Feature Channels: Marijuana

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Rural counties continue to rank lowest among counties across the U.S., in terms of health outcomes. A group of national organizations including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National 4-H Council are leading the way to close the rural health gap.

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Study findings highlight need for manufacturing and testing standards and federal government oversight.

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The multidisciplinary Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) will focus on conducting research, sharing evidence-based information and creating a network of professionals interested in further understanding medicinal cannabis.

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Business experts estimate that the market for Cannabidiol (CBD) products will grow to more than $2 billion in consumer sales within the next three years. While interest in this area continues to grow, little has been done to ensure regulation and oversight of the sale of products containing CBD.

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New research presented today at APHA’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Expo examined the effect of marijuana use and dependence on life achievement in young adults.

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Many people who smoke or chew tobacco can’t seem to escape nicotine’s addictive properties. Studies show that women in particular seem to have a harder time quitting, even with assistance, when compared to men. Now, scientists report in a mouse study published in ACS’ journal Chemical Research in Toxicology that the difference in gender smoking patterns and smoking’s effects could be due to how nicotine impacts the brain-gut relationship.

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Planting cannabis for commercial production in remote locations is creating forest fragmentation, stream modification, soil erosion and landslides. Without land-use policies to limit its environmental footprint, the impacts of cannabis farming could get worse, according to a new study published in the November issue of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

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As more states consider legalizing recreational marijuana, University of Colorado researchers are launching a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to examine the impact legalization has on career fulfillment, family life, and substance use.

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About a quarter of adults whose marijuana use is problematic in early adulthood have anxiety disorders in childhood and late adolescence, according to new data from Duke Health researchers.

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Alfgeir Kristjansson, an assistant professor in WVU’s School of Public Health, is studying data related to teen substance abuse in West Virginia. In 2016, his findings showed that at one high school in Wood County, 27 percent of students had smoked cigarettes, 41 percent had consumed alcohol and 20 percent had smoked marijuana.

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A new study on cannabis use that involved 1,136 patients (from 18 to 40 years of age) with mental illnesses who had been seen five times during the year after discharge from a psychiatric hospital demonstrates that sustained used of cannabis is associated with an increase in violent behaviour in young people. Moreover, the association between persistent cannabis use and violence is stronger than that associated with alcohol or cocaine.

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In the 14th episode of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Planet Lex podcast series, host Dean Daniel Rodriguez talks to Charlie Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs, and Northwestern Law alumna Dina Rollman, chief counsel at Green Thumb Industries (GTI), about the complexities of the marijuana industry, including how Illinois has set a precedent for regulatory programs, the banking challenges facing cultivators and the battle for more research within the United States.

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A bipartisan group of senators led by Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has reintroduced the Marijuana Effective Studies Act of 2016 (MEDS Act), which will remove excessive regulatory barriers inhibiting researchers from obtaining marijuana plants to conduct studies assessing the drug’s medical effectiveness and safety. The American Pain Society (www.americanpainsociety.org) said today it strongly supports the legislation and a companion measure introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in July.

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More than half of the states in the U.S. now allow some type of legal marijuana use, primarily medical marijuana. But, in a survey of medical residents and deans at the nation's medical schools, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that the majority of schools are not teaching their students about medical marijuana, and the majority of students don't feel prepared to discuss the subject with patients.

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A study by Indiana University neuroscientists published Sept. 5 finds that a nonpsychoactive compound in cannabis called cannabidiol, or CBD, appears to protect against the long-term negative psychiatric effects of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

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• In a recent study of healthy young adults, marijuana use was not associated with change in kidney function over time or the appearance of albumin in the urine, which is a sign of kidney damage. • Additional studies are needed to assess the effects of marijuana in older adults and patients with kidney disease.

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A Rutgers psychiatrist discusses how states can minimize the health risks to young people when considering marijuana legalization

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While marijuana use amongst youth remains stable, youth admission to substance abuse treatment facilities has increased, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System a five-year, $3.8 million grant for the first long-term study to test whether medical marijuana reduces opioid use among adults with chronic pain, including those with HIV.

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A pattern of escalating marijuana use in adolescents is linked to higher rates of depression and lower educational accomplishments in adulthood.

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Fifty years ago, this summer, a social phenomenon emerged in California and swept the nation. Called the “Summer of Love,” it began with tens of thousands of “hippies” converging in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district during the summer of 1967. Many were against the Vietnam War and consumerism, and passionate about music and meditation. There was widespread use of illicit drugs such as LSD and cannabis, as well as legal substances including alcohol, tobacco and tranquilizers. Fast forward to 2017. The bohemian “flower children” of the 1960’s are now a formidable segment of the nation’s baby boomer generation. Not surprisingly, many in this age group, now largely in their 50s and 60s, have continued to struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. And it is changing the face of addiction in America.

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A new study published in the July issue of the Journal of Urban Economics finds that contrary to popular belief, medical marijuana dispensaries (MMDs) reduce crime in their immediate areas.

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A Montreal study confirms the link between marijuana use and psychotic-like experiences in a Canadian adolescent cohort.

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In just seven years, the number of marijuana-positive drivers increased 50 percent, according to the 2013-2014 National Roadside Survey of Alcohol & Drug Use by Drivers. On the flip side, the percentage of alcohol-positive drivers decreased 77 percent between 1973 and 2013-2014. These results and others will be shared at the 40th annual scientific meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) in Denver June 24-28.

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The 40th annual Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Scientific Meeting will take place June 25-28 in Denver, Colorado. RSA 2017 provides a meeting place for scientists and clinicians from across the country, and around the world, to interact. The meeting also gives members and non-members the chance to present their latest findings in alcohol research through abstract and symposia submissions. Below are eight programming highlights. For full press releases, images or abstracts, email [email protected].

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In this month’s release, find new embargoed research about: U.S. gun fatality rate; health-related quality of life affected by occupation; and vehicle crash rates following marijuana legalization.

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While tobacco control advocates are pushing for "a kind of prohibition" on cigarettes, the cannabis community is doing quite the opposite, researchers say.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Chicago report that low levels tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, does reduce stress, but in a highly dose-dependent manner:

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Adults who smoke marijuana often cut back after becoming parents — but they don’t necessarily quit.

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Recreational use of cannabis—including marijuana, hashish, and hash oil—increases the risk of gum disease, says a study by Columbia University dental researchers.

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Increasing interest in the properties of cannabinoids as a therapy for epilepsy has prompted Epilepsy & Behavior to produce a special issue devoted entirely to studies of cannabinoids. A UAB neurologist involved in UAB’s studies of CBD oil serves a co-guest editor of the issue.

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A new study by RTI International suggests that unexpected highs are a consequence of using new marijuana products and edibles—products that have flooded the marijuana market since legalization of recreational marijuana use.

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A new study led by the University of Delaware found that kids who are bullied in fifth grade often suffer from depression and begin using alcohol and other substances years after the initial incidents.

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Scientists have shown for the first time that gestational exposure to marijuana smoke in animals affects the development of the eye and these alterations seem to progress with age. The research is being presented during a press conference at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in Baltimore, Md., on Monday, May 8 from 9:30 – 10:15am.

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Some people who use so-called synthetic marijuana, known by names such as K2 and Spice, may be unable to metabolize the drug, leading them to experience its most harmful effects, a UAMS researcher said today at a national scientific meeting in Chicago.

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Legal marijuana shops are linked to higher levels of property crime in nearby areas, according to a nearly three-year study in Denver.

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Synthetic cannabinoid abuse is a growing problem in the U.S. New discoveries tied to genetic factors that increase a person’s risk for experiencing the most dangerous effects of these drugs could lead to more effective treatments and antidotes.

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Taking cannabidiol may cut seizures in half for some children and adults with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a severe form of epilepsy, according to new information released today from a large scale controlled clinical study that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 69th Annual Meeting in Boston, April 22 to 28, 2017. Cannabidiol is a molecule from the cannabis plant that does not have the psychoactive properties that create a “high.”

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Researchers found that women in methadone treatment who use cannabis are 82 per cent more likely to continue using opioids. This means that women who use cannabis are at high risk of failing methadone treatment.

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Nemus Bioscience and the University of Mississippi report significant anti-MRSA synergy data utilizing proprietary cannabinoid-based anti-infective platforms

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"The difference with children and teenagers versus adults is that young people are still making connections in their brains that they're going to have for a lifetime," said Dr. Leslie Walker-Harding, chair of pediatrics and medical director at Penn State Children’s Hospital.

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As more states consider legalizing recreational marijuana, a range of arguments for and against legalization is swirling around the national conversation. Which of these arguments resonate most strongly with Americans? It's the arguments that support legalization, according to a new study

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Clinicians and researchers from the GW Department of Dermatology will present on a variety of topics, including nanotechnology, fungal infections of the skin, cannabis for autoimmune diseases, contact dermatitis, and public health threats at the 75th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

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Pot brownies may be a thing of the past as there are new edible marijuana products, or edibles, on the market, including chocolates, candies, and cookies. These products are legally sold in Colorado and Washington, and according to a new study conducted by RTI International, changes to their labels are needed to ensure people know what they are consuming and that they are safely consuming the products.

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Though marijuana edibles are becoming increasingly common, scant information exists on how to test drivers for impairment following their consumption. For the first time, research published today in AACC’s Clinical Chemistry journal evaluates the performance of roadside saliva tests for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) following consumption of edibles, showing that lower THC cutoff points are needed for these tests to effectively detect marijuana ingestion.

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A number of animal studies and a small human pilot study have revealed that cannabinoids, extracts of cannabis legally sold as medical marijuana, could reduce cravings and ease withdrawal symptoms in heroin users.

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Journalists, researchers, policymakers, and the public looking to gain new insights about the use of marijuana can now turn to CannabisConvo.

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Adolescents who smoke marijuana as early as 14 do worse by 20 on some cognitive tests and drop out of school at a higher rate than non-smokers. But if they hold off until age 17, they're less at risk.