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.

Cannabis use for exercise recovery in trained individuals: a survey study

Cannabis use, be it either cannabidiol (CBD) use and/or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) use, shows promise to enhance exercise recovery. The present study aimed to determine if individuals are using CBD and/or THC as a means of recovery from aerobic and/or resistance exercise, as well as additional modalities that might be used to aid in recovery.

Does Cannabis Cause Heart Failure and Stroke?

Does Cannabis Cause Heart Failure and Stroke? You may have seen the recent headlines about two new studies that found “marijuana use raises risk of heart attack, heart failure and…

History of Cannabis

Fossil records suggest that close ancestors of the cannabis plant existed around 34 million years ago. Initially identified in central China, cannabis is thought to have been one of the first cultivated crops from which hemp was used to make rope, paper, and clothing.1 The cannabis plant was also used as food. Seeds from the plant were made into oil, and certain parts of the plant were used to make psychotropic drugs

Cannabidiol in Sports: Insights on How CBD could improve performance and recovery

Damage caused by physical exertion (anti-inflammatory) (Gamelin et al., 2020;Kennedy, 2017;Stone et al., 2023;Villanueva et al., 2022), and reduce pain caused by high physical demands (pain and soreness reliever) (see figure 1) (Gamelin et al., 2020;Henson et al., 2022;Kennedy, 2017). substances promote sleep controlled by the endocannabinoid system, which we can activate by consuming CBD (McCartney et al., 2020;Rojas-Valverde, 2021).Sleep management requires a precise balance of neurotransmitters, and CBD’s actions on the endocannabinoid system contribute to this balance. CBD interacts with adenosine receptors, which is significant since adenosine is a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep and relaxation.CBD promotes tranquillity and preparedness for sleep by boosting adenosine signalling.Furthermore, CBD’s effect on GABAergic neurotransmission adds to its sleep-enhancing properties (Kaul et al., 2021;Kesner & Lovinger, 2020). GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation and drowsiness by lowering neuronal excitability.CBD’s effect on GABA receptors can promote deeper, more comfortable sleep. Furthermore, CBD’s ability to relieve anxiety and stress, which are significant causes of sleep disruption, indirectly supports greater sleep quality (Blessing et al., 2015;Moltke & Hindocha, 2021;Ortiz Rios et al., 2022). CBD provides a biological foundation for its action via modifying endocannabinoid system signalling, increasing adenosine effects, and regulating GABAergic neurotransmission (Martinez Naya et al., 2023;Yarar, 2020;Zou & Kumar, 2018).

Understanding feeling “high” and its role in medical cannabis patient outcomes

Our study uses data from the mobile health app, Releaf AppTM, through which 1,882 people tracked the effects of Cannabis flower on a multitude of health conditions during 16,480 medical cannabis self-administration sessions recorded between 6/5/2016 and 3/11/2021. Session-level reported information included plant phenotypes, modes of administration, potencies, baseline and post- administration symptom intensity levels, total dose used, and real-time side effect experiences.

The highs and the lows: Recreational marijuana laws and mental health treatment

Recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) continue to grow in popularity, but the effects on mental health treatment are unclear. This paper uses an event-study within a difference-in-differences framework to study the short-run impact of state RMLs on admissions into mental health treatment facilities. The results indicate that shortly after a state adopts an RML, they experience a decrease in the average number of mental health treatment admissions. The findings are driven by white, Black, and Medicaid-funded admissions and are consistent for both male and female admissions. The results are robust to alternative specifications and sensitivity analysis.

The modulatory role of cannabis use in subconcussive neural injury

Cannabis use has become popular among athletes, many of whom are exposed to repetitive subconcussive head impacts. We aimed to test whether chronic cannabis use would be neuroprotective or exacerbating against acute subconcussive head impacts. This trial included 43 adult soccer players (Cannabis group using cannabis at least once a week for the past 6 months, n = 24; non-cannabis control group, n = 19). Twenty soccer headings, induced by our controlled heading model, significantly impaired ocular-motor function, but the degrees of impairments were less in the cannabis group compared to controls. The control group significantly increased its serum S100B level after heading, whereas no change was observed in the cannabis group. There was no group difference in serum neurofilament light levels at any time point. Our data suggest that chronic cannabis use may be associated with an enhancement of oculomotor functional resiliency and suppression of the neuroinflammatory response following 20 soccer headings.

Middle School Cannabis Curriculum

SCC Member, Dave Gordon MD, was recently invited to review a middle school cannabis curriculum. Read below to see how education for this population has evolved since the DARE Program days.

Medical Cannabis Science & Therapeutics Masters Program Commencement Ceremony

It is with great honor and pride that we share that our SCC Board Member, Dr. Patricia Frye, on the 17th of May 2023, gave the Commencement Ceremony to the…

A Retrospective Medical Record Review of Adults with Non-Cancer Diagnoses Prescribed Medicinal Cannabis

Research describing patients using medicinal cannabis and its effectiveness is lacking. We aimed to describe adults with non-cancer diagnoses who are prescribed medicinal cannabis via a retrospective medical record review and assess its effectiveness and safety. From 157 Australian records, most were female (63.7%; mean age 63.0 years). Most patients had neurological (58.0%) or musculoskeletal (24.8%) conditions. Medicinal cannabis was perceived beneficial by 53.5% of patients.

Cannabis sativa and Cannabidiol: A Therapeutic Strategy for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases?

This work is a literature review, presenting the current state of the use of cannabinoids on neurodegenerative diseases. The emphasis is on Parkinson’s (PD) and Alzheimer’s (AD) diseases, the two most prevalent neurological diseases. The review goes from Cannabis sativa and its hundreds of bioactive compounds to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and mainly cannabidiol (CBD) and their interactions with the endocannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2).

Clinical and cognitive improvement following full-spectrum, high-cannabidiol treatment for anxiety: open-label data from a two-stage, phase 2 clinical trial

Evidence suggests cannabidiol (CBD) has anxiolytic properties, indicating potential for novel treatment strategies. However, few clinical trials of CBD-based products have been conducted, and none thus far have examined the impact of these products on cognition.