Recreational marijuana use is now legal in four states and "medical" marijuana in 23 states. Research on legalization policies has focused largely on direct impact - how they impact marijuana access and use. What is little discussed is that marijuana increases alcohol use.

Alcohol is the world's  most popular drug, the majority of adults in the U.S. imbibe to varying degrees and drinking accounts for almost one-third of driving fatalities annually. If you like pretend money estimates, it is claimed that alcohol use cost $223.5 billion in 2006 alone.

Palbociclib, a new oral drug with efficacy in combating breast cancer both alone and in combination with endocrine therapy, also has potential to combat other types of cancer, according to a literature review and additional research in JAMA Oncology.

Palbociclib targets the rapid division of tumor cells by inhibiting the activity of the enzymes CDK4 and CDK6, which propel cell division and increase in number in most cancers. It is the first CDK4/6 inhibitor to be approved for the treatment of breast cancer.

Nearly one in four publicly sponsored cancer clinical trials fail to enroll enough participants, which means progress is impeded and a lot of time and money has been wasted.

What accounts for that? Patients grumble about cost - if you go to Stanford Medical for a consultation about a trial they are doing, you are likely to get a large bill just for the visit - and then there is the risk of side effects that get so much media attention. If real medicines that survived 12 years and $2 billion end up with lawsuits for harm, untested treatments or techniques are likely to be worse. And Big Pharma is evil, activists and the federal government routinely tell us.

Adding to growing evidence on the possible health risks of electronic cigarettes, a lab team at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System tested two products and found they damaged cells in ways that could lead to cancer. The damage occurred even with nicotine-free versions of the products.

"Our study strongly suggests that electronic cigarettes are not as safe as their marketing makes them appear to the public," wrote the researchers, who published their findings in the journal Oral Oncology.

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Nearly 1 million incidences of herpes zoster, which is also known as shingles, occur every year in the U.S., with an estimated one-third of all adults affected by age 80. Despite its prevalence, particularly between ages 50 and 59, it is still unclear why some individuals will develop shingles, and others will not. In a population-based study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), Mayo Clinic researchers build on their previous research from 2013, which linked asthma in childhood with an increased risk of shingles.

More than 90 percent of patients with chronic pain continue to receive prescription opioids after an overdose and are at high risk for experiencing a repeated overdose, according to an article published in Annals of Internal Medicine.