Get a Clue - Weed

Details: Published: 25 June 2024; Hits: 522

The implications of this on workplace and driving are as serious as previous studies have indicated. Further evidence that Cannabis and operating any machinery is a dangerous combination – in the workplace or on the roads.

Intoxication due to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol is characterized by disrupted prefrontal cortex activity

Conclusions: In summary, we used portable fNIRS to demonstrate that acute THC intoxication causes significant changes in brain activity within the prefrontal cortex that include (a) reduced correlations and anticorrelations at rest that correlated with severity of intoxication, indicating reduced top-down attention control and engagement of compensatory mechanisms, (b) more variability in dRSFC over time, that may contribute to a disruption of executive function by reducing the ability of cortical networks to efficiently adapt or reconfigure to salient stimuli, and (c) reduced spectral power, indicating THC disrupts the brain’s normal function in this area, as decreased power is generally associated with neural suppression or inhibition. These neurobiological correlates of THC intoxication severity were measurable using fNIRS and could potentially be incorporated into objective roadside impairment testing. Future study is warranted to investigate how these brain effects of acute THC intoxication relate to cognitive performance and operational impairment. (Source Neuropsychopharmacology (nature.com)

A new study led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital reveals that the main psychoactive component in cannabis or marijuana disrupts the normal connections and activity of the brain's prefrontal cortex, a region that is crucial for decision-making and self-control.

THC was associated with decreased functional connectivity within the prefrontal cortex relative to placebo, with the weakest connections among those who reported greater severity of intoxication.

Also, THC was associated with increased variability (or reduced stability) of functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex, which could indicate a reduced ability of the brain to efficiently adapt or reconfigure to changing stimuli. Finally, THC was associated with lower overall activity within the prefrontal cortex.

"We were able to measure these effects of THC intoxication using portable imaging, which could potentially be incorporated in impairment testing scenarios, for example at the roadside," (Source: Medical Xpress Neuroscience 5th June 2024^thMedical Xpress Neuroscience 5th June 2024)

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Details: Published: 25 June 2024; Hits: 647

A recent study published in JAMA Network Open delved into the association between heavy cannabis use and mortality, specifically focusing on cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality among females. The research, utilising data from the UK Biobank and analysing a substantial cohort of individuals aged 40 to 69, revealed compelling insights into the risks posed by intensive cannabis consumption, particularly for women.

The study’s findings shed light on the sex-specific impact of heavy cannabis use on mortality, particularly underscoring the elevated risk of CVD mortality for women engaged in intensive cannabis consumption. These revelations underscore the importance of further research endeavours aimed at unravelling the intricate interplay between cannabis use and mortality, with a specific focus on understanding the unique vulnerabilities faced by female cannabis users.

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Details: Published: 12 June 2024; Hits: 670

Senate report rejects proposed laws to legalise recreational cannabis use in Australia June 3, 2024

Australia won’t see any cannabis cafes selling brownies anytime soon, despite agreement that the use of marijuana should be prioritised as a health issue.

A push to legalise the recreational use of cannabis on a national scale has been knocked back after experts expressed concerns it would lead to more use of the drug among young people.

A Senate committee rejected a bill introduced by Greens senator David Shoebridge on Friday, which calls to allow for cannabis possession for personal use in Australia, as well as the establishment of a national agency to regulate the growing of plants.

After receiving over 200 submissions the committee noted evidence from peak medical bodies including the Australian Medical Association (AMA) that warned wider access could exacerbate health risks, particularly for adolescents.

“Ultimately, the committee is concerned that the legalisation of cannabis for adult recreational use would create as many, if not more, problems than the bill is attempting to resolve,” the report said.

“While endeavouring to do so, the bill does not address several significant concerns, for example, ensuring that children and young people cannot access cannabis (particularly home-grow), managing risky cannabis use, and effective oversight of THC content.”

Cannabis remains the most commonly used illicit drug in Australia, according to the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey, with more than 2.5 million people having used it recently.

In 2019, about 11.7 per cent of people aged 14 years reported having had used the drug at least once it in the past 12 months. The figure was higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, at 16 per cent.

Under the Greens model, adults in Australia could legally grow six cannabis plants but it would remain a crime to sell the drug to anyone under the age of 18.

The bill also proposes the creation of licensed Amsterdam-style ‘cannabis cafes’ that sell marijuana products, such as edibles.

He said despite the committee’s findings the Greens plan to introduce the bill into parliament this year.

“The majority report in this inquiry reasonably fairly covers the evidence we had in the inquiry, although it does not detail the hundreds of individual submissions to the inquiry that, almost unanimously, asked us to vote this into law and to finally legalise cannabis,” he added.

Medical cannabis was legalised in Australia in 2016 and last year around 700,000 people reported having used cannabis for medical purposes.

(D.I. Comment - The Dalgarno Institute not only made a successful submission to this inquiry but presented evidence to it in February this year. As we expected from out previous sojourn into this space back in 2018, we saw the cliché, gratuitous, and often erroneous memes presented as ‘data’ by pro-cannabis punters. Sadly, this often was largely unchallenged in the hearings. Cleverly couched claims were often presented along with anecdotes of legal hardships for the hapless weed user, as to present them as victims, not villains in the illegal consumption of a psychotropic toxin. Concerningly, one such anecdote had a retired magistrate, academic and now pro-cannabis lobbyist, speak of the need to legalise and regulate because it will be safer. However, we want you to note the confession he makes, recorded in Hansard…

“…for example, about eating cannabis. I'm sure we have all had the experience of seeing friends and people that we know who have eaten cannabis and gotten really, really affected, way more than they wanted to be. There are safety measures that can be put in place to ensure that any use is safer use…”

This law official emeritus speaks blithely about illegal recreational cannabis use in his presence as if it were not only normal, but the majority of Australians are okay with this, all in an attempt to garner support for this society unravelling addition. Such is the manifestation of the new #ReeferMadness.

This should give you a hint as to who is attempting to control drug policy interpretation and implementation.

However, the review of such claims, along with the evidence of inevitable harms saw sanity prevail, again.

This will not stop some State actors, like the ACT continuing their experimental march to ‘cannabis-ify’ their jurisdictions – health, safety and well-being of our families and communities be damned.)

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Details: Published: 06 June 2024; Hits: 747

Age-dependent association of cannabis use with risk of psychotic disorder

Abstract

Background: Epidemiologic research suggests that youth cannabis use is associated with psychotic disorders. However, current evidence is based heavily on 20th-century data when cannabis was substantially less potent than today.

Discussion: We found that cannabis use, compared to no cannabis use, was associated with over 11 times (95%CI4.6–27.3) greater risk of psychotic disorder at any point during adolescence (ages12–19 years)…

We observed a stronger measure of association during adolescence than the vast majority of previous studies. Meta-analyses of longitudinal studies suggest that cannabis use roughly doubles the risk of developing a psychotic disorder compared to non-users…

However, meta-analyses suggest that cannabis use is more strongly associated with psychotic disorders than with psychotic experiences (Marconi etal., 2016;Mooreetal., 2007).Our data also suggests that cannabis use is more strongly associated with more severe psychotic outcomes as the strength of association during adolescence increased markedly when we restricted the outcome to hospitalizations and ED visits (the most severe types of health service use).We highlight that of all the incident psychotic disorder hospitalizations/ED visits during adolescence, roughly 5 in 6 had reported lifetime cannabis use at baseline…

Conclusions: This study provides new evidence of a strong but age-dependent association between cannabis use and risk of psychotic disorder, consistent with the neurodevelopmental theory that adolescence is a vulnerable time to use cannabis. The strength of association dur ing adolescence was notably greater than in previous studies, possibly reflecting the recent rise in cannabis potency.

(Source: Psychological Medicine – Cambridge.org )

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Details: Published: 04 June 2024; Hits: 644

This largely unregulated and highly lauded ‘product’ continues to not only fail to fulfil its promised panacea credentials, but the growing harms of these non-clinically trialled or pharmaceutical grade substances are causing increasing short and long-term harms.

Earlier research that flagged warnings, and even some research two years ago that gave some measure of cautious pass on potential harms of CBD are now being eclipsed by new research. It’s important to watch out for the Placebo effect too, as one may be ‘feeling’ better, but only getting worse on other health metrics.

Cannabidiol (CBD) Products for Pain: Ineffective, Expensive, and With Potential Harms

Abstract A 2021 International Association for the Study of Pain task force examined the evidence for cannabinoids and pain but found no trials of CBD. Sixteen CBD randomized trials using pharmaceutical-supplied CBD or making preparations from such a source and with pain as an outcome have been published subsequently. The trials were conducted in 12 different pain states, using 3 oral, topical, and buccal/sublingual administration, with CBD doses between 6 and 1,600 mg, and durations of treatment between a single dose and 12 weeks. Fifteen of the 16 showed no benefit of CBD over placebo. Small clinical trials using verified CBD suggest the drug to be largely benign; while large-scale evidence of safety is lacking, there is growing evidence linking CBD to increased rates of serious adverse events and hepatotoxicity. In January 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a new regulatory pathway for CBD was needed. Consumers and health care providers should rely on evidence-based sources of information on CBD, not just advertisements. Current evidence is that CBD for pain is expensive, ineffective, and possibly harmful.

There is no good reason for thinking that CBD relieves pain, but there are good reasons for doubting the contents of CBD products in terms of CBD content and purity.

(Source: The Journal of Pain 2023)

CANNABIDIOL (CBD) – POTENTIAL HARMS, SIDE EFFECTS, AND UNKNOWNS

The use of non-Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved cannabidiol, or CBD, has gained attention in recent years, as CBD is becoming increasingly popular and is being marketed for various health conditions.1 A poll of American adults aged 18 years and older found that 14 percent reported using CBD products in 2019, and a similar poll conducted in 2020 found that as many as 1 in 3 adults reported using CBD products.2-3 However, non-FDA-approved, commercial CBD products marketed to the public and available over the counter differ significantly in composition from those used in clinical studies,4 and there is limited evidence to support their safety.5 The public should be aware of the misconceptions surrounding CBD products, as well as the potential harms and risks associated with their use. (Source: SAMHSA 2023)

Review of the oral toxicity of cannabidiol (CBD)

A B S T R A C T: Information in the published literature indicates that consumption of CBD can result in developmental and reproductive toxicity and hepatotoxicity outcomes in animal models. The trend of CBD-induced male reproductive toxicity has been observed in phylogenetically disparate organisms, from invertebrates to non-human primates. CBD has also been shown to inhibit various cytochrome P450 enzymes and certain efflux transporters, resulting in the potential for drug-drug interactions and cellular accumulation of xenobiotics that are normally transported out of the cell. The mechanisms of CBD-mediated toxicity are not fully understood, but they may involve disruption of critical metabolic pathways and liver enzyme functions, receptor-specific binding activity, disruption of testosterone steroidogenesis, inhibition of reuptake and degradation of endocannabinoids, and the triggering of oxidative stress. The toxicological profile of CBD raises safety concerns, especially for long term consumption by the general population. (Source: Food & Chemical Toxicology 2023)

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