Science

The Relationship between Cannabis and Schizophrenia

July 3, 2019 Abuse, Addiction, Anxiety, Behavior change, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Cognition, DSM-5, Future Medicine, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Science, Stigma, Stress

Cannabis and Psychosis: Are We any Closer to Understanding the Relationship?

Despite the constant technological gains in medicine, there is still insufficient information and knowledge about who is at risk of developing cannabis psychosis prior to an individual’s exposure to cannabis. Controlled research is limited due to the legal status of cannabis but the growing number of states legalizing medicinal and recreational use of cannabis will likely provide a naturalistic experiment that will produce a prevention strategy for the condition. Current schizophrenia research is limited to western male populations and an overemphasis on the biological model; future research should extend to a more diverse population and sociocultural factors that may lead to schizophrenia.

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80%: Cannabis extremely helpful for pain; 82%: helped reduce or stop over-the-counter medications; 88% able to stop taking opioid painkillers

July 2, 2019 Anti-inflammatory properties, Arthritis, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, Case Study, CBD, Fibromyalgia, Future Medicine, Insomnia, Muscle Pain, Neuropathy, Opiates, Pain, Science, Sleep, THC

“The study, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, which looked at 1,000 people taking legalized marijuana in an American state found that among the 65% of people taking cannabis for pain, 80% found it was very or extremely helpful.”

“82% of these people being able to reduce, or stop taking over the counter pain medications, and 88% being able to stop taking opioid painkillers.”

“74% of the 1,000 interviewees bought it to help them sleep – 84% of whom said the marijuana had helped them, and over 83% said that they had since reduced or stopped taking over-the-counter or prescription sleep aids.”

“The study adds weight to the theory that widening access to medical cannabis could lower the use of prescription painkillers, allowing more people to manage and treat their pain without relying on opioid prescription drugs that have dangerous side effects.”

“This is backed up with other research that shows that states with medical cannabis laws have a 6.38% lower rate of opioid prescribing and that Colorado’s adult-use cannabis law is associated with a relative reduction in opioid overdose death rate from 1999 to 2010.”

“”Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen cause GI bleeding or kidney damage with chronic use. Paracetemol (Acetaminophen) toxicity is the second most common cause of liver transplantation worldwide, and is responsible for 56,000 ER visits, 2600 hospitalizations, and 500 deaths per year in the U.S.”

Link to news brief: https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-07/tfg-cmb062819.php

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Non-Psychoactive Cannabis Treatments for Chronic Muscle Pain

July 2, 2019 Addiction, Anti-inflammatory properties, Anxiety, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, CBD, CBN, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscle Pain, Neuropathy, Pain, Science

Cannabidiol, cannabinol and their combinations act as peripheral analgesics in a rat model of myofascial pain

Some of the non-psychoactive cannabinoids in cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN), have recently been found to produce analgesic effects (pain relief) in mouse models. A combination of CBD and CBN causes a decrease in sensitization of muscles, leading researchers to believe the combination could provide relief for those suffering from chronic muscle pain disorders. Cannabis products are already being prescribed for chronic pain disorders and this new study provides evidence that cannabis-based medicine can also be applicable when treating chronic pain associated with disorders such as fibromyalgia and temporomandibular disorders.

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Cannabinoids in the treatment of cancer

July 2, 2019 Anti-inflammatory properties, Cancer, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Colon Cancer, Dermatology / Skin, Future Medicine, Ovarian Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Science

A literature review from 2009 (10 years ago) summarizes the anti-cancer properties of cannabis, concluding that various cannabinoids might inhibit cancer cell growth and tumor growth. In particular, cannabis shows promise to help treat colon, skin, prostate, and breast cancer.

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Sex differences in the anxiety effects of cannabinoids

July 1, 2019 Addiction, Adverse Effects, Anxiety, Behavior change, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Citizen Science, Gender, Illicit Drug Use, Science

In overarching trends, one pattern that is seen in the medical literature is a greater tendency for males to be more likely to develop drug abuse disorders than female counterparts, whilst females are more likely to develop anxiety disorders than male counterparts.

Of course, these trends are merely observational patterns in the current literature, which represents a biased perspective of biased subjects, and certainly not etched in stone. Further, many people do not conform to one pre-determined organization system as simple as gender to help educate whether they would be likely to develop drug dependence or anxiety, and even others don’t conform to a single gender. So, a sizeable grain of salt must be taken with what we understand from this literature.

That given, the relevant punch line here is what role might cannabis play in inducing or reducing anxiety across sexes, and how does cannabis might relate to addiction/dependence.

We are still at early stages of these important questions, but one recent study found, that female rats were significantly more likely than male rats to experience anxiety when given large doses of cannabis.

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Cannabidiol Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease

July 1, 2019 Aging, Anti-inflammatory properties, Anxiety, Arthritis, Autoimmunity, Behavior change, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, CB1, CB2, CBD, Depression, DSM-5, Elderly, Future Medicine, Insomnia, Memory, Muscle Pain, Neuropathy, Parkinson's Disease, Science

Cannabidiol: a hope to treat non‑motor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease Patients

Cannabidiol (CBD) has recently been postulated as an ideal drug to address the treatment of non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) due to its multifaceted mechanism of action. The plethora of effects of CBD includes anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, anxiolytic, and antipsychotic actions, which improve non-motor symptoms of PD and lift the quality of life for patients coping with the illness. Further research is recommended to garner support for FDA approval.

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Development of Cannabis-Based Treatment for Bipolar Disorder

June 30, 2019 Addiction, Adolescents, Adverse Effects, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, CB1, CB2, CBD, Cognition, Depression, DSM-5, Elderly, Future Medicine, Hypomania, Mental Health, Mood, Neuropathy, Science, THC

Bipolar disorder and the endocannabinoid system

A recently published article serves as a call for research to be conducted to discover how cannabis could impact the management of bipolar disorder (BD). Presented in the article is a full review of the advantages and disadvantages of cannabis-based medicine in the treatment of BD and provides insight into possible mechanisms might affect the pathophysiology of the disorder. The insights listed within the article provide the rationale for examining the endocannabinoid system, specifically the cannabinoid receptor 2, with the hopes of finding therapeutic targets for mood control associated with BD.

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Study Reveals that Flavanoids can act as Allergy Medications

June 29, 2019 Aging, Allergy, Anti-inflammatory properties, Autoimmunity, Blood-Levels, Extraction, Flavonoids, Future Medicine, Non-Cannabis Plant, Oral Health, Placebo-Controlled, Science, Terpenes

Anti-histaminic Effects of Resveratrol and Silymarin on Human Gingival Fibroblasts

It has recently been revealed that the flavonoids resveratrol and silymarin have an anti-histaminic effect on human gingival fibroblasts (HGF). HGF are cells that compose part of the gum tissue in the oral cavity. Silymarin and resveratrol were already known to have anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, but a recently published study has now revealed that silymarin alone and a combination of the two flavonoids both provide novel therapeutic approaches for inflammation due to allergies.

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Looking for a genetic explanation for “Cannabis Use Disorder”

June 28, 2019 Addiction, Adverse Effects, Behavior change, Cannabis, Cannabis Dependence, Cannabis Science, Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD), Heavy Use, Science, Stigma

Genome-wide association study implicates CHRNA2 in Cannabis Use Disorder

Roughly 9% of cannabis users become dependent. In a recent study, scientists identified a significant association between CHRNA2 gene expression and a diagnosis of Cannabis Use Disorder. In other words, genetics might help to explain why some people may find themselves more dependent upon cannabis than others.

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A systematic review of Safety and effectiveness of cannabinoids for the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia

June 28, 2019 Aging, Alzheimer's Disease, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, Cognition, Dementia, Dronabinol, Memory, Mental Health, Science, Synthetic Cannabinoids, THC

A 2019 literature review summarizes the finding on using THC and CBD on patients with dementia. Researchers found that Dronabinol and THC were associated with significant improvements in a range of psychiatric scores. Interestingly, cannabis products showed the most promising results in patients whose symptoms were previously unmanageable or resistant to other treatments.