK
Kleijnen Systematic Reviews Ltd, Escrick, York, United Kingdom

MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

By Ian Dunt

It went down to the wire. Our official competition for the worst British law of all time (important notice: there's no such thing as British law, it wasn't of all time and absolutely nothing about this is official) came down to a two-horse race between the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The latter squeaked it, by 28.7% to 27.5%.

A Plymouth man who regularly uses cannabis has spoken out about why he believes the drug should be decriminalised. SAM BLACKLEDGE reports.

DARYL Sullivan works as an assistant manager of a mail order company, and in his spare time does some freelance writing and runs a website.

Daryl also smokes cannabis every day and is chairman of the Devon Cannabis Club – but he does not see his habit as a problem, and is ready to debunk some misconceptions.

“Contrary to popular belief I do not spend my life constantly stoned,” the 25-year-old says.

“I am a functioning member of society with a full-time job.

“I am not a criminal or a scourge on society as some would have you believe.

A County Tyrone man who has a terminal brain tumour says he wants to be allowed to use cannabis oil that he believes will prolong his life.

Kieran McCrory, 37, from Omagh, has asked the health minister for help in highlighting his case.

It is illegal in the UK to use cannabis for medicinal purposes as it is a class B drug.

But a derivative from the drug is used in a spray for MS patients.

Last year, Mr McCrory had just married and was preparing to start a new life in Australia.

In October, without warning, he suffered a number of seizures. He was later diagnosed with a brain tumour.

Prolong

Kieran has been told that he now has between three and five years left to live.

By Ian Dunt

Liberal Democrat peers have called on the government to decriminalise the possession of drugs for personal use and legalise medical cannabis.

Brian Paddick, the party’s home affairs spokesman in the Lords and a former London mayoral candidate, has tabled a series of amendments to the government’s psychoactive substances bill, including decriminalisation of the possession of all drugs for personal use and the legalisation of medicinal use of cannabis when it is prescribed by a doctor.

A respected farmer began growing cannabis in his cowshed to pay for new cattle grids.

John Shears, 70, a former National Farmers Union branch chairman, fell for the ‘crackpot’ scheme because he thought it would make him more money that rearing beef.

He hoped to be paid £3,000 a year in rent for the use of the shed and outbuildings by a cannabis grower – but lost money when crops failed.

He was caught with 187 plants with a potential yield of almost £50,000 when police raided the farm at Chagford in Devon.

Officers also arrested drug user Daniel Perryman, 26, who was tending the crop, and found so much cannabis growing they had to get reinforcements to remove it all, Exeter Crown Court was told.

The cannabis factory at Larch Road was found by local officers and detectives from Reactive and Organised Crime Branch on Saturday.

Detective Chief Inspector, Colin Gillis, said: “Officers acting upon information received, attended the house in Dungiven shortly after midday on Saturday afternoon, to discover a sizeable number of cannabis plants being cultivated at the property.

“At this stage I would estimate the street value of the cannabis plants recovered at around £250,000.

“No arrests have been made at this stage, however, officers remain at the scene carrying out a detailed forensic analysis of the premises.”

How does a serial entrepreneur confront the challenge of parenthood?

By launching a startup, of course.

Ivan Lopez comes from a family of entrepreneurs. His paternal grandfather was involved in businesses as diverse as coffee beans, mining, and aerospace while his maternal grandfather was a man of many hats in his small Mississippi hometown.

So it’s not surprising that, in addition to working at Disney, Red Bull, and Sony in business development, marketing and management, Lopez is on his seventh stand alone startup with UK-based Wauwaa, a one-stop website for parents that sells quality baby products along with child rearing advice from parents and medical experts alike.