The Evidence Is In: Legal Marijuana Could Help Solve The Opioid Crisis April 5, 2018 - Science Alert There's more to legal weed than just, like, getting baked, dude. Two papers published this week suggest access to legal marijuana could play a beneficial role in the current US opioid crisis. The new research suggests that in states with legalized weed - whether recreational or medical - the number of opioid prescriptions and the daily dose of opioids have gone way down. One of the studies found that Medicare filled 14 percent fewer prescriptions for opioids after medical marijuana laws were passed. The other study revealed people with Medicaid filled nearly 40 fewer opioid prescriptions per 1,000 people each year after their state passed any law making cannabis accessible. Together, the papers suggest that patients and/or doctors are inclined to move away from opioids when marijuana treatment is presented as a legal alternative. But not all marijuana laws are made equal. The second study also found that states with recreational cannabis laws saw a greater drop in opioid prescriptions than states with just medical marijuana laws. Furthermore, those states with open marijuana shops were two times more successful in decreasing opioid prescriptions than states without active dispensaries - because it's way easier to substitute marijuana for opioids if the patient doesn't have to grow it themselves. The two new studies are buttressed by a study in 2014 that found nearly 25 percent fewer deaths from opioid overdoses in states with medical marijuana laws. In a time when the misuse of opioids causes more than 115 Americans to die every day, all three of these studies shed a green glimmer of hope. READ MORE
February 2018
New Study Suggests Pot Could Help End Opioid Dependency Feb 28, 2018 - Rolling Stone The United States sees more than 12.7 million new cancer cases a year – and among those who must undergo surgery, one in 10 will become dependent on opioid pain relievers. With America's opioid epidemic killing 116 people everyday from lethal overdoses, dependence on pain medications is a close rival to cancer itself as a serious threat to patients' lives. In a new study published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine, researchers from Tikun Olam, the largest medical marijuana provider in Israel, investigated the efficacy of cannabis for cancer patients. What they found was that, at least for cancer patients, marijuana could help stop opioid dependency before it starts. "Cannabis is a very good alternative to reduce opioid consumption, to increase quality of life, and to reduce pain, nausea and vomiting," says Lihi Bar-Lev Schleider, lead researcher on the study.READ MORE
Marijuana use is increasing among older demographics Feb 19, 2018 - Word on the Tree When most people think of cannabis users, they probably think mainly of the younger generations. But it’s actually the 45 to 64 age group who show the highest proportion of household spending on cannabis. Recent figures on cannabis use in Canada found nearly 5m people aged between 15 and 64 spent an estimated $5.7 billion on cannabis during 2017. That’s one in five people in this age group. Most of this was spent on the drug for recreational rather than medical, which is currently illegal in Canada. No surprise then that the cannabis industry in Canada is now bigger than the beer and tobacco industry. Well, that’s just Canada, you might think, but you would be wrong. In Australia, lifetime cannabis use more than doubled between 2004 and 2013 in the over 50s. The UK has seen similar trends, with lifetime use of cannabis in the 65 to 74 age group rising more than sevenfold between 2000 and 2014. In the US, the rate of self-reported cannabis use over the previous 12 months in people aged 65 and above also jumped massively between 2003 and 2014.READ MORE
Medical Cannabis Clearly Saves Lives, Federal Judge Declares Feb 14, 2018 - Leafly Army veteran Jose Belen says the horrors of the Iraq War left him with post-traumatic stress disorder, and the drug that helped him cope best with the symptoms was one his Veterans Affairs doctors could not legally prescribe: cannabis. 'How can you say there is no currently accepted medical use?' the judge asked. 'Your argument does not hold.'“ Once I did use cannabis, immediately I felt the relief,” said Belen, who is now working with other medical cannabis patients to mount a court challenge to federal laws criminalizing the drug. The 35-year-old father of two is one of five plaintiffs in a lawsuit claiming that the government’s decision to classify cannabis as dangerous is irrational, unconstitutional and motivated by politics, not hard science. Belen and his fellow plaintiffs are pushing to have the Schedule I classification of cannabis ruled illegal. READ MORE
January 2018
What the Marijuana Genome Map Means for the Future of Pot Jan 17, 2018 - Bloomberg The fledgling cannabis industry is full of wide-eyed claims about what pot can do. Outperform your favorite energy drink? Maybe. Cure cancer? Worth a try. The biggest believers and entrepreneurs make the plant sound almost magical. Now one startup has the key to keep the science from the hype: the first-ever full map of the cannabis genome. “DNA, of course I’m biased because it’s what I do, but it doesn’t lie. It really is a way to just sort of clear a lot of the b.s.,” said CJ Schwartz, chief executive officer of Sunrise Genetics, the Fort Collins, Colorado-based company behind the map. “The excessive claims are really doing a disservice to the plant or the potential of the plant and the science surrounding that.” A deeper understanding of genetics means companies will be able to figure out which parts of cannabis’s makeup drive different functions, making it easier to test for strain continuity and breed plants more quickly and effectively. Schwartz said the genome research can allow for more targeted recreational products by specifying exactly how a product might affect the body or mind, for instance by making a consumer feel tired or energized. But knowledge of the full genome itself, which will be presented for the first time at the Plant and Animal Genome Conference in San Diego on January 17, also opens the door to the prospect of making good on some of the loftier possibilities for legal marijuana. READ MORE
December 2017
Marijuana studied as treatment for tics of Tourette syndrome Dec 25, 2017 - New Haven Register NEW HAVEN — Marijuana is being studied as a treatment for Tourette syndrome’s involuntary movements and vocalizations. While the Board of Physicians for the state Department of Consumer Protection’s medical marijuana program rejected Tourette syndrome as an approved condition, researchers are studying the properties in cannabis that appear to help relieve the tics that come with the disorder, according to Dr. Michael Bloch, an associate professor at the Yale Child Study Centerand assistant director of the center’s Tic Disorder/Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Specialty Clinic. Tourette syndrome typically appears in children between 4 and 6 years old, two-thirds of them boys. But “about one-half to two-thirds of kids with Tourette’s get better in adolescence and we really don’t know why,” Bloch said. “You have involuntary movements or vocalizations that typically change in character over time.” Fortunately, symptoms decrease as children get older. “Most times, since the tics are going to get better on their own … often the major treatment intervention would be just trying to minimize the impairment,” Bloch said, addressing problems the tics cause in school, at home or with friends. Bullying is a problem for children with Tourette. “Oftentimes these kids get bullied or made fun of because the other kids don’t understand,” Bloch said. A child with an eye-rolling tic might be misinterpreted as making fun of a classmate. The Tourette Association of America has local youth ambassadors to help educate students about the disorder.READ MORE
Last resort treatment for Parkinson's disease: Former cop finds astounding relief from medical marijuana Dec 10, 2017 - NewsTarget Although there has been little scientific research conducted so far regarding the use of cannabis to treat Parkinson’s disease, the anecdotal evidence provided by an ex-cop named Larry Smith makes a very strong case for its efficacy. Smith, who served 26 years in law enforcement before retiring in 1999, has been battling Parkinson’s for 20 years. His story is the subject of an upcoming documentary, Ride With Larry, which chronicles his fight against the disease. Larry has been successful in controlling some of his symptoms through exercise, with particular emphasis on the use of a recumbent bicycle. In fact, the documentary follows Larry as he embarks on a 300-mile bike journey across South Dakota. Larry Smith tries medicinal marijuana to combat worsening Parkinson’s symptoms. As Larry Smith’s disease progressed, he explored every treatment available to ease the symptoms. Recently, he turned to medical marijuana and found it to be amazingly effective in alleviating his dyskinesia (uncontrollable movements) and other symptoms. On the Ride With Larry Facebook page, a three-part video series follows Larry and his wife, Elizabeth, as they travel to San Diego to try medical marijuana for the first time – medical marijuana is not legal in their home state, South Dakota. In Part One of the series, Larry and Elizabeth arrive in San Diego and visit a doctor who gives him a prescription for medical marijuana. At this point, Larry’s symptoms are pronounced – he has trouble walking and is in pain, despite the 20 pills he takes each day. In Part Two, the pair visit a marijuana dispensary and obtain $40 worth of cannabis buds. Elizabeth mentions the fact that one of Larry’s prescriptions costs $3,000 each time to fill.READ MORE
November 2017
Study: 2 out of 3 Pain Patients Quit Opioids with Marijuana Nov 3, 2017 - Huffington Post In a new study conducted by Aclara Research, medical use of cannabis has once again been shown to be a successful substitute for dangerous addictive opioid painkillers for many patients in pain. The study surveyed over 400 patients and 500 pharmacists to glean their views on the medical use of cannabis and its effect on the use of prescribed opioids. Sixty-seven percent of the patients surveyed indicated that they were able to cease their use of opioid medications once they had access to a state medical marijuana program. Another 29 percent of the patients were able to reduce their use of opioids, leaving just 1 out of 25 patients (4 percent) whose opioid use was unaffected by marijuana use. READ MORE
October 2017
Cannabis for Children with Intractable Epilepsy: Bypassing Big Pharma October 30, 2017 - Huffington Post Children with intractable epilepsy have uncontrollable seizures that can be catastrophic, even deadly. Cannabis improves quality of life, often through the CBD or cannabidiol it contains. Yet, instead of educating themselves, and helping parents use this medicine in forms now available, physicians want parents to wait for a pharmaceutical version. Doctors stay dumb, and children continue to suffer. This could soon change: a cannabis-based anti-seizure pharmaceutical nearly has Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Cannabis-related education for providers will no doubt be part of the marketing plan. This is unexceptional: pharmaceutical salespeople have long provided US doctors ideas on what to prescribe. Yet for some time now there hasn’t been a need to wait: while doctors’ ignorance about and resulting fear of cannabis discourages many parents, some pursue it anyhow. They read scientific literature, talk with other parents (e.g., via Facebook), and get help from pediatric cannabis pioneers—themselves mostly parents—who now make medicine for sale to those with state-qualified conditions. Products low in THC (the chemical behind ‘getting high’) are available to the public in all states. READ MORE
How cannabis oil helped me get off painkillers October 9, 2017 - The Telegraph In a backpacking hostel during a stag weekend 10 years ago, I fell asleep on a top bunk next to an open window. Of course, that now strikes me as a stupid thing to have done, but at the time I didn’t give it a thought. I was on a weekend away, not a health-and-safety awareness course. At some point during the night, I tried getting out of the bunk, but instead of turning left and using the ladder, I turned right and hopped straight out of the window. I fell 24ft on to concrete. From a survival point of view, I was lucky to land on my feet. The downside was that some rather important sections of my legs did not come out of it so well. My left heel was crushed, while over on the right, my tibia and fibula – the two long bones in the lower leg – detached from their couplings and shattered. The next few weeks involved operations, plates, screws and quite unimaginable levels of agony. At one point, I felt a kind of blinding calm, as though the pain had gone all the way up the scale and rung a bell at the top. While those pain levels have never returned, over the years there have been generous helpings of it; my legs didn’t take too kindly to being smashed up and bolted back together, and they seem to enjoy reminding me of this. After trying many different ways of managing the pain, eight months ago I started taking cannabidiol, or CBD for short – a non-psychoactive compound found in both hemp and cannabis plants. The effect on the pain has been profound. It comes as an oil that I put under my tongue whenever pain moves from a dull niggle to the kind that is difficult to ignore. READ MORE
Medical cannabis can help reduce our nation's pain epidemic October 2, 2017 - The Hill On Wednesday, Sept. 27, the president's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, lead by Governor Chris Christie (R), held its third meeting entitled: Innovative Pain Management and Prevention Measures for Diversion. The agenda, which was not released until the day it was scheduled, included testimony from 10 invited organizations, all of which were from the pharmaceutical industry. Consequently, the tone of the meeting came off as a commercial by each of the companies asking for government assistance in getting their medications to market more quickly. One in three Americans suffer from chronic pain and one in ten have experienced severe pain every day for three months or more. If effective pharmaceutical alternatives to opioids for chronic pain already exist, why aren't we already using them? While it is quite possible that innovations from the pharmaceutical industry could be helpful in providing health care practitioners with alternative treatments to chronic pain, these innovations can take years to develop. All of the medications currently on the market the presenters discussed also include a laundry list of side-effects such as nausea, anxiety, insomnia, and impotence. Why not explore what millions of Americans are already using successfully as an alternative or adjunct treatment to pain, with little to none of the side-effects associated with pharmaceutical treatments, medical cannabis? READ MORE
September 2017
First Ever UK Medical Marijuana Patient has "Miracle Recovery" Sept 6, 2017 - High Times About once a day, 11-year-old Billy Caldwell could expect to almost die. Thirty times a month, Billy would suffer a seizure serious enough to require a dose of medication and an oxygen mask in order to survive. Doctors were helpless. According to his parents, overmatched medical professionals sent him home from a hospital unhealed with a mortal warning—he could go at any time. Be prepared. A terrible story—but a familiar one in the cannabis world. And since this is a cannabis publication, it has the familiar happy ending, but with a twist.READ MORE
August 2017
Ex-NFL lineman Eugene Monroe, 'I will never stop pushing for the league to accept medical cannabis' Aug 28, 2017 - Civilized. Eugene Monroe's days as an offensive tackle are over, but he's not done with the National Football League yet. Not till the NFL finally allows football players to use medical marijuana. "Whatever happens in terms of my professional football career, I will never stop pushing for the League to accept medical cannabis as a viable option for pain management," Monroe pledged in a recent statement. "I will do everything I can to ensure the generations of NFL players after me won't have to resort to harmful and addictive opioids as their only option for pain management." Those opioids -- which include oxycodone and fentanyl -- claimed the lives of over 33,000 Americans in 2015 alone. Meanwhile, nobody has ever died of a cannabis overdose -- ever. READ MORE
There's no known cure for arthritis, but marijuana works wonders Aug 16,2017 - NY Daily News Here’s some good news: Medical marijuana is helping people with arthritis improve their quality of life. Most of us know someone — an aunt, uncle or grandmother — suffering from arthritis. It is one of the most common health ailments in the world, with more than 50 million people affected in the U.S. alone. The term “arthritis” is actually a category that includes over 100 conditions and diseases affecting joints and surrounding tissue. Symptoms of pain, stiffness and swelling aching joints are common. Arthritis can seem inescapable and changes people’s quality of life. There is no known cure. Despite anecdotal evidence about efficacy of marijuana for arthritis, physicians simply don’t know enough about it to engage their patients about it as a treatment option. READ MORE
Federal agency announces first long-term study on marijuana's effect on opioid addiction Aug 10, 2017 - SF Gate A federal health agency is taking steps to examine whether medical marijuana can help end America’s addiction to prescription painkillers. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced a five-year, $3.8 million grant awarded to researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System to conduct the first long-term study to test whether medical marijuana reduces opioid use among adults with chronic pain. “There is a lack of information about the impact of medical marijuana on opioid use in those with chronic pain,” says Dr. Chinazo Cunningham, associate chief of general internal medicine at Einstein and Montefiore and principal investigator on the grant. “We hope this study will fill in the gaps and provide doctors and patients with some much needed guidance.” READ MORE
NFL's chief medical officer calls marijuana research 'really important' Aug 3, 2017 - Washington Post The NFL's chief medical officer says it is "really important" for the league and the NFL Players Association to determine whether marijuana can be used as an effective and safe pain-management tool for players. "I think we have a lot more to learn about that," Allen Sills, a Vanderbilt University neurosurgeon hired by the NFL in March, said in a phone interview Wednesday. "Certainly the research about marijuana and really more particularly cannabinoid compounds as they may relate to the treatment of both acute and chronic pain, that is an area of research that we need a lot more information on and we need to further develop. READ MORE
NFL offers to study marijuana as pain management option Aug 2, 2017 - High Times For a very long time, the National Football Players Association (NFLPA) has been pleading with the powerful NFL leadership to lighten up on medical marijuana and allow players to use it for pain relief and conditions stemming from head trauma, which the vast majority of NFL players suffer at some point in their careers. Finally, it seems the NFL is finally agreeing to at least explore the option of medical marijuana. The evidence is out there; it’s been a question of the NFL leadership taking science seriously and making the health of their players a priority. READ MORE
July 2017
Hundreds of seizures a day, now cannabis oil is 'making a difference in my daughter July 25, 2017 - Aussie NewsEven on a good day, eight-year-old Sophie Martin has hundreds of seizures. When she has a severe seizure, she turns blue and cannot breathe. She has been in and out of hospital since she was 10 weeks old. And there have been close to 100 admissions to intensive care. Every day her parents, Shellie and David, move mountains to try to give her some quality of life. Their lounge room is like a miniature hospital, complete with resuscitation trolley. Even the simplest of tasks, like going outside, are a mission — they have to go armed with a paramedic bag. The decision makers, say the Martins, have "zero idea of what it is like to have a child this sick". They are talking about medicinal cannabis. 'We have no more options' READ MORE
Girl Sues Government Over Medical Marijuana July 25, 2017 - FitsNews An 11-year-old North Texas girl is suing the federal government over its classification of marijuana – hoping to decriminalize the drug for medical purposes across the country. Alexis Bortell – who suffers from epileptic seizures – is one of several plaintiffs in this potentially groundbreaking lawsuit, which was filed in New York district court this week. Bortell is a medical marijuana advocate who moved to Colorado with her family so that she could legally treat her seizures. Since beginning treatment with medical cannabis, she has gone over 800 days without a seizure. Bortell’s suit challenges the constitutionality of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), claiming that the federal government “does not, and could not possibly, believe that Cannabis meets the definition of a Schedule I drug, which is reserved for the most dangerous of substances, such as heroin, LSD and mescaline.” “By way of comparison, cocaine and crystal meth are considered Schedule II drugs and are thus considered less addictive and less dangerous,” the lawsuit alleges. READ MORE
Stoned Science: Interactions Between THC and CBD July 24, 2017 - High Times Often when people smoke marijuana, all of the credit for the high is given to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but this isn’t the whole story. Through previous discussions you might recall that cannabidiol (CBD), alone, does not get you high. While this is true, there are some important interactions to consider. Does CBD affect the high that THC provides and how does it do so? Our bodies are broken up into many systems (i.e. cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, etc.), but one important system that doesn’t get much attention is the endocannabinoid system (ECS). As you may have guessed, our ECS interacts with cannabinoids, such as THC and CBD. But it is more involved than you might imagine. The ECS is imperative to the body’s normal functioning—assisting in the regulation of pain and hunger to name a few. The primary components of the ECS are cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB-1, and CB-2). THC primarily acts on CB-1. Consequently CB-1 is the receptor most studied and associated with our high. In previous articles we discussed the similarities/differences between THC and CBD on a chemical, and biological scale. We learned through behavioral/psychological experiments that CBD alone has no affect on our consciousness, yet CBD affects the same areas of the brain as THC, though in an opposite manner. Recent studies have demonstrated that CBD counteracts the sensation of a high, and thankfully so! Studies done where pure THC was administered to participants showed that there were heightened senses of paranoia and anxiety. Now, while some people do feel this way after smoking, most would agree that the feeling is rather pleasant. READ MORE
June 2017
Science and FDA say cannabis is medicine but DEA insists it isn't June 1, 2017 - Entrepreneur In May, DEA acting administrator Chuck Rosenberg caused a stir by proclaiming, in a speech in Ohio, that “marijuana is not medicine. ”Many people immediately disagreed, including The Hill, which wrote that Rosenberg might as well have said “the Earth is flat.” But what’s even more interesting is that the Food and Drug Administration has already approved two marijuana-based medicines for treatment of nausea in chemotherapy patients and help increase appetite in those with AIDS who have experienced extreme weight loss. Rosenberg’s statement also flies in the face of voters in more than half the U.S. states who have made medical marijuana legal. Unlike the drugs approved by the FDA, Rosenberg was addressing the “smoking” of marijuana. However, many of the products that fall into the medical marijuana category come in many different forms, including edibles, vaporizers, pills, oils and ointments. Rosenberg, speaking at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, said that it would be “awesome” if it “turns out there is something in smoked marijuana that helps people.” But he said it should first be run through the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA relies on testing of marijuana, and that poses a problem. The federal government continues to list marijuana as a Schedule I illegal substance alongside heroin, cocaine and LSD, with no medical value. All federal-funded testing must be done with government-grown marijuana. READ MORE
May 2017
How cannabis is fueling a new fitness movement May 25, 2017 - Vogue Recreational marijuana use has now been legal in California for six months and counting. On the surface, you’d never know that anything has changed. Since the passing of Prop. 64 in November, there have not been red-eyed, burnout bohemians strewn across the lawns of Griffith Park, nor masses of wasted youth in irreversible states of hysteria. Instead, on a hot Saturday afternoon in May, a group of lithe twenty-somethings clad in the kind of spandex that doesn’t leave much room for snacking gathered on a rooftop in the shadow of the Hollywood hills to practice yoga, and get high. “Let’s all take a puff,” said Equinox yoga instructor Derek Beres to the students at the beginning of class. In unison, they inhaled from vape pens by Bloom Farms, a San Francisco–based medical marijuana company that also sells pre-rolled joints, and settled into mountain pose. Those who chose to opt out of vaping THC could enjoy the anxiety-quelling benefits of CBD—the non-psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant that has been found to reduce epileptic seizures—baked into “cookies” made of clusters of organic seeds sweetened with dried fruit and cinnamon for the occasion. Modern-day researchers and entrepreneurs are only starting to consider the potential gains of smoking while sweating. A systematic analysis published this year found that only 15 studies have been published worldwide on the relationship between cannabis and athletic performance. Most studies found no evidence that marijuana can help or hinder a workout, while others showed negative impacts, explains Dr. Jeff Chen, codirector of UCLA’s Cannabinoid Affinity Group. The problem, Chen says, lies in the lack of research in the still classified Schedule 1 drug (alongside heroin and ecstasy). READ MORE
Medical marijuana as a pain reliever May 17, 2017 - Nevada Appeal Seven years ago, Kevin Brent was taking out the trash at his job as a kitchen manager when he slipped. "I ended up with a hematoma the size of a football. And nerve damage," said Brent, who's 55 and lives in Gardnerville. He's had five surgeries and has been on narcotics — Norco and Vicodin — for the pain and Gabapentin for the nerve damage. "When I first got the injury I was like a vegetable. I couldn't take it anymore," said Brent, who had trouble sleeping due to the pain. On the recommendation of a physician he saw in Reno, Brent applied for a medical marijuana card. "It's been phenomenal. I sleep so much better," and takes less of the narcotics than he once did, he said. Brent is a typical medical marijuana patient, according to Tyler Brennan, general manager, RISE, the Carson City dispensary. "Sixty to 70 percent are 55 or older and looking for pain relief," said Brennan. "A lot have aging issues, back pain, arthritis." Like Brent, some are trying to reduce consumption of opioids for pain and many have insomnia. "Sleep is a big one," said Brennan. Another is anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.READ MORE
Daily dose of cannabis extract could reverse brain's decline in old age, study suggests May 8, 2017 - The Guardian Regular low doses of THC dramatically boosted memory and learning in older mice, say scientists, who plan a clinical trial in humans later this year. Researchers have come up with an unusual proposal to slow, or even reverse, the cognitive decline that comes with old age: small, daily doses of cannabis extract. The idea emerged from tests on mice which found that regular, low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis – impaired memory and learning in young animals, but boosted the performance of old ones. The discovery has raised hopes for a treatment that improves brain function in old age without inducing the behavioural effects well known to recreational users of the drug. To investigate whether it works in humans, the scientists plan to launch a clinical trial later this year. “If we can rejuvenate the brain so that everybody gets five to 10 more years without needing extra care then that is more than we could have imagined,” said Andras Bilkei-Gorzo at the University of Bonn. READ MORE
Yet another study: Sick people dump opiates for marijuana May 5, 2017 - High Times The anti-marijuana legalization cabal of law enforcement, pharmaceutical companies and the politicians they support have something right: In the states where marijuana is available, marijuana use increases. That is exactly the point, after all—and it’s a good thing! As a new study published this week found, where marijuana use increases, there’s a significant decrease in the use of prescription opiates and other habit-forming drugs. Researchers from Bastyr University, an “alternative medicine” university with campuses in Washington State and California, surveyed 2,774 adults who reported using cannabis at least once in the previous 90 days. Respondents came from all 50 states and 42 countries—and only 59 percent of respondents identified themselves as medical marijuana users. Almost half—46 percent—“reported using cannabis as a substitute for prescription drugs,” according to the study, published in the Journal of Pain Research. And the pharmaceuticals most often dumped in favor of cannabis are exactly the ones which cause the most problems. As the researchers wrote, “The most common classes of drugs substituted were narcotics/opioids (35.8%), anxiolytics/benzodiazepines (13.6%) and antidepressants (12.7%).” READ MORE
Marijuana Munchies Explained by Science May 1, 2017 - High Times Scientific studies are beginning to successfully unravel the mystery of why we get the munchies—THC stimulates appetite by regulating a group of neurons that normally suppress the appetite—even when we’re definitely not hungry. Hence, the use of medical marijuana in the treatment of patients dealing with a loss of appetite due to complications with chemotherapy, cancer or HIV, to name a few. Herein lies one of the pot paradoxes—weed smokers generally have a lower body mass index (BMI) and are less at risk for diabetes. And we should try and keep it that way, so choose your munchies well. Studies concluded that weed helps improve insulin control and regulates body weight, which explains why stoners don’t become obese from all that snacking. THC acts as a hunger stimulant, however, when it wears off, the “stop eating” chemicals are still hanging out in your brain and their messaging goes back to normal. READ MORE
April 2017
"Father of cannabis research" touts medicinal potential of CBD at Pueblo conference April 30, 2017 - The Denver Post PUEBLO — If the United States stopped viewing CBD as an illegal substance, it would unlock the marijuana compound’s immense potential as medicine, the “father of cannabis research” said Saturday. Raphael Mechoulam, a Hebrew University professor and organic chemist with six decades of research on cannabis, was in Colorado to serve as the keynote speaker for the inaugural conference of the Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Institute for Cannabis Research. “I believe that CBD has to be moved from the highest illegal situation next to heroin, which doesn’t make sense, because it’s not toxic, doesn’t cause any addiction, so it should be moved,” Mechoulam said to The Denver Post and The Cannabist in a brief interview following his speech. “And once it’s moved, more people will be using it. And I hope it will become a major (medicinal) drug.” READ MORE
Microdosing Marijuana: Doctors Say It's The Best Way To Consume Pot April 29, 2017 - SALON There are those cannabis connoisseurs who enjoy getting super stoned at the end of a long day at the office, while others are now embracing an emerging trend called microdosing, a procedure that allows the user to moderate their mind by taking small doses throughout the day. The concept of microdosing is simple: instead of consuming enough THC to join the land of catatonia, the user leans on somewhere between 3 to 10 milligrams to feel some effect without entering into a realm of laughing fits, paranoia and ravenous hunger. It is increasingly popular practice that Rolling Stone calls “Marijuana 2.0,” an idea that less is actually more when it comes to using cannabis for its therapeutic and creativity-inducing benefits. However, there are some challenges involved. What is considered a low dose for some may not cut it for others. It is similar to how it would be if measuring the effectiveness of Ibuprofen on a large group of people. Some of them would find relief with 200 milligrams, while it might take others near pharmaceutical levels to cut through the pain. READ MORE
Study: Marijuana Compound is Crucial for Stomach Health April 26, 2017 - High Times Cannabis’s value as a tonic for sufferers of stomach trouble is well-known, as anyone treating Crohn’s disease or irritable bowel syndrome with marijuana can attest. But marijuana may play a more central role in regulating gut health than previously thought—for everyone, not just those treating debilitating diseases. The secret lies in the similarity between cannabis and hot chili peppers. A key ingredient in chili peppers is a chemical called capsaicin. According to new research from scientists at the University of Connecticut, mice suffering from Type 1 diabetes were suddenly cured of their ailments after they were fed capsaicin. The reason why wasn’t the pepper itself, but a molecule created once the capsaicin entered the body. When the capsaicin was ingested, it bonded to a particular receptor, which then sent a signal to cells to start making a molecule called anandamide. Anandamide is an endocannabinoid—a compound produced by the body that’s similar in function to those found in cannabis (which we call phytocannabinoids). Once the body starts producing anandamide, inflammation is reduced. As the researchers discovered, “It was the anandamide that caused the immune system to calm down.” READ MORE
5 Women Who Could Be Crowned Queens of the Cannabis Industry April 22, 2017 - POPSUGAR Cannabis, the perennial currency of counterculture cool, is quickly becoming America’s next cash crop. It would be already if it weren’t for federal prohibition, thanks to its many applications: the plant can produce plastic, treat a bevy of medical issues, and, of course, illicit a heady high. For decades Mary Jane smokers have acquired quite a few tropes to describe its so-called community: the hippy, the stoner, the radical, the artist, or the criminal. Critics of cannabis have often employed these stereotypes negatively or to suggest a reason for prohibition — but reality belies these Nixon-era labels. Though moms, professionals, and lawmakers are rarely associated with cannabis use, recreational legalization has begun to dissolve the image of a traditional marijuana smoker. Even politicians have aligned themselves with the push for full legalization. As President Barack Obama left office, he told Rolling Stone's Jann S. Wenner he believes marijuana should be treated like cigarettes or alcohol. Senator Bernie Sanders has also been a longtime champion of legalization. In 2016 alone, the legal industry raked in over $7 billion — who wouldn’t want a cut? READ MORE
Why Microdosing Is Taking Over Medical Marijuana April 20, 2017 - High Times In the winter of 1999, Dr. Allan Frankel, a renowned internist in Los Angeles, suffered a viral infection of the heart. Doctors told him he had six months to live. He'd rarely tried marijuana, but several of his cancer and AIDS patients urged him to use it for his heart. A year later, his heart was normal. Frankel, now 66, says he can't be certain that cannabis healed him – but it certainly helped. "I'd been depressed and cannabis stopped the depression," he says. "It gave me something to look forward to. My brain was turned on. In the following years, he combed the scientific literature on cannabis, and in 2006, opened a cannabis medical practice. He developed formulas for whole plant oils with different combinations of THC, the compound in pot that gets people high, and CBD, a non-psychoactive compound that's believed to have broad healing properties. Working with patients, he found that many could benefit from small doses. "A quarter of my patients are taking less than 3 mg of THC a day," he says. He calls it the "correct dose. In all medicine, with all drugs, you look for the minimum effective dose. Period." READ MORE
Marijuana Based Medicine Can Reduce Epilepsy Seizures, Researchers Say April 18, 2017 - Healthline News A new study backs up previous research that says cannabis oil can significantly reduce the seizures for people with certain kinds of epilepsy. Are marijuana-based products the antidote for epileptic seizures? A study released today is joining a growing chorus of research material that concludes cannabis oil can help reduce seizures for people with certain kinds of epilepsy. Researchers say cannabidiol cut the number of seizures in half for a sizable number of children and adults with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), a severe form of epilepsy. READ MORE
Gov. Brown proposes fix for conflicts in California's cannabis laws April 5, 2017 - The Californian Gov. Jerry Brown has made his wishes clear: He wants the conflicts between California’s medical and recreational cannabis laws resolved by the end of the year. Tuesday night his office published a 92-page document offering up recommendations for how to settle key differences in laws regulating both segments of the industry, with the governor choosing sides on everything from how many licenses marijuana business owners can hold to how weed should be distributed statewide. The proposals were included in a trailer bill to Brown’s 2017-18 budget. The legislature will vote on whether those proposals become law, before they ultimately head back to Brown for final approval. “We were extremely happy when we saw what the governor’s office did,” said Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Association. Since Brown largely sided with voter-approved recreational marijuana laws rather than legislator-crafted medical laws, Bradley said the governor “recognized the will of the voters” as he attempted to reconcile the two systems. In an email about the trailer bill, Hezekiah Allen, who heads up the cannabis industry trade group the California Growers Association, applauded Brown’s proposals for limiting the number of larger farms and protecting the environment while expressing concern over the lack of clarity about delivery services and the governor’s recommendation to allow for vertical integration. READ MORE
Mendocino County Medical Cannabis Cultivation Regulation Approved April 4, 2017 - Ukiah Daily JournalAfter a little more than a year of painstaking deliberations, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the Medical Cannabis Cultivation Regulation, officially inaugurating a new era of comprehensive local and state regulation of an industry that has until now operated largely free of government scrutiny. In superseding Section 9.31, the “urgency ordinance” whose provisions have guided the Sheriff’s Office in monitoring the industry, the MCCR transfers local regulatory responsibility from sheriff’s deputies to the biologists, agriculturalists, and planning experts at the county’s Department of Agriculture and Department of Planning and Building Services. The law, which was necessary to comply with the 2015 California Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, more thoroughly articulates how the state, county and permitted growers will preserve the natural resources and quality of life. In crafting the ordinance, the county government sought to balance the needs and interests of the growers and their neighbors. Mendocino County’s most famous industry has long raised the ire of many surrounding communities, whose residents have often felt under siege by the criminal behavior and environmental destruction practiced by some growers. READ MORE
This New Study May Debunk One of the Biggest Marijuana Myths April 3, 2017 - Men's Health As opioid abuse continues to be a national discussion, a new study has revealed less people are hospitalized for opioid abuse in states where medical marijuana is legalized. The study, published Saturday in journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, tallied hospital discharges in 27 states from 1997 to 2014. Where medicinal cannabis is legal, hospitalizations caused by opioid dependence drop by 23 percent and those caused by opioid overdoses drop 11 percent. For those states with actual dispensaries in operations, the figures are 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively. And hospitalizations caused by cannabis did not increase in states with medical marijuana. READ MORE
Jerry Jones' Marijuana Proposal Could Save NFL Players' Lives April 3, 2017 - Washington Post The owner of the Dallas Cowboys said in a recent meeting of NFL owners that the league should “drop its prohibition on marijuana use,” according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio. While recreational marijuana use is legal in eight states plus D.C., and medical marijuana is legal is about 20 more, NFL players are banned from using the drug for any purposes under the existing collective bargaining agreement, which expires in 2020. Under that agreement, players who test positive for marijuana must enter a substance abuse program. Subsequent violations lead to fines, 10-game suspensions, and, ultimately, banishment from the league. Former NFL players have been increasingly vocal in their criticism of the ban in recent years, saying that medical marijuana is a safe alternative to the powerful prescription opiates routinely prescribed to NFL players for pain. READ MORE
March 2017
'Think about wine': UBC lab reveals genes that give pot its characteristic flavours March 29, 2017 - Vancouver Sun Scientists at the University of B.C. have identified about 30 genes related to the characteristic flavours of cannabis, from the nose-wrinkling funk of skunk to the distinctive earthiness of purple kush. The finding, published Wednesday in the journal Plos One, is a first step toward standardizing different varieties of B.C.’s iconic intoxicant. As Canada hurtles toward a new legal environment for recreational cannabis, breeders and growers will be anxious to identify different varieties of cannabis for flavour, but also for their psychoactive effects and potency, said Jörg Bohlmann, a professor in the Michael Smith Laboratories. READ MORE
New Report: CBD is Good for Anxiety March 24, 2017 - High Times Have a public speaking engagement you’re a bit stressed about, or about to board a plane despite your claustrophobia, recent viewing of Final Destination, and crippling aversion to paying $20 for bad WiFi? Pop some CBD—you’ll be in the same situation, but you’ll feel better, a researcher contends. Earlier this year, a researcher based in the UK found a lack of evidence for earlier contentions that cannabis use by itself may create anxiety disorders. Now, a second researcher believes there’s ample evidence to support the idea that cannabidiol—or CBD, the magic cure-all compound in marijuana—may help solve anxiety. READ MORE
Pittsburgh Weeders? NFL Hall of Famer Wants in on Marijuana Market March 17, 2017 - High Times One famous former Pittsburgh Steeler hopes will revive a former steel town. And so, Braddock is where NFL Hall of Famer Franco Harris, a key player on those old-school Steelers teams when locals still milled steel, wants to locate a five-acre marijuana production facility. Harris is co-founder of a nascent cannabis company called Laurel Green Medical. (He is also a former teammate of fellow Hall of Famer Mike Webster, whose descent into early-onset dementia and madness made him possibly football’s most famous concussion casualty.) Laurel Green is one of the companies vying for the 12 production licenses Pennsylvania will award throughout the state. READ MORE
Patrick Stewart Reveals He Uses Marijuana Daily to Help With Arthritis Symptoms March 16, 2017 - The Huffington PostSir Patrick Stewart has opened up about his struggle with arthritis and how he turns to marijuana on a daily basis to combat its symptoms, according to a report from The Telegraph. The 76-year-old “X-Men” actor shined a light on his green regimen this week while endorsing the U.K.’s first program aimed at exploring the benefits of cannabis-based medicines. In a statement, the English actor called the cannabinoid biomedicine program out of Oxford University “an important step forward for Britain in a field of research that has for too long been held back by prejudice, fear and ignorance.” “Two years ago, in Los Angeles, I was examined by a doctor and given a note which gave me legal permission to purchase, from a registered outlet, cannabis-based products, which I was advised might help the ortho-arthritis in both my hands,” he said. READ MORE
Quality of government marijuana used for studies may be skewing results March 16, 2017 - Fox 31 - KDVR/Denver The quality of the marijuana the U.S. government provides to researchers may be impacting the results of their studies, experts say. The issue made national headlines after Dr. Sue Sisley, a researcher with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), shared photos of the marijuana provided by the only facility licensed by the DEA to produce cannabis for clinical research. The facility is located at the University of Mississippi and is run by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Dr. Sisley is studying cannabis as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in U.S. veterans. “It didn’t resemble cannabis. It didn’t smell like cannabis,” Sisley told investigators with PBS News Hour. READ MORE
During an opioid epidemic, medical marijuana is a safe, non-addictive option: Bruce Nicholson March 12, 2017 - PennLive During a time when the opioid crisis in Pennsylvania has led to greater scrutiny surrounding prescribing of opiates, patients seeking pain relief often face limited options. Although the state has begun to address the opiate misuse problem and ensure they remain available as a treatment option, another type of pain-relief medication has become the de facto treatment for many patients: nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs.) READ MORE
Valley Doctor Testing Marijuana on Veterans with PTSD March 9, 2017 - 3TV/CBS 5 via azfamily.comA Valley doctor and researcher is currently conducting the first ever federally-approved study on the effects marijuana has on veterans suffering from PTSD. The recently approved study could help shape the future for medical cannabis. A lot has happened since we last spoke with Dr. Sue Sisley, back in April of 2016, right after the DEA green lighted her triple blind clinical study to evaluate smoking cannabis to manage chronic, treatment-resistant PTSD in 76 veterans. READ MORE
NFL Players Association to Negotiate for Medical Marijuana March 8, 2017 - High TimesThe NFL and NFL Players Association continue to discuss the pros and cons of a basic question: Why can’t football players use medical marijuana, approved in over half the country and proven to help with pain and dangerous brain swelling caused by concussions? In that the National Football League stubbornly remains on the conservative, anti-scientific side on the issue, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) is being obliged to make concessions at the bargaining table. READ MORE
In pioneering study, Israeli researchers target autism with cannabis March 8, 2017 - Times of Israel Parents of children who suffer from the neurodevelopmental disorder are lining up for the new trial - the first of its kind worldwide. Sitting on cushions in the corner of a brightly decorated room in Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, 11-year-old Eitan anxiously watched the sliding door leading to the hallway outside. Each time someone entered the room, he rushed past the hanging mobiles and flowers painted on the walls to make sure the door was shut securely. Eitan was at the hospital with his parents to receive extracts of cannabis that researchers hope will help treat his severe autism. READ MORE
5 Ways CBD Can Improve Health March 6th, 2017 - Civilized. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in marijuana, and science has given it close attention in recent years for its potential in treating a wide variety of medical conditions. In 2015 the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) stated that “pre-clinical research (including both cell culture and animal models) has shown CBD to have a range of effects that may be therapeutically useful,” and research continues to explore exactly how CBD benefits us. We've highlighted five ways science is showing how CBD can improve our health - but this is just the tip of the iceberg. READ MORE
A Primer About Cannabidiol and the Benefits of CBD March 1, 2017 - The Huffington Post Many of cannabinoids have therapeutic value and CBD is no exception. Scientists are rapidly discovering more and more about the rather amazing abilities of the cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. Most of them have shown therapeutic value, as have the terpenes, which give the plant its distinct odors. There are over 125 terpenes and over 80 cannabinoids in cannabis and each strain has its own unique blend that create its distinct effects. READ MORE
February 2017
Cannabis Concentrates Have a Problem With Pesticides February 27, 2017 - LA Weekly Weed vapes have a pesticide problem. Think you're vaping pure cannabis oil? Think again. Some oils and concentrates that get tested have turned out to be contaminated with toxic chemicals."This is really nasty stuff," says Adam Lustig, CEO and founder of Higher Vision Cannabis, which specializes in a signature oil. "The amount of damage to someone's health you can do with pesticides is huge." Some cannabis farmers in California spray their plants with chemicals like avermectin (used in Avid insecticide), myclobutanil (used in Eagle 20 pesticide) and bifenazate (used in Floramite). Exposure to these chemicals has been proven toxic or even carcinogenic, resulting in symptoms including vomiting, rash, nosebleed, tremors and coma. There are no statewide regulations limiting the pesticides cultivators use on their crop. Only in the city of Berkeley do concentrates have to meet a stringent standard for the amount of pesticide, in parts per billion, that's allowed to show up in testing. Some of the pesticides pot farmers spray aren't even approved for use on food, says Lustig, illustrating how dangerous they could be on other ingested crops like cannabis. "It's like the dirty secret of the industry is finally coming out," he says.READ MORE
Cannabis Oil Trial Showing Positive Results For Childhood Epilepsy February 17, 2017 - WSPA A cannabis oil study at Augusta University shows promise in the fight against childhood epilepsy. Nine-year-old Preston Weaver is one of about 50 patients showing positive responses to a new treatment not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.With an unresponsive 7-year-old boy, Valerie McCormick took a chance on a Cannabidiol in December 2014. “Within weeks probably of him taking his first dose. I started noticing the seizure activity had started decreasing,” said McCormick. McCormick has spoken with NewsChannel 6 in the past and agreed to update us on how well her son is doing on the new trial. “He still has seizures everyday, but it’s a huge reduction compared to what it was,” she explained. McCormick’s son Preston is one of 48 patients taking part in Augusta University’s clinical research trial of Epidiolex. There were 52 children who initially enrolled in the study.READ MORE
N.J. migraine, chronic pain patients seek OK to use medical marijuana February 13, 2017 - Philadelphia Inquirer For the first time in the history of the seven-year-old New Jersey medical marijuana program, a health department panel will consider adding chronic pain and other ailments to the list of about a dozen conditions that qualify a patient to use cannabis in the state.A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22 before a panel of eight doctors, pharmacists, and nurses who were appointed by Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett nearly one year ago. People who submitted petitions to the panel last summer will be invited to testify starting at 10 a.m. at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Dr., Trenton. The public may also comment, said Donna Leusner, spokeswoman for the health department. “I think cannabis can replace all three of the medications I take for anxiety, migraines, and chronic pain,” said Bob Kane, 56, a retired landscaper from Ocean View, Cape May County, who submitted three petitions and had his family doctor write letters to the department supporting his request.READ MORE
The Need For Non-Opiate Painkillers In The NFL Pushes Cannabis Into The Spotlight February 13, 2017 - Forbes Every week, NFL players experience a wide array of injuries that cause them to suffer severe pain. Players equate the impact of play on the field to getting into multiple car accidents in one afternoon. Currently, the most commonly prescribed painkillers are opiate based. Clearly, opiates are addictive and have led to a nationwide epidemic. Over the years, I’ve had players become addicted to opiate-based painkillers. Seeking to avoid that tragedy makes it necessary to look for non-addictive alternatives. There has been a longstanding debate on whether marijuana should be allowed as a form of pain relief in the NFL. Historically, the league has suspended players for their recreational and medicinal use of the drug. With it now legal in 28 states for medical use and legal in seven states for recreational use, the push for permitting use of marijuana as a pain reliever is getting stronger. Per league and players’ union sources, the most commonly used marijuana-related substance among players is Cannabidiol (“CBD”). CBD is a compound that is extracted from the marijuana plant. CBD has so little of a psychoactive effect that federal law does not qualify it as marijuana. CBD oil has been used to treat many diseases; from acne, to diabetes, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and insomnia. READ MORE
Clinical Trial Using Marijuana To Treat PTSD In Veterans Gets Underway February 7, 2017 - The Army Times The first participant in a clinical trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness of smoking marijuana to treat PTSD in veterans was given cannabis on Monday, according to the organization conducting the study. The study is the first such trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of using marijuana to manage symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder in U.S. veterans, officials with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies said in a release on Tuesday. MAPS is a California-based non-profit research organization focused on “the careful uses” of marijuana, according to its website. The study is funded by a $2 million grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The study will look at the safety and effectiveness of four separate levels of marijuana potency in 76 veterans. It will provide data on marijuana dosing, composition and side effects, and the potential benefits of using pot to treat PTSD. The data will be intended for clinicians and legislators considering marijuana as a potential treatment for PTSD. READ MORE
Marijuana Compound Shows Some Potential for Treating Opioid Addiction February 6, 2017 - Yahoo via LifeSciences.com A component of marijuana may help heroin users resist the urge to use the drug and alleviate withdrawal symptoms, but more research should be done in this area, according to a new review of previous research. So far, research on these marijuana compounds, called cannabinoids, for treating opioid addiction has been scarce because of certain regulations that restrict their testing in humans, according to the review. Opioids, which are made from the opium poppy or synthetic versions of it, include hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine and heroin. This dearth of research in the field is particularly important considering the ongoing epidemic of opioid abuse in the United States, according to the review author. READ MORE
January 2017
Lawmakers Have Doubts That the System to License Marijuana Sales in California Will be in Place by Deadline January 31, 2017 - LA Times State lawmakers voiced doubts Monday about the ability of state agencies to finish crafting regulations and a licensing system for the sale of recreational marijuana in California by the end of this year, as promised to voters.The possibility of delay was raised at a hearing at the Capitol by three state Senate committees looking into whether state agencies are on track to complete the work this year. Agencies responsible for constructing a system for selling marijuana in California, including the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation, have fallen behind in some key tasks. Officials acknowledged that, while they can begin processing license applications by Jan. 1, 2018, the agency may not be able to issue all of the tens of thousands of licenses expected to be applied for by that deadline. Though the licensing system will not be complete by 2018, the bureau hopes to be able to begin processing applications by that time, but may initially have to issue some provisional licenses. READ MORE
NFLPA Composing Proposal for ‘Less Punitive’ Approach to Marijuana Use January 25, 2017 - Washington Post Leaders of the NFL Players Association are preparing a proposal that would amend the sport’s drug policies to take a “less punitive” approach to dealing with recreational marijuana use by players, according to the union’s executive director, DeMaurice Smith. The proposal will be presented to union’s board of player representatives, Smith said Tuesday. If it is approved by those players, Smith said, the proposal will be made to the league. The NFL would have to agree to any changes to the drug policy, which is negotiated and jointly administered by the league and players’ union. The proposal to modify the manner in which the league deals with recreational marijuana use would, if it is delivered, come as the NFLPA’s recently formed pain management committee separately studies the issue of marijuana use by players as a pain management tool and whether that should be permissible under the drug policies. READ MORE
This Scientist Thinks Cannabis Could Be a Wonder Drug For Treating MS January 23, 2017 - Huffington Post For the more than 400k Americans suffering from multiple sclerosis ― an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord ― the currently available treatments often fall woefully short. There’s no cure for MS, and frequently prescribed immunosuppressant drugs such as corticosteroids aren’t always effective in addressing common symptoms like weakness, tingling, numbness, blurred vision and cognitive difficulties. They can come with significant side effects such as increased risk of infection, weight gain, emotional changes and high blood pressure. Increasingly, many people with MS are turning to medical marijuana to ease their symptoms. A growing number of anecdotal reports describe the drug’s benefits for treating common symptoms like fatigue, muscle weakness, anxiety and sleep deprivation, according to Dr. Thorsten Rudroff, a Colorado State University neurophysiologist who has conducted research on the effects of marijuana on multiple sclerosis symptoms. One patient even called cannabis a “miracle cure” for MS.READ MORE
Researchers Test if Medical Cannabis Can Treat Pancreatic Cancer January 8, 2017 - News.com.au / Western AustraliaPERTH researchers are to test whether medical cannabis can pave a breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal diseases on the planet. Curtin University’s School of Biomedical Sciences is poised to start testing cannabis formulations against human pancreatic cell cancer lines grown in the laboratory. The project is in collaboration with Zelda Therapeutics, a Perth-based biopharmaceutical company, which will import the cannabis from Canada. The research will examine the usefulness of cannabis formulations as standalone treatments and in combination with existing chemotherapy drugs, such as Abraxane. Pancreatic cancer, the 11th most prevalent cancer diagnosed in Australia, is difficult to detect in the early stages and is highly aggressive. Only 6 per cent of sufferers survive for five years following diagnosis.READ MORE
Cannabis Nasal Spray Stops an Epileptic Seizure from Happening January 8, 2017 - News.com.au / Western AustraliaPERTH researchers are to test whether medical cannabis can pave a breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal diseases on the planet. Curtin University’s School of Biomedical Sciences is poised to start testing cannabis formulations against human pancreatic cell cancer lines grown in the laboratory. The project is in collaboration with Zelda Therapeutics, a Perth-based biopharmaceutical company, which will import the cannabis from Canada. The research will examine the usefulness of cannabis formulations as standalone treatments and in combination with existing chemotherapy drugs, such as Abraxane. Pancreatic cancer, the 11th most prevalent cancer diagnosed in Australia, is difficult to detect in the early stages and is highly aggressive. Only 6 per cent of sufferers survive for five years following diagnosis.READ MORE
I Made My Son Cannabis Cookies. They Changed His Life January 6, 2017 - Marie Myung-Ok Lee / Washington Post It took me awhile to perfect the cookie recipe. I experimented with ingredients: Blueberry, Strawberry, Sour Diesel, White Widow, Bubba Kush, AK-47 — all strains of cannabis, which I stored, mixed with glycerin, in meticulously labeled jars on a kitchen shelf. After the cookies finished baking, I’d taste a few crumbs and annotate the effects in a notebook. Often, I felt woozy. One variation put me to sleep. When I had convinced myself that a batch was okay, I’d give a cookie to my 9-year-old son.At the time he was consumed by violent rages. He would bang his head, scream for hours and literally eat his shirts. At dinnertime, he threw his plates so forcefully that there was food stuck on the ceiling. He would punch and scratch himself and others, such that people would look at the red streaks on our bodies and ask us, gingerly, if we had cats. But when I got the cookies right, he calmed down. His aggressions became less ferocious and less frequent. Mealtimes became less fraught. He was able to maintain enough self-composure that he even learned to ride a bike — despite every expert telling us it would never happen. READ MORE
Doctored Marijuana Gives Relief to Boy Whose Parents Found No Other Way to Help Him January 3, 2017 - SF Gate via Washington Post Jackson Leyden had always been a healthy kid; he practiced taekwondo, and he played lacrosse and baseball. But in 2011, a few months after his eighth birthday, he began having seizures several times a day. Many were brief, a half-minute of staring into space, but he also had severe episodes in which he would collapse, sometimes injuring himself. Over the next two years, he was hospitalized about 50 times, and he missed much of fourth and fifth grade. His parents took him to more than 20 doctors around the country, and he tried more than a dozen medications. Nothing worked. Two years ago, the Leydens were at the end of their rope. They decided to see whether marijuana might help. READ MORE
December 2016
Deaths From Synthetic Opioids Up 72%, CDC Says December 16, 2016 - CNN Death rates from synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, increased 72.2% from 2014 to 2015, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. The new report confirms the dramatic increase in opioid overdoses that first responders have been seeing as they respond to overdose calls. Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin and made headlines as the drug that killed pop star Princein April. The elephant tranquilizer carfentanil, a form of fentanyl and 10,000 times stronger than morphine, has also been claiming lives in a number of cities, as reported by local officials. READ MORE
The DEA Bursts the CBD Bubble December 15, 2016 - Project CBD The DEA has rained all over the CBD hemp oil parade. After hovering on the sidelines for several years while CBD ecommerce traversed state lines, America’s federal drug police have announced new rules that may portend a crackdown on CBD oil products — be they single molecule formulations or whole plant extracts derived from low-resin industrial hemp or high-resin cannabis. Many CBD hemp oil entrepreneurs seemed caught off guard.READ MORE
End The Ban On Marijuana In Sports December 12, 2016 - The Huffington Post In the last week we’ve heard from NBA legend Phil Jackson and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr talking about their own marijuana use and how they think professional sports leagues like the NBA and NFL should change their marijuana policies.Marijuana should not be a banned substance in professional sports. Marijuana is legal for medical use in 28 states and recreational use in 8 states plus Washington D.C., yet it is a banned substance in most professional sports and athletes are not allowed to use it. It is time for the sports world to catch up with the times and adopt more rational marijuana policies. READ MORE
New Medical Marijuana Research Could Greenlight More Uses in Treatment December 10, 2016 - The Guardian Despite its continuing hardline stance against marijuana, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has shown some signs of relenting and this summer opened the door to allowing more farms to grow cannabis for official research purposes. That’s an important step forward that may change the potential marijuana has for medical treatment. Up to this point, researchers have had to depend on just one farm at the University of Mississippi to supply cannabis for all studies. READ MORE
November 2016
The Case for Pot in the Age of Opioids November 30, 2016 - US News Medical marijuana legalization won big this Election Day. Thanks to ballot initiatives in Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota, 26 states and Washington, D.C. now have medical marijuana laws. Four states also legalized recreational marijuana, adding to the national trend. As states embrace pot, the federal government should follow suit and move toward legalizing medical marijuana nationwide to help save lives. In states where medical marijuana is legal, fewer lives are lost to opioid overdoses. Save lives by legally smoking weed? Yes. READ MORE
We Need Scientific Integrity in Cannabis Policy November 27, 2016 - Huffington Post In 2014, the New England Journal of Medicine ran a propaganda piece by Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) titled Adverse Health Effects of Marijuana Use. The article is occasionally referenced by neo-prohibitionists to demonstrate the position of the federal government that cannabis has no known medical use in the United States. This position is beyond absurd, it is dangerous to both public health and the role of science in the public square. READ MORE
NFL Player Using Marijuana for Crohn's Disease May Press League Over Its Drug Policy November 27, 2016 - Washington PostSeantrel Henderson, a third-year offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills, is facing his second suspension of the season for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse rules. But Henderson’s case is unusual because it raises fresh questions about the approach to pain management and changing attitudes about the legalization of marijuana. What makes Henderson’s situation unique is that he uses marijuana, which is legal in many states but prohibited under the collective bargaining agreement in the NFL, to combat the pain from Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that just this year has caused him to have two surgeries. READ MORE
New Study Suggests Cannabis Could Help Ease the Opioid Epidemic November 25, 2016 - MintPress News AUSTIN, TexasA new study suggests that cannabis could help ease the deadly opioid epidemic in the United States. Participants reported “a notable decrease in their use of conventional pharmaceutical agents,” including a 42-percent drop in the use of opiates, according to the pilot study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology on Oct. 13. READ MORE
Study: Marijuana Can Help Battle Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, and Addiction November 25, 2016 - Men's JournalThe most comprehensive research review ever done on the topic found that marijuana can help battle depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even addictions to alcohol and painkillers. Canadian psychologists pored over 60 published studies and articles, half of which examined the effects of medical marijuana, while the other half looked at recreational use. Because cannabis research is so young, pulling data from both types of studies provides the best confirmation yet that pot really can enhance — or even save — lives.READ MORE
Connecticut Seeking Medical Marijuana Researchers November 16, 2016 - New Haven Register The state is seeking proposals for research projects that could help strengthen and expand its medical marijuana program. The Dept of Consumer Protection starting accepting applications for projects on Oct. 1, the same day Connecticut’s medical marijuana program extended to minors with certain severe health problems. So far, two proposals have been submitted, said Leslie O’Brien, legislative program director at the department. Eligible applicants include hospitals, other health care facilities, higher education institutions, licensed medical marijuana producers and licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. The state legislature recently allowed for in-state research to take place. READ MORE
Marijuana Appears to Benefit Mental Health November 16, 2016 - TIME A new review suggests cannabis may help mental health disorders. Legal access to marijuana, medicinal or otherwise, is growing. In 2016, four states approved recreational use of the drug and four states passed laws related to medical-cannabis access, bringing the total number of states that allow some form of legal marijuana use to 28. Scientists know that marijuana contains more than 100 compounds, called cannabinoids, that have biological effects on the body.READ MORE
Medical Marijuana Helps Local Boy's Seizures November 14, 2016 - The Westerly Sun Linda and Chris Lloyd were at their wits’ end. Their 7-year-old son, Henry, who’d been having seizures since he was 2, had been on 13 different pharmaceutical drugs and homeopathic medicines to alleviate the symptoms of his severe epilepsy. The Pawcatuck couple had done all sorts of research about medical marijuana and had even thought about moving to a state where it was already legal to administer it to a child. So when it became legal in Connecticut on Oct. 1, the two started the process of getting a physician’s approvals and finding a dispensary from which to obtain the product for Henry. Henry was the first child in Connecticut to be approved for medical marijuana. READ MORE
As more states legalize marijuana, NFLPA to study potential as a pain-management tool November 9, 2016 - Washington Post - In the aftermath of a new set of states legalizing marijuana use in the national elections, the NFL Players Association said Wednesday it is actively studying the possibility of allowing players to use marijuana as a pain-management tool. The union is forming an NFL players pain management committee that will study players’ use of marijuana as a pain-management mechanism, among other things, though the union has not yet determined if an adjustment to the sport’s ban on marijuana use is warranted. READ MORE
Humboldt County pilot pot-tracking project eyed as model for state, Italy November 10, 2016 - Eureka Times Standard All marijuana products hoping to hit shelves and display cases in California will now be tracked and traced by the state government, but the test so far has been whether the system will work for a well-established cultivation industry. In that regard, Humboldt County is acting as the state’s first guinea pig after it began the first track-and-trace pilot program in August. The county’s tracking system is now being eyed as a model for the state and even other countries.READ MORE
No Pain, No Game: Why one ex-NFLer favors pot over painkillers November 2, 2016 - ESPN Broken leg, no big deal: clean line through the tibia. A Chargers defensive back landed on me in the end zone. Didn't feel like much, just a little click in my ankle. I jogged to the sideline, and one of my Broncos teammates ran on for me. There's always someone ready to run on."You OK?" a coach asked. "I think so," I said, and tried to walk it off, then sat on the bench. The game ended, and I limped across the field toward the locker room, my cleats scraping the concrete in the dilapidated bowels of San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. Pain does not deter an NFL player. It lights the way.READ MORE
October 2016
Get science right before implementing different DUI law for marijuana October 30, 2016 - SF Examiner Even as California and other states consider expanding the legal availability of marijuana for recreational as well as medicinal use, there has been a concerted push by some to create new laws criminalizing driving under the influence of marijuana’s active ingredient, THC. But those marijuana-specific proposals, while intended to prevent dangerous driving, are flawed and not ready for prime time.READ MORE
Radical Rant: Top 10 Myths about California's Prop 64 October 11, 2016 - High Times This misunderstanding of the law is at the crux of too many Californians’ opposition to Prop 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act. READ MORE
8 Reasons Why Californians Should Vote NO on Prop 64 October 7, 2016 - Connection Magazine Proponents of Prop. 64 are saying the initiative would end the drug war, free up cops and courts to focus on true crime, and even let imprisoned pot POWs go free. But a deeper look reveals that Prop. 64 will not do what it claims. Using the text of the initiative itself, this article looks at some of the misconceptions about Prop. 64. READ MORE
Justin Bieber Condemns Big Pharma For Blocking Medical Marijuana Legalization October 5, 2016 - The Huffington Post Medical marijuana advocates have a new ally ― and he’s tweeting his support to a massive audience. Justin Bieber criticized pharmaceutical companies on Twitter Sunday to raise awareness of the industry’s attempts to block medical marijuana legislation. “This is important,” the singer wrote. “I’m going to be talking more about this. We all need to pay attention.” And with 88.6 million followers, it’s safe to say he got some people to pay attention.READ MORE
The push to legalize pot for all has deeply divided the medical cannabis community October 4, 2016 - LA Times Come November, medical pot dispensary operator Lanette Davies won’t be joining others in her industry in voting for Proposition 64, a measure that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana. The initiative could create a flood of new customers for Davies’ nonprofit Canna Care pot shop, which is located in the back of an industrial park on the outskirts of Sacramento. But Davies fears the Nov. 8 ballot measure will result in big corporations driving out small operators, and the government setting steep taxes and fees on cannabis that will put it out of reach for many of her mostly low-income customers. READ MORE
September 2016
Medical cannabis seems to reduce deaths from pharmaceuticals
September 22, 2016 - Forbes Insys Therapeutics, the Arizona-based pharmaceutical company that recently became the biggest financial supporter of the campaign against marijuana legalization in that state, makes an oral spray that delivers the opioid painkiller fentanyl and plans to market another one that contains dronabinol, a synthetic version of THC. Insys says it gave $500,000 to the main group opposing Arizona’s legalization initiative because the measure “fails to protect the safety of Arizona’s citizens, and particularly its children.” But one needn’t be terribly cynical to surmise that Insys also worries about the impact that legalization might have on its bottom line, since marijuana could compete with its products.READ MORE
September 21, 2016 - The Denver Post DENVER — Marijuana pioneer Colorado is poised to add post-traumatic stress disorder to its medical marijuana program, joining 18 other states that consider PTSD a condition treatable by pot. The vote indicates a dramatic shift for a state that has allowed medical pot for more than a decade but hasn’t endorsed its use for PTSD. “Cannabis treats all the multiple issues that are going on with PTSD like no other drug,” said Dr. Joseph Cohen, a physician who recommends marijuana to patients for other ailments and testified in favor of adding PTSD to the medical program. READ MORE
Friday September 16, 2016 - Chicago TribuneMy mother, Michele Koo, a plastic surgeon who wears high heels and a white lab coat when seeing patients, may not be the person you'd imagine running a dispensary. Nor am I, a Stanford University graduate who left a job at Anheuser-Busch making Super Bowl commercials with the Budweiser Clydesdales. I have never used marijuana; my mom smoked a few times in college. We became interested in medical cannabis after my mom's mom — "Na," we called her, Chinese for grandmother — died of cancer in California without the benefit of cannabis as an end-of-life palliative.READ MORE
Sunday September 11, 2016 - Diabetes Care The American Diabetic Association's publication, Diabetes Care, published an abstract from a phase 2 study by GW Pharmaceuticals. Cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) are nonpsychoactive phytocannabinoids affecting lipid and glucose metabolism in animal models. This study set out to examine the effects of these compounds in patients with type 2 diabetes.READ MORE
Thursday September 8, 2016 - US News An embattled pharmaceutical company that sells the powerful painkiller fentanyl has donated $500,000 toward defeating a ballot initiative that would make recreational use of marijuana legal under Arizona law. It's hard to imagine a more sinister donor than Insys Therapeutics Inc. in the eyes of pot legalization proponents, who long have claimed drug companies want to keep cannabis illegal to corner the market for drugs, some addictive and dangerous, that relieve pain and other symptoms.READ MORE
Friday September 16, 2016 - Chicago TribuneMy mother, Michele Koo, a plastic surgeon who wears high heels and a white lab coat when seeing patients, may not be the person you'd imagine running a dispensary. Nor am I, a Stanford University graduate who left a job at Anheuser-Busch making Super Bowl commercials with the Budweiser Clydesdales. I have never used marijuana; my mom smoked a few times in college. We became interested in medical cannabis after my mom's mom — "Na," we called her, Chinese for grandmother — died of cancer in California without the benefit of cannabis as an end-of-life palliative. READ MORE
Wednesday September 7, 2016 - The WBOC16 “Gov. Jack Markell signed “Rylie’s Law Extension” into affect this afternoon at Rehoboth Elementary School. The law, officially House Bill 181, is an extension of the original law, which allowed children with intractable epilepsy and certain muscle disorders to enroll in the state’s medical marijuana program. READ MORE
Wednesday September 7, 2016 - North Coast NEWS As written, it would allow up to 12 different types of medical marijuana businesses to open, including those for cultivation and distribution. The council made amendments to this draft before passing it along to be drawn by city staff. READ MORE
Tuesday September 6, 2016 - SFGate “Seventy years ago it was on pharmacy shelves, now it’s time to get back to that; to understand plant medicine,” the 55 year-old singer/songwriter and breast cancer survivor told the leading music news outlet Sept. 2. Etheridge said she believes all cannabis use is medicinal, and she smokes every day to handle stress and restore balance, likening it to prescriptions for Ambien or Valium. READ MORE
Monday August 29, 2016 - The Washington Post Nathaniel P. Morris is a resident physician at Stanford Hospital specializing in mental health. He recently penned a strongly worded op-ed for ScientificAmerican.com on the differences between how some in the medical community view marijuana and how the federal government regulates it. READ MORE
Sunday August 28, 2016 - The Denver Post “Naturally, it shows that there is a certain amount of hypocrisy that there is ‘no accepted medical use’ for cannabis according to federal law,” Mendez said. “And yet here you have the very same government owning a patent for, ostensibly, a medical use for marijuana.” READ MORE
Friday August 26, 2016 - The LA Weekly As doctors, law enforcement and policy makers scramble to slow the spread of addiction, marijuana continues to show great promise in the treatment of acute and chronic pain, issues that are currently treated primarily via opiates. READ MORE
Monday August 22, 2016 - MMA Fighting "It's CBD," Diaz said after his majority decision loss to Conor McGregor. "It helps with the healing process and inflammation, stuff like that. So you want to get these for before and after the fights, training. It'll make your life a better place." READ MORE
Thursday August 11, 2016 - Yahoo News Groups fighting to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level were disappointed with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s announcement on Thursday that it will keep the plant in the same class of drugs as heroin — despite a growing movement calling for its outright legalization.. READ MORE
Monday August 1, 2016 - NY Daily News Marshall has especially embraced cannabidiol, or CBD, an extract of marijuana that is neither mind-altering nor addictive. He takes it daily to fight the debilitating headaches he suffers from thanks to the countless head injuries he received over the course of a 12-year career in the NFL. READ MORE
Monday July 25, 2016 - The Huffington Post The District of Columbia and the 17 states that had medical marijuana as an alternative to prescription drugs in 2013 saved an estimated total of $165.2 million in Medicare program and enrollee spending that year, researchers at the University of Georgia reportedin the journal Health Affairs this month. READ MORE