BACKGROUND Adolescent use of marijuana is associated with adverse later effects, so the identification of factors underlying adolescent use is of substantial public health importance. The relationship between US state laws that permit marijuana for medical purposes and adolescent marijuana use has been controversial. Such laws could convey a message about marijuana acceptability that increases ...

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that allow individuals to use marijuana for medical purposes. In this paper, I use marijuana possession arrests and treatment referrals by medical professionals to estimate the impact of medical marijuana laws on marijuana usage among non-patients. I find that these laws increase marijuana arrests among adult males by about 20%. The...

Apology laws are gaining traction in the United States, prompting health care professionals to offer words of condolence for adverse medical outcomes without the fear of being sued for malpractice. Although these laws vary by jurisdiction, they have been shown to reduce the financial consequences of a medical malpractice lawsuit. The authors provide an overview of the laws regarding this issue ...

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that allow individuals to use marijuana for medical purposes. In this paper, I use marijuana possession arrests to estimate the impact of medical marijuana laws on marijuana usage among non-patients over the period 1988–2008. I find that these laws increase marijuana arrests among adult males by about 20 percent. The effect is stron...

medical ethics is a realm where four important subjects of philosophy, medicine, theology and law are covered. physicians and philosophers cooperation in this area will have great efficiency in the respective ethical rules formation. in addition to respect the autonomy of the patient, physician's obligation is to ensure that the medical intervention has benefit for the patient and the harm is m...

In The Lancet Psychiatry, Deborah Hasin and colleagues review the relationship between US state medical marijuana laws and adolescent use of marijuana. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, both worldwide and in the USA, where around 19·8 million Americans use it per month. Although millions use it for recreational or medicinal purposes, the risks of regular use, including cognitive...

Firearms in the home pose a risk to household members, including homicide, suicide, and unintentional deaths. Medical societies urge clinicians to counsel patients about those risks as part of sound medical practice. Depending on the circumstances, clinicians might recommend safe firearm storage, temporary removal of the firearm from the home, or other measures. Certain state firearm laws, howe...