Criminal and financial penalties for clinicians in the ACT Mental Health Act weigh more heavily on senior doctors.

Objective: We sought to assess the attitudes of ACT public psychiatry doctors towards the financial and criminal penalties in the ACT Mental Health Act 2015.

Method: Baseline attitude was surveyed with an 11-item 5-point Likert scale. Education was then provided about the offences outlined in the Act and the associated penalties.

Heavy cannabis users at elevated risk of stroke: evidence from a general population survey.

Objective: Case reports and hospital-based case-control studies suggest that cannabis use may increase the risk of stroke. We examined the risk of non-fatal stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) among cannabis users in the general community.

Method: A general population survey of Australians aged 20-24 years (n=2,383), 40-44 years (n=2,525) and 60-64 years (n=2,547) was used to determine the odds of lifetime stroke or TIA among participants who had smoked cannabis in the past year while adjusting for other stroke risk factors.