Canada to begin medical marijuana study

A study examining the medical benefit of marijuana use by HIV-positive patients will begin in Canada by the end of the month, officials at the Community Research Initiative of Toronto, the Canadian HIV Trials Network, and St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto announced Wednesday. The study will examine the effects of four different marijuana dosages on 32 HIV-positive people and will look at the drug's effect on increasing appetite and encouraging weight gain among the study participants, The [Toronto] Globe and Mail reports. The study is the first in Canada to specifically examine the effects of marijuana use on HIV-positive patients experiencing nausea, loss of appetite, and wasting syndrome.