Feijoada is one of the most typical dishes of Brazilian cuisine, commonly made from a mixture of black beans and several cuts of pork and beef. It is served with rice, farofa (toasted, seasoned manioc flour), sautéed collard greens, and sliced oranges, among other side orders. In the most sophisticated recipes it can take more than 30 ingredients, including spices and side dishes. One does not ...

Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug worldwide. Recent trends indicate that this may soon change; not due to decreased marijuana use, but to an amendment in marijuana's illegal status. The cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor mediates marijuana's psychoactive and reinforcing properties. CB1 receptors are also part of the brain endocannabinoid (eCB) system and support numerous forms of learni...

For 5 millennia, Cannabis sativa has been used throughout the world medically, recreationally, and spiritually. From the mid-19th century to the 1930s, American physicians prescribed it for a plethora of indications, until the federal government started imposing restrictions on its use, culminating in 1970 with the US Congress classifying it as a Schedule I substance, illegal, and without medic...

“Severe pain” is the most common reason for medicinal herbal cannabis use, with arthritis and musculoskeletal pain cited as the most prevalent specific medical condition (1,2). Eighty percent of marijuana users in a US pain clinic report use for myofascial pain, whereas up to one-third of persons in population studies in the UK and Australia reported use for treatment of arthritis pain (1–3). S...

Copyright © 2014 Massachusetts Medical Society. In light of the rapidly shifting landscape regarding the legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes, patients may be more likely to ask physicians about its potential adverse and beneficial effects on health. The popular notion seems to be that marijuana is a harmless pleasure, access to which should not be regulated or consid...

This commentary evaluates regulatory frameworks for the legalized production, sale, and use of marijuana. Specifically, we argue that the primary goal of legalization should be the elimination of the illicit trade in marijuana and that maximizing market participation through open markets and personal cultivation is the best approach to achieving this goal. This argument is based on the assertio...

Tacrolimus, a potent immunosuppressant medication, acts by inhibiting calcineurin, which eventually leads to inhibition of T-cell activation. The drug is commonly used to prevent graft rejection in solid organ transplant and graft-versus-host disease in hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients. Tacrolimus has a narrow therapeutic index with variable oral bioavailability and metabolism via cy...

Most Americans are living with state-sanctioned cannabis jurisdiction permitting medicinal, and often, recreational use. Yet, its cannabinoids remain on schedule-I of the controlled substances act (CSA), imposing hurdles to much needed research promulgating outdated ‘War Drugs’ policies their disproportionate impact minorities. Recent advances by current government decriminalize past federal po...