TUESDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- The United States has one of the highest lifetime rates of tobacco and alcohol use and the highest percentage of people who reported using marijuana or cocaine at least once in their lives, a new survey shows.

Researchers from the World Health Organization analyzed alcohol, tobacco and illegal drug use in 17 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania.

Among the major findings:

Smoking marijuana while pregnant may harm the developing brain of a fetus, say researchers at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

In tests on mice, the researchers found that marijuana can affect molecules essential to a signaling process that plays a role in normal brain development. The researchers also found that certain prescription drugs, including some used to treat obesity, can have a similar effect, BBC News reported.

WASHINGTON - Marijuana potency increased last year to the highest level in more than 30 years, posing greater health risks to people who may view the drug as harmless, according to a report released Thursday by the White House.
The latest analysis from the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project tracked the average amount of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, in samples seized by law enforcement agencies from 1975 through 2007. It found that the average amount of THC reached 9.6 percent in 2007, compared with 8.75 percent the previous year.

Great article today out of the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times about medical marijuana ...

"Lately, however, residents of Mendocino County, like those in other parts of California, are wondering if the state’s embrace of marijuana for medicinal purposes has gone too far.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Long-term heavy use of marijuana may cause two important brain structures to shrink, Australian researchers said on Monday.

Brain scans showed the hippocampus and amygdala were smaller in men who were heavy marijuana users compared to nonusers, the researchers said. The men had smoked at least five marijuana cigarettes daily for on average 20 years.

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By Steven Reinberg
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- People who use marijuana for a long time can develop abnormalities in their brains, Australian researchers report.

Although growing literature suggests that long-term marijuana use is associated with a wide range of adverse health consequences, many people believe it is relatively harmless and should be legalized, the researchers noted.

By Ed Edelson
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking marijuana increases the body's production of a protein that raises levels of blood fats associated with heart attack and stroke, government researchers report.

The U.S. government-mandated switch to CFC-free inhalers is causing problems for millions of people with asthma and other lung diseases, according to The New York Times. CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), used as propellants in the inhalers, damage the Earth's ozone layer.

As of Jan. 1, 2009, CFC inhalers will have to be replaced with inhalers that use propellants called HFAs (hydrofluoroalkanes). But HFA inhalers cost much more than CRC inhalers and the new and old inhalers differ in feel, force and taste, and in how they're primed and cleaned, the Times said.

WASHINGTON (AP)- Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed — 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

I'm wondering about medical marijuana and the complications it can give patients waiting for transplants.

Doctors believe that medical marijuana may relieve pain, and increase appetite, amongst other benefits, but because it is still a drug with some risks, is actually preventing patients on organ waiting lists from receiving a transplant.

They believe that marijuana can affect the immune system and may hinter recovery in the crucial days after surgery. And being a natural plant, it may contain germs like aspergillosis that can cause respitory distress and pneumonia.