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Cancer Answers is hosted by Dr. Anees Chagpar, Associate Professor of Surgical Oncology and Director of The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Dr. Francine Foss, Professor of Medical Oncology. The show features a guest cancer specialist who will share the most recent advances in cancer therapy and respond to listeners questions. Myths, facts and advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment are discussed, with a different focus eachweek. Nationally acclaimed specialists in various types of cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment discuss common misconceptions about the disease and respond to questions from the community.Listeners can submit questions to be answered on the program at canceranswers@yale.edu or by leaving a message at (888) 234-4YCC. As a resource, archived programs from 2006 through the present are available in both audio and written versions on the Yale Cancer Center website.

Connecticut Study Hopes For Answers On Medical Marijuana

A bumblebee is seen on a flowering CBD cannabis plant in a greenhouse at the CBD cannabis production company Phytocann near Ollon, western Switzerland on May 19, 2021. - France will allow products containing cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychotropic molecule in cannabis that is said to have relaxing properties, but the sale of dried flowers and leaves will remain prohibited.
Fabrice Coffrini
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AFP/Getty
A bumblebee is seen on a flowering CBD cannabis plant in a greenhouse at the CBD cannabis production company Phytocann near Ollon, western Switzerland on May 19, 2021. - France will allow products containing cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychotropic molecule in cannabis that is said to have relaxing properties, but the sale of dried flowers and leaves will remain prohibited.

A groundbreaking study in Connecticut is set to focus on the effects of medical marijuana.

The federal Food and Drug Administration has given the Yale School of Medicine and medical marijuana supplier CT Pharma approval to begin a human drug trial that will study the effectiveness of marijuana-based medicine. 

Yale University School of Medicine’s Dr. Rajita Sinha is the lead investigator for the clinical trial. She hopes the results will yield true scientific answers to a host of questions about medical marijuana.

“How does it work, who does it work for, and what doses do you need?” she said during a news conference about the trial. “Which symptoms can be alleviated, and is there a need for refinement? There are so many questions.”

Sinha said the study will focus on the effectiveness of cannabinoid medicine at alleviating stress and pain symptoms.

The trial will be the first of its kind on human subjects, according to CT Pharma, based in Portland, Connecticut. Researchers will use a double-blind, placebo controlled method, in which one group will be given an oral tablet of medical marijuana provided by CT Pharma, while the other group will receive a placebo.

CT Pharma board chair Michael Fedele told reporters he hopes the study will yield the first FDA-approved marijuana-based medicine to be manufactured in the United States.

“Right now, a company in England has the only FDA-approved, plant-based medical marijuana product in our market,” he said. “That really shouldn’t be the case with respect to American companies.”

Cori Alicea has stage 4 glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. She has been a medical marijuana patient since 2014 and said she welcomes the study.

“It has helped me with every physical ability that I have,” she said. “My right side was completely numb from having the seizures and the surgeries. This medicine has made it so I’m able to live my daily life. It’s exciting to see all of the progress, and I just hope to help others.”

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series Where Art Thou? Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of Morning Edition, and later of All Things Considered.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.