American Pain Society. Summary: The growing body of evidence that marijuana (cannabis) may be effective as a pain reliever has been expanded with publication of a new study in The Journal of Pain reporting that patients with nerve pain showed reduced pain intensity from smoking marijuana. Researchers examined whether marijuana produces analgesia for patients with neuropathic pain.
Ron O'Neal, whose role as a fashionable and fearless drug dealer in the 1972 blaxploitation film Superfly made him a cult hero among many African Americans, has died. He was 66. Mr. O'Neal, who suffered from pancreatic cancer, died Wednesday in Los Angeles.
For 30 years his invitation to sit on the couch after a stand-up routine was a virtual ticket to stardom. Johnny Carson, the former Tonight Show host who became an icon for any aspiring late-night talker, died at age 79 on Sunday after a long struggle with emphysema. Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning. He was surrounded by his family, Carson's nephew, Jeff Sotzing, said in a statement.