Feature Channels: Marijuana

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Fewer college-age Americans drink alcohol, compared to nearly 20 years ago, according to a new study.

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UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers report that older adults are increasingly using cannabis to treat a variety of common health conditions, including pain, sleep disturbances and psychiatric conditions like anxiety and depression.

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DALLAS – Oct. 7, 2020 – Endocannabinoids, signaling molecules produced in the body that share features with chemicals found in marijuana, can shut down genes needed for some pathogenic intestinal bacteria to colonize, multiply, and cause disease, new research led by UT Southwestern scientists shows.

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At panel discussions during the virtual ACS Clinical Congress 2020, experts underscored the importance of helping patients stop tobacco, vaping and marijuana use before having an operation.

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Not only might cannabis users require more anesthesia during surgery than non-users, they may have increased pain afterwards and use higher doses of opioids while in the hospital, suggests first-of-its kind research being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2020 annual meeting.

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The American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2020 (Oct. 3-7) is a virtual-only event. Here’s the listing of next week’s activities for media attendees.

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After more than six months of living in a pandemic, large percentages of Americans continue to indulge in unhealthy lifestyle habits, including overeating and increased use of alcohol and marijuana — all while many are exercising less, according to a study of the cultural impact of COVID-19 conducted by the USC Center for the Digital Future (CDF).

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Research from the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis shows prenatal cannabis exposure may impact child behavior later in life.

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African American and Hispanic children are less likely to have surgery than white children. People who use cannabis need more pain medicine during and after surgery. Some good news—opioid abuse is down. These studies are among the significant and newsworthy research being presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2020, the annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Oct. 2-5, which is all-virtual this year.

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Although it has become increasingly accepted for medical and recreational use, cannabis is still considered among one of the most widely used illegal substances in the United States and in many European countries.

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Legal marijuana is one of America’s fastest-growing industries, yet little scientific research exists on the unique workplace and health risks faced by cannabis workers. A special issue of the journal Annals of Work Exposures and Health explores worker safety in cannabis industry.

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Cannabinoid-containing products may alter the effects of some prescription drugs, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

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A longitudinal study of more than 230 teens and young adults in Washington state finds that teens may be more likely to use marijuana following legalization – with the proliferation of stores and increasing adult use of the drug -- than they otherwise would have been.

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Cannabis appears to be a safe and potentially effective treatment for the chronic pain that afflicts people with sickle cell disease, according to a new clinical trial co-led by University of California, Irvine researcher Kalpna Gupta and Dr. Donald Abrams of UC San Francisco. The findings appear in JAMA Network Open.

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Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine are recruiting eligible children between the ages of seven and fourteen years for a Phase III clinical trial to determine whether cannabidiol (CBD) reduces severe behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorder.

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Medical cannabis is finally being put under the microscope, in a first-of-its-kind real world evidence study led by Dr. Hance Clarke, Toronto General Hospital. In the Medical Cannabis Real-World Evidence trial patients using the online portal created by Medical Cannabis by Shoppers, will know exactly what is in their product and its effectiveness.

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Lyndsey Anderson traveled halfway around the world to do epilepsy research in Sydney, Australia. Recently, she was awarded ILAE's 2020 Epilepsia Prize for Basic Science Research.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every Tuesday throughout the duration of the outbreak.

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In a sign that designer drugs are becoming more prevalent in Australia, synthetic cathinones – commonly known as ‘bath salts’ – have been detected in the nation’s wastewater in the largest study of its kind in the country.

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Israeli researchers have developed an innovative drug delivery system that releases medical cannabis slowly to provide tailored treatment with a long-lasting effect. It could be tailored to specific treatment targets, such as seizures.

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Nearly twelve years ago, Michigan voters approved the use of medical cannabis by residents with certain health conditions. A year and a half ago, they voted to approve its use by all adults, for any reason. What happened between those two dates is the focus of a comprehensive new report.

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Middle-aged and older adults who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual have higher rates of using certain substances in the past year than those who identify as heterosexual, according to a new study led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU School of Global Public Health.

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Users of high-potency cannabis are four times more likely to report associated problems, and twice as likely to report anxiety disorder, than users of lower-potency strains, according to new research from the University of Bristol.

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Researchers examine the effectiveness of consuming hemp oil extracted from the whole Cannabis plant using a chronic neuropathic pain animal model.

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The use of medical cannabis has garnered a lot of recent attention, especially as parts of the United States and Canada have legalized its use. While it has been studied in cancer and nerve pain, not much is known about the usage rate and its efficacy in managing chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. According to a new study released as part of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ (AAOS) Virtual Education Experience, up to 20% of patients presenting to an orthopaedic surgeon with chronic MSK pain are using cannabis to manage their pain, with many reporting success. Additionally, two-thirds of non-users are interested in using it for the management of MSK pain, prompting a need to further study its effects.

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More farmers are growing non-intoxicating strains of cannabis, or hemp, for CBD production. This new market has led to commercial genetic tests for early determination of hemp plant sex. A new study has found that these tests may not all produce accurate results.

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Findings from a new study examining human and canine brain cancer cells suggest that cannabidiol could be a useful therapy for a difficult-to-treat brain cancer. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a non-psychoactive chemical compound derived from marijuana.

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Valuable for its fiber, seed and oil, crop is making a return in research and in farmers' fields

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every Tuesday, throughout the duration of the outbreak.

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Medical marijuana users who say they have high levels of pain are more likely than those with low pain to say they use cannabis three or more times a day, a new study finds.

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Female eggs exposed to THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, have an impaired ability to produce viable embryos, and are significantly less likely to result in a viable pregnancy, according to an animal study accepted for presentation at ENDO 2020, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting. The abstract will be published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

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Cannabis use can worsen some consequences of alcohol use among young adult drinkers over time, according to a new study which tracked the frequency of cannabis use and negative drinking outcomes among college students over three years. More than one in five young drinkers use cannabis, often (but not always) at the same time as drinking alcohol. This is a concern because the effects of cannabis might combine with those of alcohol to increase negative outcomes of drinking, such as impaired driving or developing an alcohol use disorder Although previous research has suggested a link between cannabis use and alcohol consequences, there have been few long-term evaluations of the impact of fluctuations in cannabis use on alcohol consequences over time. The latest study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, was conducted by researchers in Toronto, Ontario, and Buffalo, New York.

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A new study of more than 1,800 adult twins found that individuals who started using cannabis regularly before age 18 were far more likely to suffer insomnia and sleep fewer than six hours per night as adults.

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Currently, no breatalyzer test exists for cannabis intoxication, although the substance is known to impair driving, among other activities. Scientists now report that they are one step closer to a convenient saliva test for measuring cannabis levels at roadside stops.

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More than 90% of the legal marijuana products offered in medical dispensaries are much stronger than what clinical studies have shown that doctors recommend for chronic pain relief, according to a study published in the March 26 online edition of the journal PLOS ONE.

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Northern Michigan University will begin offering an indoor agriculture associate degree program this fall. Through a hands-on, multidisciplinary approach, graduates learn equally about plant biology and the construction/maintenance of indoor growing systems, preparing them for a variety of career opportunities.

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Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming, antibiotics have saved millions of lives from fatal infections world-wide. However, with time bacteria have developed mechanisms to escape the effects of antibiotics - they have become resistant.

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Rats with regular access to cannabis seek more of the substance and tend to show increased drug-seeking behavior when cannabis is absent.

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Ziva Cooper, research director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, has been awarded a $3.9 million grant from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the NIH to study whether cannabis chemicals called terpenes can reduce the amount of opioid medication a person needs to reduce pain.

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Children and teens with epilepsy who were treated with pharmaceutical cannabidiol (CBD) had much better seizure control than those who were treated with artisanal CBD, according to a preliminary study to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 72nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, April 25 to May 1, 2020.

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The research team found that CBG had antibacterial activity against drug-resistant MRSA. It prevented the ability of that bacteria to form biofilms, which are communities of microorganisms that attach to each other and to surfaces; and it destroyed preformed biofilms and cells resistant to antibiotics. CBG achieved this by targeting the cell membrane of the bacteria. These findings in the laboratory were supported when mice with an MRSA infection were given CBG.

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More than $3.7 million was awarded to Mahesh Mohan, DVM, MS, Ph.D., Professor at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, and Chioma M. Okeoma, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Stony Brook University, to explore the link between cannabinoids (THC) and chronic intestinal inflammation in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

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Adolescents who are bullied about their weight or body shape may be more likely to use alcohol or marijuana than those who are not bullied, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

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Cannabis use continues to increase in popularity among adults 65 years of age and older in the United States, according to a new study from NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

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With 80+ Featured and Scientific Sessions and 2,000+ presentations showcasing advances in fundamental and translational sciences and emerging disciplines and technologies, the 59th Annual Meeting and ToxExpo of the Society of Toxicology is the largest forum for toxicological research in the world.

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Simultaneous use of alcohol and marijuana (SAM) is common among young people, and is sometimes a deliberate choice to enhance the effects of intoxication. However, compared with alcohol use alone, SAM has been linked to a greater risk of interpersonal problems, physical and mental health issues, and road accidents. Despite this, there has been little research at the occasion level – for example, it is not known if individuals who engage in SAM drink more (or less) alcohol on the occasions when they also use marijuana, and experience more (or fewer) alcohol-related consequences, than on alcohol-only days. Researchers in Seattle and Minneapolis have conducted a new study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, to evaluate these aspects, by conducting multiple daily assessments of alcohol and SAM use among the same individuals over time. The study took place in and around Seattle in Washington state, where non-medical marijuana use is legal for those over

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As the hemp industry grows, producers face the risk of cultivating a crop that can become unusable – and illegal – if it develops too much of the psychoactive chemical THC. Cornell University researchers have determined that a hemp plant’s propensity to ‘go hot’ – become too high in THC – is determined by genetics, not as a stress response to growing conditions, contrary to popular belief.

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Published in Psychological Medicine, the research used fMRI scans to examine the brain activity of 13 people with a diagnosis of psychosis under the influence of a single dose of CBD or placebo and 16 controls whilst they were undertaking a memory task.

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The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced the launch of two new monthly podcasts for physician anesthesiologists, the anesthesia care team, residents, medical students and anesthesiology community.