Dr. Government

New Study Finds THC Kills Stomach Cancer Cells

"A new study conducted by the the Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, and published in the journal Anticancer Research, has found promising evidence that THC may be the best medicine available to treat stomach cancer, especially when traditional medicine has been ineffective. During the study researchers used cancer cells that were resistant to chemotherapy, and dosed the cells with a synthetic form of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Researchers noted a drastic reduction in the survival rate of the cells that were exposed to the synthetic THC. Larger doses of THC led to higher rates of cancer cell death." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Study Finds THC Kills Stomach Cancer Cells

Taking pills for unhappiness reinforces the idea that being sad is not human

"I was trouble at school. Thank God this was in the early 80s, otherwise I bet someone would have suggested Ritalin. For, since the mid 80s, society has decided that adolescent trouble-making is some sort of medical condition. We have given it a scientific-sounding classification, ADHD, securing a sense that a messy adolescence is pathological, some sort of chemical imbalance. Thus the scientists are called in to reinforce generally conservative norms of appropriate behaviour. In the US, between 1987 and 2007, there was a 35-fold increase in the number of children being classified as having some form of mental deficiency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaking pills for unhappiness reinforces the idea that being sad is not human

School boards searching for Obamacare loopholes to avoid paying some benefits

"Hit by years of budget cuts, some U.S. public school boards are looking to avoid providing health benefits to substitute teachers and supporting staff under President Barack Obama’s reform law, education officials say. According to the law, employers will have to offer health coverage to all full-time employees, defined as those who work an average of 30 or more hours per week each month, or else pay a fine starting in 2015. The need to find creative solutions, or risk cutting back staff hours further, will increase as they finalize their budgets, they say." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSchool boards searching for Obamacare loopholes to avoid paying some benefits

‘This is hypocrisy’: Sanjay Gupta on the federal medical marijuana patent

"CNN contributor Dr. Sanjay Gupta followed up on his reversal of course regarding medical marijuana in an interview with Anderson Cooper on Tuesday by slamming federal policy regarding medical marijuana. 'The U.S. holds a patent [on marijuana] on one hand, and on the other hand, same government says it has no medical applications,' Gupta told Cooper. 'Journalists are trained to hate hypocrisy. This is hypocrisy. I’ve never seen it quite like this.' The Department of Health and Human Services, Gupta explained, holds a patent on medical marijuana as 'a protectant for the brain', giving voice to an argument made by medical marijuana proponents." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘This is hypocrisy’: Sanjay Gupta on the federal medical marijuana patent

Dental Abuse Seen Driven by Private Equity Investments [2012]

"Isaac Gagnon stepped off the school bus sobbing last October and opened his mouth to show his mother where it hurt. A dentist’s statement in his backpack showed he had received two pulpotomies, or baby root canals, along with the crowns and 10 X-rays -- all while he was at school. 'I was absolutely horrified,' said Gagnon.'I never gave them permission to drill into my son’s mouth. They did it for profit.' [Dental management-services companies like ReachOut] have been riding a boom in Medicaid outlays on dentistry, which rose 63 percent to $7.4 billion between 2007 and 2010, outstripping the 4.9 percent growth in other dental spending." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDental Abuse Seen Driven by Private Equity Investments [2012]

Why You Should Take Your “Health” Into Your Own Hands

"Cost-shifting takes place in the form of two insidious scams, patiently described to us by Dr. G. Keith Smith, an Oklahoma City MD who’s doing his level best to undermine the practice. The first scam is called 'uncompensated care.' The second scam involves the insurance scheme known as preferred provider organizations, and is called 'PPO re-pricing.' What is the actual cost of that '$100,000' procedure? About $7,000-8,000. For everything. Including the facility, surgeon and anesthesia charges. That’s what Smith would charge you at his outpatient surgery center in Oklahoma City… a lone outpost of 'price transparency' within U.S. borders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy You Should Take Your “Health” Into Your Own Hands

Worried About Obamacare? The Government’s “Federal Data Hub” Is Here to Help

"If you’re confused about the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known 'Obamacare,' worry not. The federal government has conveniently used your tax money to hire 'patient navigators' to help you understand… and enroll you in the program. These otherwise unassuming civil servants will help you learn about the act, navigate its complexities, and select the benefits that fit your criteria. They will also have access to your personal information. All of it. The hub will 'bring together information about you and your family from the Treasury Department and IRS, the Department of Homeland Security [and] the Department of Justice…'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWorried About Obamacare? The Government’s “Federal Data Hub” Is Here to Help

Judge Upholds Suit Against Feds Who Arrested Former Marine For Facebook Posts

"On August 16, 2012, Raub was visited by local police, FBI agents and Secret Service personnel who questioned him about his Facebook posts. Raub was cooperative and discussed his activity with the officers, despite their not having a warrant. At some point, one of the agents made a call to Michael Campbell, a psychotherapist retained by the county who decided, despite having never met or observed Raub, that the former Marine was 'potentially dangerous' and should be detained. At that point, the collected officers cuffed Raub and took him to the local jail before having him committed to the mental hospital." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Upholds Suit Against Feds Who Arrested Former Marine For Facebook Posts

The Myth of the Free-Market American Health Care System [2012]

"In 2009, according to these statistics, which come mostly from the OECD, U.S. government entities spent $3,795 per person on health care, compared to $3,100 per person in France. Note that these stats are for government expenditures; they exclude private-sector health spending. If anything, the U.S. figures understate government health spending, because they exclude the $300 billion a year we 'spend' through the tax code by making the purchase of employer-sponsored health insurance tax-exempt. So: if we measure by the dollar amount of government involvement in health spending, the French system is actually meaningfully freer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Myth of the Free-Market American Health Care System [2012]

6-year-old Colorado girl in national spotlight over medical marijuana

"Charlotte Figi suffers from a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome. She’s endured violent seizures since she was a newborn. Most weeks, she’d have about 300 seizures a week. After countless emergency room visits, trips to specialists and children’s hospitals, and more than a dozen pharmaceuticals, nothing worked. Then, a year-and-a-half ago, as a last resort, her mom tried cannabis oil. The medical marijuana worked immediately. 'It’s potent, it’s strong, it’s spicy, it’s got some kick,' her mother, Paige Figi, told FOX31 Denver as she showed us a syringe full of the cannabis oil. It’s diluted with olive oil, and mixed with food." Continue reading →

Continue Reading6-year-old Colorado girl in national spotlight over medical marijuana