Health Highlights: Aug. 19, 2007

A Wayne State University study found that prolonged work in nail salons was associated with poor performance on a variety of tests to determine a person's attention acuity, mental processing speed, memory and verbal learning, theTimesreports. And another study by University of Toronto scientists found similar problems in children who were prenatally exposed.

"The intensity of exposure for salon workers is 1,200 times what it would be for the average American," Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst for the non-profit Environmental Working Group, told the newspaper. "Immigrant women often don't understand the safety information."

Three compounds long used in nail salons -- toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate -- are on the denagrous list, theTimesreports. Toluene is a colorless solvent, formaldehyde helps harden nails and dibutyl phthalate makes nail polish flexible. One company that makes the chemicals, OPI Products, has said it would begin removing toluene and dibutyl phthalate from its product list, the newspaper said.

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New Mexico Medicinal Marijuana Law Put on Hold

Having no guarantee of protection against federal prosecution, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson Friday stopped short of ordering implementation of a state-run production and distribution system for marijuana to be used for medical purposes, theAssociated Pressreports.

But Richardson did order the state Health Department to go ahead with planning the operations of the program, which includes growing and distributing the drug.

So far, Congressional efforts to keep federal law enforcement officials from prosecuting New Mexico health workers have failed. State Attorney General Gary King warned Friday that New Mexico health department employees could face federal prosecution for implementing the law, which became effective in July, theA.P.reports.

State health officials want to make sure that the cannabis meets the standards for medical treatment. Marijuana is often used by those suffering from diseases that cause pain, and also by those whose treatment brings about nausea and depression.

The New Mexico law specifically mentions approved marijuana use for cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and HIV-AIDS, and also by some patients in hospice care. "The long-term goal is that the patients will have a safe, secure supply that doesn't mean drug dealers, that doesn't mean growing their own," Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico, told theA.P.in July.

But medicinal marijuana use is illegal under federal law, and so far, no acceptable remedy has been found to keep U.S. agents from raiding New Mexico-run marijuana farms and arresting state employees.

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