“To assess the association between medical marijuana laws (MMLs) and the odds of a positive opioid test, an indicator for prior use.
State-specific estimates indicated a reduction in opioid positivity for most states after implementation of an operational MML,
Operational MMLs are associated with reductions in opioid positivity among 21- to 40-year-old fatally injured drivers and may reduce opioid use and overdose.”
“Contrary to the image that athletes do not use psychoactive drugs, this review suggests that a number of athletic subgroups are at increased risk for marijuana use. Surprisingly, a common rationale for use appears to be to enhance sports performance.”
“Since 2002, marijuana use in the United States has increased among persons aged ≥18 years, but not among those aged 12-17 years.”
“Since 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana in some form, suppliers of legal marijuana have developed Cannabis sativa products for use in electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes).
Personal battery powered vaporizers, or e-cigarettes, were developed to deliver a nicotine vapor such that smokers could simulate smoking tobacco without the inherent pathology of inhaled tobacco smoke. The liquid formulations used in these devices are comprised of an active ingredient such as nicotine mixed with vegetable glycerin (VG) and/or propylene glycol (PG) and flavorings.
A significant active ingredient of C. sativa, cannabidiol (CBD), has been purported to have anti-convulsant, anti-nociceptive, and anti-psychotic properties. These properties have potential medical therapies such as intervention of addictive behaviors, treatments for epilepsy, management of pain for cancer patients, and treatments for schizophrenia.
However, CBD extracted from C. sativa remains a DEA Schedule I drug since it has not been approved by the FDA for medical purposes.
Two commercially available e-cigarette liquid formulations reported to contain 3.3 mg/mL of CBD as the active ingredient were evaluated. These products are not regulated by the FDA in manufacturing or in labeling of the products and were found to contain 6.5 and 7.6 mg/mL of CBD in VG and PG with a variety of flavoring agents. Presently, while labeled as to content, the quality control of manufacturers and the relative safety of these products is uncertain.”
“Although marijuana use is commonly associated with increased appetite and the likelihood of weight gain, research findings in this area are mixed.
Most studies, however, report cross-sectional associations and rarely control for such important predictors as physical activity, socioeconomic status, and alcohol and other drug use.
The present study indicates a negative association between marijuana use and BMI.
Uncovering a negative association between marijuana use and weight status is a valuable contribution to the literature, as this result contradicts those from some previous studies, which were unable to address time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27572145
“To estimate whether marijuana use in pregnancy increases risks for adverse neonatal outcomes and clarify if any increased risk is attributable to marijuana use itself or to confounding factors such as tobacco use.
Maternal marijuana use during pregnancy is not an independent risk factor for adverse neonatal outcomes after adjusting for confounding factors.
Thus, the association between maternal marijuana use and adverse outcomes appears attributable to concomitant tobacco use and other confounding factors.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27607879
“Marijuana Is Safe During pregnancy, Experts Do Not Encourage. Marijuana does not increase pregnancy risk according to new research. It does not have a negative outcome when it comes to premature birth and low birth weight. Still, experts do not encourage marijuana use during pregnancy.” http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/47194/20160910/marijuana-safe-during-pregnancy-experts-encourage.htm
“The relationship between cannabinoid receptor signaling and psychosis vulnerability requires further exploration.
The endocannabinoid signaling system is extensive, with receptors exerting regulatory functions in both immune and central nervous systems.
In the brain, cannabinoid receptors (CBR) directly modulate neurotransmitter systems.
In the peripheral lymphocyte, CBRs mediate cytokine release, with dysregulated cytokine levels demonstrated in schizophrenia.
These results continue to support dysregulation of particular aspects of the endocannabinoid signaling system in participants with schizophrenia selected for the self-reported absence of marijuana abuse/dependence.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27591408
“Epidemiologic evidence supporting antiseizure properties of cannabis is limited and controversial.
We determined the prevalence of marijuana use and its perceived effects in patients with and without epilepsy.
Patients with uncontrolled epilepsy or nonepileptic events had a high rate of marijuana use with associated perceived improvements in seizure control, stress, sleep, and drug side effects.
Stress reduction may contribute to the perceived impact of marijuana on seizures and nonepileptic events in adults.”
“In ancient medicine, extracts of the marijuana plant Cannabis sativa were used against diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Today, our knowledge of the ingredients of the Cannabis plant has remarkably advanced enabling us to use a variety of herbal and synthetic cannabinoid (CB) compounds to study the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a physiologic entity that controls tissue homeostasis with the help of endogenously produced CBs and their receptors.
After many anecdotal reports suggested beneficial effects of Cannabis in GI disorders, it was not surprising to discover that the GI tract accommodates and expresses all the components of the ECS.
Cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoids, participate in the regulation of GI motility, secretion, and the maintenance of the epithelial barrier integrity.
In addition, other receptors, such as the transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and the G-protein coupled receptor 55 (GPR55), are important participants in the actions of CBs in the gut and critically determine the course of bowel inflammation and colon cancer.
The following review summarizes important and recent findings on the role of CB receptors and their ligands in the GI tract with emphasis on GI disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and colon cancer.”
“Although many anecdotal reports indicate that marijuana and its active constituent, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC), may reduce pain sensation, studies of humans have produced inconsistent results. In animal studies, the apparent pain-suppressing effects of delta-9-THC and other cannabinoid drugs are confounded by motor deficits. Here we show that a brainstem circuit that contributes to the pain-suppressing effects of morphine is also required for the analgesic effects of cannabinoids. Inactivation of the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) prevents the analgesia but not the motor deficits produced by systemically administered cannabinoids. Furthermore, cannabinoids produce analgesia by modulating RVM neuronal activity in a manner similar to, but pharmacologically dissociable from, that of morphine. We also show that endogenous cannabinoids tonically regulate pain thresholds in part through the modulation of RVM neuronal activity. These results show that analgesia produced by cannabinoids and opioids involves similar brainstem circuitry and that cannabinoids are indeed centrally acting analgesics with a new mechanism of action.”