News & Events
Much of our work involves measuring the difference others make. Getting involved and making our own difference is also an important part of who we are as individuals and as an organization.
A group of doctors from around the world recently formed a new and unique medical organization that aims to take the politics out of cannabis and focus solely on research regarding the short- and long-term effects of its use. The Marijuana Prevention Initiative (MPI) of San Diego County hosted a news conference in May to introduce the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis (IASIC). The non-partisan nonprofit is a medical organization of doctors who educate on cannabis based on the scientific and medical literature. The group was created to facilitate informed decisions when considering cannabis policy and law.
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E-cigarette maker Juul has agreed to settle a lawsuit with a US state that accused the firm of marketing its products to young people.
Juul will pay $40m (£29m) to North Carolina over six years and will change its advertising in the region.The vape pen manufacturer did not, however, admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. A Juul spokesman said: "This settlement is consistent with our ongoing effort to reset our company.
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In response to the growing number of drug overdose deaths in San Diego County, a new health officer order will allow an overdose reversal medication to be readily available to the public.
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Research shows that early marijuana use is detrimental to youth. Not only is early marijuana use associated with poor school performance, higher dropout rates and impacted emotional health, a recent study finds that early cannabis use is linked to self-harm and mortality in youth already experiencing mood disorders. We need to pay special attention to these new findings today, since we know that many of our youth were hit especially hard socially and emotionally by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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That is why it is perplexing that, five months into the Biden presidency, we still don't have a new director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Not even Bill Clinton, who initially tried to dodge the issue of drugs when he came into office, and shrunk the office by 80 percent, waited this long (he finally appointed police chief Lee Brown to the post in April of 1993).
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