This category needs to be renamed to be meaningful than “Miscellaneous” but it will do for now. Basically it’s intended for news, research, legal actions and other information about medical marijuana for the general, nonexpert audience: patients, jouralists, the curious, etc.

Medical Marijuana: Is the Cart Before the Horse?

Authors: Deepak Cyril D’Souza, Mohini Ranganathan
JAMA, 23 June 2015

There is a pressing need to develop new medications for many debilitating conditions. Novel approaches based on marijuana or its constituent cannabinoids, if proven, could be added to the armamentarium of available treatments. In this issue of JAMA, reviews by Whiting et al1 a…

Current Status and Future of Cannabis Research

Authors: Ethan B. Russo, Alice P. Mead, Dustin Sulak
Clinical Researcher, April 2015

Although cannabis is primarily viewed by the public as a recreational drug or agent of abuse, its medical application spans recorded history.1,2 Evolution has yielded a cannabis plant that produces a family of some 100 chemicals called phytocannabinoids (“plant cannabinoids”)…

The impact of marijuana policies on youth: clinical, research, and legal update.

Authors: COMMITTEE ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE, COMMITTEE ON ADOLESCENCE
Pediatrics, March 2015

This policy statement is an update of the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement “Legalization of Marijuana: Potential Impact on Youth,” published in 2004. Pediatricians have special expertise in the care of children and adolescents and may be called on to advise legi…

Systematic review: efficacy and safety of medical marijuana in selected neurologic disorders.

Authors: Barbara S. Koppel, John C.M. Brust, Terry Fife, Jeff Bronstein, Sarah Youssof, et al
Neurology, 29 April 2014

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of medical marijuana in several neurologic conditions. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of medical marijuana (1948-November 2013) to address treatment of symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, and movement disorders. We gra…

Epigenetic control of skin differentiation genes by phytocannabinoids.

Authors: Mariangela Pucci, Cinzia Rapino, Andrea Di Francesco, Enrico Dainese, et al
British Journal of Pharmacology, October 2013

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Endocannabinoid signalling has been shown to have a role in the control of epidermal physiology, whereby anandamide is able to regulate the expression of skin differentiation genes through DNA methylation. Here, we investigated the possible epigenetic r…

Cannabinoid exposure in adolescent female rats induces transgenerational effects on morphine conditioned place preference in male offspring.

Authors: John J Byrnes, Nicole L Johnson, Marian E Schenk, Elizabeth M Byrnes
Journal of Psychopharmacology, October 2012

In the United States, marijuana is one of the drugs most abused by adolescents, with females representing a growing number of users. In previous studies, treatment of adolescent female rats with morphine significantly altered brain reward systems in future offspring. As both c…

Effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol administration on human encoding and recall memory function: a pharmacological FMRI study.

Authors: Matthijs G. Bossong, Gerry Jager, Hendrika H. van Hell, Lineke Zuurman, et al
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, March 2012

Deficits in memory function are an incapacitating aspect of various psychiatric and neurological disorders. Animal studies have recently provided strong evidence for involvement of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in memory function. Neuropsychological studies in humans have s…

Beyond-THC Chemovar Evaluation Survey

The Society of Cannabis Clinicians developed a survey in 2011 that asked about patients’ responses to CBD-rich cannabis.

Taming THC: potential cannabis synergy and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects.

Authors: Ethan B. Russo
British Journal of Pharmacology, August 2011

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been the primary focus of cannabis research since 1964, when Raphael Mechoulam isolated and synthesized it. More recently, the synergistic contributions of cannabidiol to cannabis pharmacology and analgesia have been scientifically demonstrated…

SCC Hears McAllister On Cannabis Cancer Research

Researchers have discovered that CBD (Cannabidiol) is a very potent inhibitor of breast cancer metastasis. Doctors who monitor cannabis use by patients were bursting with questions during a talk by Sean McAllister, PhD, who has been studying the anti-cancer effects of cannabinoids in the laboratory.

The CB(2) cannabinoid receptor regulates human sperm cell motility.

Authors: Ekaitz Agirregoitia, Arkaitz Carracedo, Nerea Subirán, Asier Valdivia, et al
Fertility and Sterility, 15 March 2010

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the expression and distribution of cannabinoid receptors in human sperm cells and evaluate the effects of activation of receptors by specific agonists and antagonists, with a special emphasis on the CB(2) receptor. DESIGN: We performed expression assays f…

Cannabis and breastfeeding.

Authors: Aurélia Garry, Virginie Rigourd, Ammar Amirouche, Valérie Fauroux, Sylvie Aubry, Raphaël Serreau
Journal of Toxicology, 2009

Cannabis is a drug derived from hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, used both as a recreational drug or as medicine. It is a widespread illegal substance, generally smoked for its hallucinogenic properties. Little is known about the adverse effects of postnatal cannabis exposure thro…