had found "that the association of these cancers with marijuana, even long-term or heavy use, is not strong and may be below practically detectable limits", asking the charity's representative to cite the research that supported the charity's claim. When he declined to do so, Williamson accused the charity of "putting out bogus information" for "headline grabbing". On the same day, online journalist Keelan Balderson accused the charity of peddling "a long debunked myth". He claimed that it was not the first such incident, citing an earlier BLF statement that "3 joints are equal to 20 cigarettes", taken from the BLF’s 2002 Smoking Gun? report. David Nutt criticised the Foundation for "scaremongering". Peter Reynolds, leader of the political party Cannabis Law Reform, described the report as a "dangerously irresponsible mix of conjecture, extremist opinion and scaremongering". The British Lung Foundation responded by asserting that the report was based on sound research, and "references over 80 peer-reviewed research papers, is the most comprehensive report of its kind yet compiled, and has itself been peer-reviewed by independent experts". Research On average, the British Lung Foundation invests one million pounds a year in research projects aiming to improve the diagnosis or treatment of lung conditions. As a direct result of research funded by the BLF, it is now possible to measure lung capacity in infants; the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation are demonstrable; lung transplants are more likely to be successful. BLF COPD Project The British Lung Foundation’s COPD Project is a three-year project which was set up in January 2007. The aims of the project are: Raise awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among the general public and health professionals. Facilitate the sharing of information and expertise among patients, carers, health and social care practitioners, managers, commissioners and others. Support the delivery of COPD campaigns and publications, developed and produced by the British Lung Foundation. National Service Framework for COPD The Department of Health will be launching a new National Service Framework (NSF) for Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease towards the end of 2008. As Patient Advocate, the BLF’s Chief Executive, Helena Shovelton has been working closely with the Department of Health to support the development of the NSF for COPD. The BLF will be working closely with patients, carers, health and social care professionals and managers to develop activities to support the implementation of the NSF for COPD. The BLF will be developing