Harvard Archives - TheJointBlog

Harvard Professor Calls on NFL to Stop Drug Testing Players for Cannabis, Study its Use for Treating Concussions

March 3, 2014

Harvard professor emeritus Dr. Lester Grinspoon – author of “Marihuana Reconsidered” – has published an open-letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, urging him to allow the use of cannabis for treating concussions (or to at least study the issue), and to “immediately stop subjecting players to drug tests for marijuana”.

“As both a medical doctor and one of millions of fans who enjoy professional football as a spectator sport, I’m becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the growing specter that many of the athletes I cheer from the sidelines will one day pay the steep price of developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) due to concussions and other repetitive brain injuries incurred in the course of their profession”, begins Dr. Grinspoon’s letter.

New Harvard Study: Cannabis Does Not Cause Schizophrenia

December 22, 2013December 8, 2013

A new Harvard study published in the journal Schizophrenia Research has found evidence that cannabis use, regardless of how often or in what quantities, does not lead to an increase in schizophrenia, despite decades of propaganda to the contrary.

New Harvard Study: Cannabis Can Reverse Effects of HIV-Associated Dementia

October 29, 2013October 26, 2013

A new study published this week by the U.S. National Institute of Health, as well as the British Journal of Pharmacology, has found that activation of the brain’s cannabinoid receptors – something which cannabis does naturally – provides neuroprotective effects that can reverse impaired neurogenesis caused by HIV-related dementia.

Harvard Study Finds Cannabis Cuts Tumor Growth in Half in Three Weeks

August 31, 2013August 30, 2013

A Harvard study from 2007 which remains the most comprehensive ever released on THC’s potential to combat tumors found that in just three weeks doses of THC were able to cut lung cancer tumor growth in half in mice subjects, and were able to reduce cancer lesions by even more.

For the study, Harvard researchers tested THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which is found naturally in cannabis) on cancer cells in labs, and followed that up by studying mice subjects.

The lab demonstration found that doses of THC inhibited growth and spread in the cancer cells; “When the cells are pretreated with THC, they have less EGFR stimulated invasion as measured by various in-vitro assays,” states Anju Preet, PhD, who was one of the researchers for the study.

Harvard Law School Offers Seminar on “Tax Planning for Marijuana Dealers”

July 10, 2013April 25, 2013

As marijuana legalization – whether for medical or recreational purposes – becomes more mainstream, more people are realizing that the conflict between state and federal law is nothing short of a clusterfuck, which results in confusing tax issues for those who are distributing marijuana legally under state law – such as medical marijuana dispensaries in California. Harvard professors have started to take note, recently offering a tax seminar that explicitly covered how to handle taxes – specifically obtaining tax deductions – even if you’re running a federally illegal marijuana business.

The seminar was presented yesterday, April 24th, by Professor Benjamin Leff of American University’s Law School. Professor Leff was presenting information from a paper he authored, titled, Tax Planning for Marijuana Dealers.