The American Cancer Society (ACS) of Ohio has filed a lawsuit challenging the state's workplace smoking ban. The ban exempts some military veterans' halls and other private clubs -- and the ASC says this is not OK.

The exemption waters down the law and exposes people to secondhand smoke, say ACS spokeswoman Wendy Simpkins.

The smoking ban was approved by 58 percent of voters in November, took effect in December, and will result in fining beginning the first week in May. The law prohibits smoking in most public places, such as restaurants, bars, and office and excludes tobacco shops, designated hotel rooms, and enclosed areas of nursing homes. Halls and clubs can be excluded from the law only if there are no employees.

Jay Carey, spokesman for the state Health Department, says public health officials have the authority to set rules for enforcement. They ultimately decided that VFW halls and other private clubs were exempt if they had only members as employees. For the exemption to apply, such clubs also must be nonprofit and in a freestanding building. No nonmembers or children under age 18 can be present.

The ACS argues that the state rules are confusing and make the law unworkable.

Sexy. Seductive. Super-intelligent. All aptly describe Sharon Stone. Another is sportswoman, as Stone is an avid golfer. During a recent interview with Golf for Women, she shared a story about her father, also an avid golfer, surviving esophageal cancer by playing golf.

Given three months to live, her father was able to play through his chemotherapy and radiation treatments because of specially-built clubs designed by the golf equipment company Callaway. A feeding tube inserted after surgery prevented him from being able to bend. Without the new clubs, he would not have been able to continue in a much-loved positive activity.

Around the same time, Rob Lowe's father was being treated for cancer with a new targeted drug therapy, Avastin, and they helped Stone obtain the same drug for her father. She attributes the game of golf and the help of her friend Lowe with saving her father's life.

Twenty-two operations later, when Stone's father had successfully beaten cancer, she called the Callaway company to let them know how much a part she believed the company had in her father's recovery. The woman who took the call began to cry because it was the one year anniversary of her own mother's death from cancer and Stone's call lifted her spirits that something the company had done might have helped someone survive cancer.

For many golfers, golf is more than a sport. "Golf teaches you about life, about humanity, about things that will make you a better person," explains Stone. At the end of the article, Stone offers this advice, "Your life is a book; every page you write, you carry with you. You don't get to tear the pages out and throw them away. So write wisely. It doesn't matter what others write, ever, ever, ever. They don't know you at all. But what you write is indelible." Spirited. Insightful. Centered. All Sharon Stone.

Sharon Shakes It Up, Hollywood's A-list femme fatale has strong opinions about everything--including golf, is the Golf for Women cover story in the January/February 2007 issue. The interview has been published online here.

Nabilone, known as Cesamet, a synthetic imitation of an active ingredient found in marijuana, has been shown successful in treating cancer patients experiencing nausea, pain, anxiety and depression, according to University of Toronto researchers who conducted a study on the effectiveness of the synthetic drug.

During the study of 139 participants, a survey was conducted to rate how well the synthetic drug alleviated the adverse side-effects most commonly associated with chemotherapy. According to the study, cancer patients who were prescribed Cesamet indicated less pain, anxiety and depression.

A prescription drug approved for cancer patients who do not respond to traditional anti-nausea treatments, lead investigator Dr. Vincent Maida stated, "This is not a pot pill and has absolutely no street value."

The trouble with the synthetic drug, which is legal, is the stigma attached to marijuana use in general, even on the part of some physicians, who are said to be hesitant to prescribe a version of marijuana even if it is not marijuana. In our modern society, marijuana is sometimes associated with counter-culture populations, addiction and even as a gateway to more addictive drugs.

I would say I just do not get it when it comes to the denial of making cancer treatment for a cancer patient a little easier, but The Scientific American published a brief history of marijuana that brings us from ancient China to the present with, "In 1937 the U.S. Congress, against the advice of the American Medical Association, passed the Marijuana Tax Act, effectively banning use of the drug by making it expensive and difficult to obtain. Ever since, marijuana has remained one of the most controversial drugs in American society. Despite efforts to change its status, it remains federally classified as a Schedule 1 drug, along with heroin and LSD, considered dangerous and without utility."

As anyone who has undergone the grueling ordeal of chemotherapy can tell you, getting high is the last thing on their mind. However, alleviating the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy is critical.

Other medical marijuana-related posts include:

• Montel Williams: poster child for pot
  
• Medical marijuana pot pill approved for chemotherapy
• Breast cancer has made me a criminal patient story
• FDA rejects medical marijuana use
• Guru of Ganja: medical marijuana advocate faces new pot charges

Medical marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal has been indicted again by a federal grand jury on a number of counts including conspiracy to manufacture and distribute marijuana; money laundering and filing false tax returns related to a marijuana operation.

This is not the first time Rosenthal has been brought up on charges involving medical marijuana activities. Three years ago, he was convicted for cultivating marijuana for a city of Oakland medical marijuana program. An appeals court overturned the conviction this past April, citing jury misconduct, but it upheld federal powers to charge marijuana growers.

The Ask Ed columnist for High Times magazine Rosenthal, 61, known as the Guru of Ganja and author of marijuana cultivation books, is quoted as saying, "What they're trying to show is that they can close down anybody, a legitimate club, a legitimate provider who's sanctioned by the city. They're trying to stop patients from getting their medicine."

Other medical marijuana-related posts include:

• Montel Williams: poster child for pot
  
• Medical marijuana pot pill approved for chemotherapy
• Breast cancer has made me a criminal patient story
• FDA rejects medical marijuana use

Medical use of marijuana on a doctor's recommendation is legal in a number of states but prohibited by federal law.

The Secret Language of Girlfriends: Talking Loudly, Laughing Wildly, and Making the Most of Our Most Important Friendships, written by the queen of comfort Karen Neuburger, is a book sharing the funny, enlightening, uplifting and sometimes sad stories of women and how no matter what happens in the life of a woman -- she can always count on her girlfriends to be there. Neuburger chronicles the stages of a woman's life -- from child rearing and workplace bonding to menopause and beyond. The book contains party ideas, recipes, crafts and craft disasters, and the ceremonies women use to cement and celebrate their friendships. The last chapter is devoted to daughters and how mothers pass the secret language of girlfriends to the next generation --  a group of girlfriends who totally have your back but always put you out in front.

A portion of book profits go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, in honor of girlfriends everywhere. While it is a last-minute gift idea for Mother's Day, it is an excellent gift idea for mom any day of the week. Right after you give your mother a copy of this book, tell her about The Secret Language of Girlfriends website, where she can find the Broad Squad, book clubs, newsletter, and other fun.

In the United States, there is the war on drugs. There is a war on cancer. There appears to be a war on cancer patients who need to use medical marijuana. In Canada, the Global National is reporting that medical marijuana patients are being forced into the black market for the marijuana they need. In the United States, the same goes on. Borders blur, and the wars seem to be the same.

At the bottom of an old Winnepeg, Manitoba mine marijuana is legally grown and dried for cancer patients to use. But it is of such poor quality, it is estimated that a third of the pot is returned. Then there are the cancer patients who can not afford the cost Health Canada charges.

Because of these factors, cancer patients are turning to compassion clubs for help. According to Phillipe Lucas, who has set up a compassion club for cancer patients, "Compassion clubs are serving more people than Health Canada, we're creating a better supply than Health Canada. And we're doing more legitimate research than Health Canada and we're doing all of this at no cost to the taxpayer." Marijuana is classified as an illegal drug. Putting aside your opinion on whether marijuana should be legalized -- right now it is not legal -- and essentially this is making criminals out of cancer patients. Unless you are a cancer patient who has experienced the grueling cruel side-effects of chemotherapy, or the persistent pain of cancer, you might not appreciate that there are a limited number of drugs that work to alleviate side-effects and physical pain. Sometimes none of the prescription drugs work. For some cancer patients, marijuana seems to work.