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SUMMARY Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) has been a topic of much attention over several decades, initially as a herbal remedy for a variety of ills, then as a mild hallucinogen used by the ‘counter culture’ of the 1960s and more recently as a focus of increasing medical and scientific research. It also has become a popular alternative medication, and controversy continues to swirl around its indications, despite widespread anecdotal evidence. Cannabinoids, isolated from the plant as well as synthetically derived, have become a rapidly increasing area of research and clinical use in certain medical conditions, such as cancer and cancer treatment. Taken together, it becomes difficult for medical professionals to know whether these compounds can be used with caution or should be rejected outright due to the potential harms, which include the possibility of psychosis and driver impairment. Here, we explore the evidence for cannabis and cannabinoid use in supportive cancer therapy, as well as sift through some of ...

Corticosteroids are widely used in palliative care for a variety of reasons. Although benefit generally outweighs the risk in the palliative care population, side effects are common and necessitate judicious use. In order to qualify and quantify our corticosteroid use, we conducted a retrospective chart review, and subsequent statistical analysis, of 65 patients admitted to a Tertiary Palliative Care Unit at St Boniface General Hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Of our 65 patients, 42 (65%) were on corticosteroids at some point during their admission, and 25 were on corticosteroids at the time they were admitted. Many of the patients on steroids underwent a taper once their course was complete but only 4% completed the taper prior to their deaths. There was a large amount of inter- and intra-physician variability for dosing, even for the same indication. Dosing had a biphasic distribution with one peak around a total daily dose of 4–8 mg of dexamethasone and another peak around 16 mg of dexam...