Get a Clue - Weed

Details: Published: 06 July 2023; Hits: 764

Adverse childhood experiences are ‘strong predictor’ for adolescent cannabis use.

Young people who are exposed to adverse childhood experiences between the ages of 0 – 12 years, including parental drug misuse, are at highest risk for developing problematic adolescent cannabis use as teenagers, according to a new study.

Adverse childhood experiences (‘ACEs’) considered included physical, emotional and sexual abuse, emotional neglect, bullying, parental substance use, violence between parents, parental mental health challenges, and a parent being convicted of a criminal offence.

Risks for problematic adolescent cannabis use are highest for individuals reporting 4 or more ACEs, and were particularly raised for those with parental substance use or abuse

For complete article

(What are you modelling to your kids? Permission models such as legalisation of cannabis are only going to precipitate greater harms to already vulnerable Gen Now and Gen Next - #preventdontpromote)

Also see

Details: Published: 06 July 2023; Hits: 768

Marijuana and the teenage brain.

Cognitive Effects: Detrimental
Academic Performance: Detrimental
Amotivational Syndrome: Detrimental
Dopamine Regulation: Detrimental
Social Withdrawal: Detrimental
Impact on Future Goals: Detrimental

Takeaways

The use of marijuana in adolescence can disrupt the normal development of the brain's endocannabinoid system.
Excessive marijuana use can disrupt dopamine balance in the brain, leading to a blunted reward response.
Raising awareness can help teens make informed decisions in support of their long-term goals.

For complete article

Also see

Details: Published: 04 July 2023; Hits: 808

Development of cannabis use disorder in medical cannabis users: A 9-month follow-up of a randomized clinical trial testing effects of medical cannabis card ownership

Background: Evidence for long-term effectiveness of commercial cannabis products used to treat medical symptoms is inconsistent, despite increasingly widespread use.

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the effects of using cannabis on self-reported symptoms of pain, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and cannabis use disorder (CUD) after 12 months of use.

Conclusions: Frequency of cannabis use was not associated with improved pain, anxiety, or depression symptoms but was associated with new-onset cannabis use disorder in a significant minority of participants. Daily or near-daily cannabis use appears to have little benefit for these symptoms after 12 months of use.

For complete research

Details: Published: 27 June 2023; Hits: 926

Epidemiology of Δ8THC-Related Carcinogenesis in USA: A Panel Regression and Causal Inferential Study

Abstract: The use of Δ8THC is increasing at present across the USA in association with widespread cannabis legalization and the common notion that it is “legal weed”. As genotoxic actions have been described for many cannabinoids, we studied the cancer epidemiology of Δ8THC. Data on 34 cancer types was from the Centers for Disease Control Atlanta Georgia, substance abuse data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, ethnicity and income data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and cannabinoid concentration data from the Drug Enforcement Agency, were combined and processed in R. Eight cancers (corpus uteri, liver, gastric cardia, breast and post-menopausal breast, anorectum, pancreas, and thyroid) were related to Δ8THC exposure on bivariate testing, and 18 (additionally, stomach, Hodgkins, and Non-Hodgkins lymphomas, ovary, cervix uteri, gall bladder, oropharynx, bladder, lung, esophagus, colorectal cancer, and all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer)) demonstrated positive average marginal effects on fully adjusted inverse probability weighted interactive panel regression. Many minimum E-Values (mEVs) were infinite. p-values rose from 8.04 × 10⁻⁷⁸. Marginal effect calculations revealed that 18 Δ8THC-related cancers are predicted to lead to a further 8.58 cases/100,000 compared to 7.93 for alcoholism and −8.48 for tobacco. Results indicate that between 8 and 20/34 cancer types were associated with Δ8THC exposure, with very high effect sizes (mEVs) and marginal effects after adjustment exceeding tobacco and alcohol, fulfilling the epidemiological criteria of causality and suggesting a cannabinoid class effect. The inclusion of pediatric leukemias and testicular cancer herein demonstrates heritable malignant teratogenesis.

Keywords: cannabis; cannabinoid; Δ8THC; teratogenesis; oncogenesis; carcinogenesis; cancer; cancerogenesis

For complete research

Details: Published: 04 June 2023; Hits: 982

Recreational cannabis legalization alters associations among cannabis use, perception of risk, and cannabis use disorder treatment for adolescents and young adults

Abstract

Objective: This research investigates whether associations among adolescent and young adult perception of risk of harm from cannabis use, prevalence of past-month cannabis use, and rate of CUD treatment admissions changed following recreational cannabis legalization in the US, 2008–2019.

Results: Following recreational legalization: 1) adolescent and young adult past-month cannabis use prevalence increased; 2) among both adolescents and young adults, the association of lower perception of risk of harm with higher cannabis use prevalence was strengthened; 3) among adolescents, the association of higher cannabis use prevalence with higher CUD treatment admissions was suppressed; and 4) among young adults, an association of higher cannabis use prevalence with lower CUD treatment admissions emerged.

Conclusions: Recreational legalization is likely to increase cannabis use among adolescents and young adults who perceive cannabis as less harmful, while at the same time reduce rates of CUD treatment utilization. These trends portend an increase in unmet need for CUD treatment for age groups particularly vulnerable to the development and negative consequences of CUD.

(Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306460322003185?s=03)

Also see