Cannabis will likely soon be legally classified as medicine. But medicine for what?

3 July 2024 at 06:00

Experts say the DEA’s rescheduling of cannabis as a medication will be ‘a little bit incoherent’

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed rules earlier this year that would officially give cannabis status as a medication rather than an illegal narcotic – that’s exciting news for researchers, but will rescheduling mean that cannabis could soon move from the dispensary to the drug store?

Experts say it’s not that simple.

💾

Hope in short supply: what our election reporters found out as they travelled the UK

The Guardian

Heather Stewart

3 July 2024 at 02:00

Building blocks of everyday life, from the NHS to roads to libraries, have been eroded by Tory underinvestment

UK general election live: latest updates

Thursday’s general election looks likely to be a historic pivot: one of those long-remembered moments when the established order at Westminster is swept away by what Jim Callaghan, the victim of one such shift in 1979, called a “sea change in politics”.

Yet as Guardian reporters fanned out across the UK during the campaign to spend time talking to voters and non-voters in 15 varied constituencies for the Path to power series, they found precious little hope that things will be different come 5 July.

💾

Half of nursing students in England have considered quitting, survey finds

The Guardian

Andrew Gregory Health editor

3 July 2024 at 01:00

Exclusive: Figure suggests 32,000 students could walk away, mostly over costs and fears of burnout

Almost half of nursing students in England have considered quitting before they graduate amid the worst workforce crisis in NHS history, according to the largest survey of its kind.

Applicant numbers have fallen significantly since the end of a grant to support nursing students in 2017. Now a report by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), seen by the Guardian, suggests that as many as 46% of those enrolled – about 32,000 students – could walk away.

💾

‘Here comes the sun’: Zadie Smith on hope, trepidation and rebirth after 14 years of the Tories

The Guardian

Zadie Smith

3 July 2024 at 00:00

I used to shock US audiences with my stories of Britain’s excellent, accessible universities and healthcare. Then the Conservatives ruined the country. Now real change is on the horizon

Twenty-four years ago, when I was 24, I did my first reading in an American bookshop. At the end, in the question-and-answer bit, a middle-aged lady with a disgruntled look on her face put her hand up: “Yeah, I don’t get it.”

I asked her what she didn’t get.

💾

Summer wave of Covid in England: how worried should I be?

The Guardian

Nicola Davis Science correspondent

2 July 2024 at 13:03

With evidence that infections are on the rise, we look at the so-called FLiRT variants, and assess the risks

💾

Manchester graduate who sold Viagra-style drugs online is jailed

The Guardian

Hannah Al-Othman

2 July 2024 at 09:11

Antoine Kolias invented own branding and said the medicines were a ‘natural remedy’ for erectile dysfunction

A Manchester University graduate has been jailed for importing and selling illegal medicines on eBay and Amazon.

Antoine Christopher Kolias was sentenced on Friday to three and a half years in prison.

💾

If you care about someone, show them – and put away your phone

The Guardian

Moya Sarner

2 July 2024 at 08:20

It takes time and attention to look after other people – and ourselves. And there are so many distractions to overcome

Years ago I was sitting in a cafe before work when an exhausted-looking man and his toddler son came in. A “One cappuccino and one babyccino please” later, they sat at the table next to mine. The boy was a bit snotty and whiny, and I could see his dad was working hard to keep him entertained, to give him the time and attention he needed. And then I saw the moment where that time and attention ran out. The man’s focus slipped away, his hand dropping down to his pocket, his tired eyes sliding across to the screen as he eased out his phone …

And then I saw the scream. I saw it before I heard it, because the very loud scream was preceded by a terrifying silent scream (my own child also does a very potent silent scream, so I recognise this retrospectively). The father realised at this point that the game was up, shoved his phone back in his pocket and, defeated, carried his child out of the cafe in one arm, his other hand steering the empty pushchair.

💾

Why do I feel like I’m stuck in a ‘waiting room’, hoping for my life to get started?

The Guardian

Elle Hunt

2 July 2024 at 08:00

Joy can feel elusive in this economy – a counsellor talks to us about moving the needle from surviving to thriving

Who would say they’re thriving right now?

Thanks to the US and the UK’s high cost of living, the lack of affordable housing, uninspiring or extreme politics, the horrors of war and forecast climate catastrophe, hope and joy can feel elusive.

💾

After 15 years away I moved back to the UK fearing the worst. What I found startled me | Gillian Harvey

The Guardian

Gillian Harvey

2 July 2024 at 08:00

Despite years of austerity and Tory rule, I have seen incredible resilience, humour and optimism

Fifteen years ago I moved to France with my husband and a burgeoning baby bump, lured by low property prices and the chance to quit our jobs as teachers. That was in 2009, when Facebook was still a novelty, twittering was just for birds and I wasn’t sure if we’d need wifi at our new home. Gordon Brown was still prime minister, in case you need another measure of how long ago it was.

As we approach a general election and the potential return of a Labour government, I have recently moved back to the UK. The decision was made, at first, with some trepidation. After years of cuts, austerity and Covid, I’d begun to worry the place I’d be returning to might feel as alien as France did when I’d first arrived, with its unfathomable bureaucracy, shops that closed on Mondays and habitual lunchtime (and sometimes morning) drinking.

Gillian Harvey is a freelance writer and mother of five. She is the author of One French Summer

💾

‘Natty or not?’: how steroids got big – podcast

The Guardian

Written by Stephen Buranyi and read by Joe Layton. Produced by Nicola Alexandrou. The executive producer was Ellie Bury

1 July 2024 at 00:00

Once upon a time, it was only hardcore bodybuilders who pumped themselves up with testosterone. Today it is no longer niche. But how dangerous is it? By Stephen Buranyi

💾

Tell us: have you received NHS care following medical treatment abroad?

The Guardian

Guardian community team

26 June 2024 at 10:46

We would like to hear from people who have had emergency NHS care after travelling abroad for treatment

The NHS is having to provide emergency care to patients suffering serious complications following weight loss surgery and hair transplants abroad amid a “boom” in medical tourism, doctors have warned.

If you have had medical treatment abroad and have returned to the UK for follow up care, we would like to hear from you. What treatment did you receive and what were your reasons for travelling abroad? What complications did you experience and how did the NHS help?

💾

'Alarming increase' in complex drug poisonings in Kingston area

The Kingston Whig-Standard

The Whig-Standard

25 June 2024 at 16:52

The Kingston region’s public health unit is warning local residents that drug-involved poisonings are on the rise in the area. Read More

Dear Mamma: a transgender man, his mother and their journey in letters

The Guardian

Sky Neal， Lindsey Dryden， Charlie Phillips， Jess Gormley Lindsay Poulton Ekaterina Ochagavia

12 June 2024 at 08:00

When Naissa tells his mother Daniela that he identifies as a trans man she struggles to understand. Through candid personal letters exchanged over three years, Dear Mamma follows Naissa as he stands firmly for his independence and identity, and Daniela as she wrestles with her fear of losing a child. As Naissa embarks on his professional dance career and proudly embodies his gender, his mother also embarks on a journey of understanding and acceptance of her son’s choices

💾

Reading view