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It's time for marijuana advocates to admit what's plainly obvious: Pot is a recreational drug. But let's stop pretending that cannabis is a miraculous painkiller or wonder drug. Most people who use it simply like getting high. And let's stop denying that legalizing marijuana will come with some serious public health consequences.

Instead of livers being transported to transplant recipients packed in ice, researchers sent them hooked to an oxygen-producing machine at 98.6o F in a warm bath of nutrient-infused liquid. And in this small European study, 50 percent fewer livers were discarded, resulting in 20 percent more of the organs being transplanted.

It's a drive to end tobacco smoking. New nicotine delivery systems from the FDA's "low to no" nicotine cigarettes, as well as JUUL's nicotine vaporizers, are getting a lot of media attention. As a physician, I use the scientific evidence and my experience in counseling my patients. Here's what you should consider. 

The Health and Human Services Secretary was readmitted for diverticulitis two days after he was discharged. While it was most likely due to his disease getting worse, it does highlight the concern about readmission, which is both common and costly. 

H.R. McMaster Sr. was a resident of a senior living facility in Philadelphia that provides a host of supportive services. Reportedly, while receiving care there he suffered a stroke. An investigation is now underway into the death of the father of the former National Security Advisor.

Who's prescribing homeopathy? A research group sought to learn if there's a difference between medical practices that prescribe homeopathy, and those that don't. What it found was that practices with the worst prescribing quality were more than twice as likely to recommend homeopathy than those who were best.

PCBs have been detected in the air from kitchen cabinets. Does it matter? Or is what inside the cabinets more dangerous. Answer: Neither.

Sometimes Strep throat is actually 'Fuso' throat, caused by the bacterium Fusobacterium. However, the ability of this bacterium to cause Strep throat is under-appreciated, and problems may arise if all sore throats are treated in the same way. 

Right after the death of Barbara Bush, Prof. Jarrar said, among other things, that she was "happy the witch is dead." Setting aside free speech, let's focus on an important underlying concern: The psychology of pure, unadulterated hatred. How does someone become so consumed with animosity for a fellow human being?

Over the years nuts have increasingly been viewed as pretty beneficial, delivering a range of health benefits by the handful. However, according to a new study by Swedish researchers, such a reputation may be fairly misleading. That's because, as they learned, the nut-eater has to be inclined towards a healthy lifestyle in order to enjoy their benefits.  

The Organic Consumers Association, which promotes conspiracy theories about 9/11, chemtrails, and FEMA, is pushing another one: Pesticides cause school shootings.

Laetrile, which is found apricot seeds, has been used by quacks to "treat" cancer for 70 years. It works, assuming that your goal is to poison yourself. But cancer claims, which were ridiculous in the 1950s, continue today. Psst. Keep this secret. It's cyanide, no more, no less. Don't let the screwballs tell you otherwise. 

The anti-opioid hysteria has hit the U.S. Military. It's using acupuncture – which is quackery – to treat wounded soldiers, even during battle. Let's stick a needle in this nonsense. 

The narrative that honeybees – which aren't actually native to North America, Europe or Australia – face mortal danger and will take us down with them has, for years, been advanced by environmental groups and repeated in the media. The only problem is that it isn’t true. According to the USDA, the U.S. honeybee population hit a 22-year high in 2016 before dipping slightly last year.
 
 

Consider this paradox: The more nutritious our diet, the more food we throw away, and the more it takes from our environmental resources. Which begs the question: Does virtuous eating have an environmental cost?

A genetically-engineered enzyme could provide a more elegant solution for plastic bottles, most of which that can hang around the environment for hundreds of years.

Under the guise of improving care, it can be argued that electronic medical records end up diminishing it. Here's how.

Twenty-three Salmonella infections reported across nine states have prompted a recall of eggs by the dozens (well millions, actually.) Worried about the eggs in your fridge? Read on to learn if you should check your carton a bit more closely before making this morning's omelet.

From a security standpoint, the only thing that matters is that our soldiers are effective at killing people and breaking things. Does acupuncture help accomplish that? We presented one opinion last week. Now, here's a second viewpoint on the matter.

It's one thing for Gary Bettman to be on the wrong side of a health issue as important as concussion-caused brain damage. It's quite another for the National Hockey League Commissioner to go on America's largest sports-talk radio station and be incorrect about the underlying science. But the medical experts swiftly straightened him out.

The chemistry of mucus is conceptually identical to that of hair. Which means the same reaction can style your hair or help you breathe better. Ain't chemistry great?

There's simply no benefit to supplemental Calcium or Vitamin D for the patient who is well. So why do we continue to waste our money on these supplements? The US Preventative Services Task Force again weighs in to recommend against their use. 

It's hard to find anything but sadness in the continued epidemic of deaths from drug overdoses. But many of these individuals become organ donors. And despite concerns about infection, organs retrieved and transplanted from these deaths do very well in their new hosts. 

The link between the bacteria in our bodies, or microbiome, and diseases of the immune system has been established for some time. However, the role bacteria play is not well understood. A new paper takes that linkage to the next level, showing how one bacterium may play a big role in autoimmune diseases, such as lupus.  

After a series of recent trips to the hospital, the 92-year-old wife of the former president has decided not to seek any additional medical treatment.