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Cannabis & Driving – Research continues to Affirm the Risks & Dangers of THC (Cannabis) Use and Driving (Labelling it ‘Medicinal’ doesn’t reduce risks)
The effects of cannabis and alcohol on driving performance and driver behaviour: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Conclusions: This meta-analysis indicates that cannabis, like alcohol, impairs driving, and
the combination of the two drugs is more detrimental to driving performance than either
in isolation. (Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.15770 )
Simultaneous Alcohol/Cannabis Use and Driving Under the Influence in the U.S.
Conclusions: Overall, 2 in 5 drivers who used alcohol and cannabis reported driving under the influence of alcohol and/or cannabis. People reporting simultaneous alcohol/cannabis use were more likely to report cannabis-related driving under the influence. Prevention strategies should target individuals reporting simultaneous alcohol/cannabis use to reduce the occurrence of driving under the influence. (Source: Am J Prev Med 2022;62(5):661−669. © 2021 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc.)
Effects of Combining Alcohol and Cannabis on Driving, Breath Alcohol Level, Blood THC, Cognition, and Subjective Effects: A Narrative Review
Conclusions: Given the prevalence of co-use of alcohol and cannabis, it is of interest to determine the effects of combinations of these drugs on driving. In the present review, we summarize the findings of studies that investigated the use of combinations of these drugs on driving. In general, it appears that combinations of alcohol and cannabis increase measurements of lane deviations and reaction time.
Findings of the effects of these drugs on speed are mixed. Despite evidence for additive effects of these drugs on driving, findings are inconclusive as to whether there are additive effects of cannabis and alcohol on blood THC or BrAC/BAC. In addition, human laboratory studies assessing neurocognitive task performance under the influence of alcohol and cannabis have found that divided attention task performance is particularly sensitive to the combination of the two drugs compared to either drug alone, though the evidence for other cognitive task performance is mixed. Converging evidence from studies of the effects of alcohol and cannabis co-use on cognition and subjective effects also points to an additive effect in some (Source: A.P.A. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology 2022, Vol. 30, No. 6, 1036–1049 https://doi.org/10.1037/pha0000533 )
Driving Performance and Cannabis Users’ Perception of Safety A Randomized Clinical Trial
Conclusions: Smoking cannabis ad libitum by regular users resulted in simulated driving decrements. However, when experienced users control their own intake, driving impairment cannot be inferred based on THC content of the cigarette, behavioral tolerance, or THC blood concentrations. Participant’s increasing willingness to drive at 1 hour 30 minutes may indicate a false sense of driving safety. Worse driving performance is evident for several hours postsmoking in many users but appears to resolve by 4 hours 30 minutes in most individuals. (Source: JAMA Psychiatry. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.4037 2022)
Changes in Traffic Crash Rates After Legalization of Marijuana: Results by Crash Severity
Conclusions: The estimated increases in injury and fatal crash rates after recreational marijuana legalization are consistent with earlier studies, but the effects varied across states. Because this is an early look at the time trends, researchers and policymakers need to continue monitoring the data. (Source: Journal Studies Alcohol & Drugs https://www.jsad.com/doi/10.15288/jsad.2022.83.494 2021)
Correlates of driving after cannabis use in high school students
Conclusions: We found several correlates associated with driving under the influence of cannabis in adolescents, including probable cannabis dependence, various risky driving behaviors, pro-legalization attitudes, and low perceptions of risk associated with regular cannabis use. Efforts to reduce driving under the influence of cannabis should focus on targeting students who engage in a wide variety of risky behaviors, as these students may be at the highest risk of driving after cannabis use. In addition, interventions may benefit by addressing students’ relaxed attitudes towards cannabis use. (Source: Science Direct https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106667 2021)
For more see Submission: Medicinal Cannabis & Driving – Is it an Issue?
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Summary: In conclusion, the present study describes the neurotoxicity of CBD above a defined concentration threshold and identifies a potential novel mechanism for this deleterious effect on the neuronal structure and function. Our results have significant implications for clinical utilization and public consumption of CBD and CBD containing products.
Further investigations are necessary to firmly establish both the therapeutic and toxic dose and concentration ranges for CBD in clinical populations, and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.
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The (endo)cannabinoid signaling in female reproduction: What are the latest advances?
Abstract: Cannabis extracts like marijuana have the highest consumption rate worldwide. Yet, their societal acceptance as recreational and therapeutic drugs could represent a serious hazard to female human reproduction, because cannabis ingredients [termed (phyto)cannabinoids] can perturb an endogenous system of lipid signals known as endocannabinoids. Accumulated evidence on animal models and humans has demonstrated a crucial role of these endogenous signals on different aspects of female reproduction, where they act through an ensamble of proteins that synthesize, transport, degrade and traffic them. Several reports have recently evidenced the potential role of endocannabinoids as biomarkers of female infertility for disease treatment and prevention, as well as their possible epigenetic effects on pregnancy.
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Cannabis in Adolescence: Lasting Cognitive Alterations and Underlying Mechanisms
Abstract: Cannabis consumption during adolescence is an area of particular concern, owing to changes in the social and political perception of the drug, and presents a scientific, medical, and economic challenge. Major social and economic interests continue to push toward cannabis legalization as well as pharmaceutical development. As a result, shifting perceptions of both legal and illicit cannabis use across the population have changed the collective evaluation of the potential dangers of the product.
The wave of cannabis legalization therefore comes with new responsibility to educate the public on potential risks and known dangers associated with both recreational and medical cannabis.
Among these is the risk of long-term cognitive and psychological consequences, particularly following early-life initiation of use, compounded by high-potency and heavy/frequent use of the drug. Underlying these cognitive and psychiatric consequences are lasting aberrations in the development of synaptic function, often secondary to epigenetic changes. Additional factors such as genetic risk and environmental influences or nondrug toxic insults during development are also profound contributors to these long-term functional alterations following adolescent cannabis use. Preclinical studies indicate that exposure to cannabinoids during specific windows of vulnerability (e.g., adolescence) impacts neurodevelopmental processes and behavior by durably changing dendritic structure and synaptic functions, including those normally mediated by endogenous cannabinoids and neuronal circuits.