Re: “Maine Voices: Bill to address opiate crisis in Maine is a step in the right direction” by Becky DeKeuster (Jan. 23):

The recent op-ed by a spokesperson for the marijuana industry saying that pot can be used for people trying to get off heroin, is both wrong and dangerous.

I’m a doctor who has spent 30 years treating drug addicts, starting in my residency at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

The aim in treating addicts is to get them off all addictive drugs, including alcohol and marijuana, not substitute one for another. And the reason is that addicts and alcoholics are happiest clean and sober.

Florida voters are going to see a medical marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot for the second election cycle in a row. The 2016 version is different than the 2014 version in a handful of ways. The 2014 initiative lost by just 2 percent. An improved initiative, lessons learned from the 2014 campaign, and a higher voter turnout due to a Presidential election will hopefully overcome that 2 percent. Florida residents want medical marijuana, and not the version previously passed by the Florida Legislature that doesn’t really help anyone. The Editorial Board at the Miami-Herald agrees. Per an excerpt from a recently published article by the media outlet:

It is common for some jobs to have mandatory drug testing, but what happens when you are managing health problems with medical marijuana? Although medical marijuana is legal in 23 states as well as Washington, D.C., marijuana remains illegal on a federal level. This creates significant problems for those who depend on the product to control the numerous health issues THC seems to benefit. Can employers require information about medical marijuana use, and does HIPAA offer any protections?

Not surprisingly, EJ Montini was noticeably vague in his recent op-ed (”Blowing marijuana smoke into opponents' faces") accusing Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy of using “questionable” information in its arguments against legalizing marijuana. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consider the following:

-- Since Colorado legalized marijuana, teen use has risen dramatically and is now 74 percent higher than the national average. (2015 SAMHSA report/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

How has new legislation affected marijuana use in the United States?

The best available data suggest that marijuana use is increasing in adults but not teens, with a decrease in marijuana-related arrests but an increase in treatment admissions, according to an update in the January/February Journal of Addiction Medicine, the official journal of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren thinks it’s high time health officials consider legalizing marijuana as a painkiller.

Warren, in a letter to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head Thomas Frieden, argued that the “alarming” surge in painkiller addictions means marijuana should be explored as an alternative.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — One of two proposals this year to expand Utah's medical marijuana law sets up tight controls around a cannabis extract some conservative legislators may see as a safer option than a broader medical pot program.

Utah already allows the extract, called cannabidiol, to be used by those with severe epilepsy, as long as they obtain the product from other states.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to explore the use of medical marijuana as an alternative to the powerful opioid painkillers that kill thousands of people each year.

In a letter to CDC chief Tom Friedan, the Massachusetts Democrat also asks the agency to look into “the impact of the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana on opioid overdose deaths.”

From a public health standpoint, Warren is right. There is a lot of potential here. Here’s a rundown of what the research has shown so far:

One of the nation’s most influential U.S. Senators thinks medical marijuana should be studied as a way to address the nation’s opioid issue.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) asked the Centers for Disease Control to work with other federal agencies “to fill the gap in our knowledge about” medical marijuana’s ability to help combat the opioid epidemic.

Warren asked the federal agency to consider and study “the use, uptake, and effectiveness of medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids for pain treatment in states where it is legal.”

Here’s her letter to the CDC.

Customer service skills and a way with words are replacing muscles and a tough reputation, says European drugs agency

Drug dealers are turning from goons to geeks in a trade that is increasingly being conducted online, says a report by the European drugs agency.

Research into internet drug markets by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) suggested the self-regulation of online markets such as Silk Road provide a safer environment for users and dealers of illicit substances.