Tag Archives: marijuana

Differential physiological and behavioral cues observed in individuals smoking botanical marijuana versus synthetic cannabinoid drugs.

Posted on by
Reply

“Synthetic cannabinoid use has increased in many states, and medicinal and/or recreational marijuana use has been legalized in some states. These changes present challenges to law enforcement drug recognition experts (DREs) who determine whether drivers are impaired by synthetic cannabinoids or marijuana, as well as to clinical toxicologists who care for patients with complications from synthetic cannabinoids and marijuana.

Our goal was to compare what effects synthetic cannabinoids and marijuana had on performance and behavior, including driving impairment, by reviewing records generated by law enforcement DREs who evaluated motorists arrested for impaired driving.

 Drivers under the influence of synthetic cannabinoids were more frequently impaired with confusion, disorientation, and incoherent, slurred speech than drivers under the influence of marijuana in this population evaluated by DREs.”

Effects of marijuana smoking on the lung.

Posted on by
Reply

“…habitual use of marijuana alone does not appear to lead to significant abnormalities in lung function, except for possible increases in lung volumes… no clear link to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been established… findings from a limited number of well-designed epidemiological studies do not suggest an increased risk for the development of either lung or upper airway cancer from light or moderate use… In summary, the accumulated weight of evidence implies far lower risks for pulmonary complications of even regular heavy use of marijuana compared with the grave pulmonary consequences of tobacco.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23802821

Medical Marijuana.

Posted on by
Reply

“The use of medicinal marijuana is increasing. Marijuana has been shown to have therapeutic effects in certain patients, but further research is needed regarding the safety and efficacy of marijuana as a medical treatment for various conditions. A growing body of research validates the use of marijuana for a variety of healthcare problems, but there are many issues surrounding the use of this substance. This article discusses the use of medical marijuana and provides implications for home care clinicians.”

Endocannabinoid Regulation of Neuroendocrine Systems.

Posted on by
Reply

“The hypothalamus is a part of the brain that is critical for sustaining life through its homeostatic control and integrative regulation of the autonomic nervous system and neuroendocrine systems. Neuroendocrine function in mammals is mediated mainly through the control of pituitary hormone secretion by diverse neuroendocrine cell groups in the hypothalamus.

Cannabinoid receptors are expressed throughout the hypothalamus, and endocannabinoids have been found to exert pronounced regulatory effects on neuroendocrine function via modulation of the outputs of several neuroendocrine systems.

Here, we review the physiological regulation of neuroendocrine function by endocannabinoids, focusing on the role of endocannabinoids in the neuroendocrine regulation of the stress response, food intake, fluid homeostasis, and reproductive function.

Cannabis sativa (marijuana) has a long history of recreational and/or medicinal use dating back to ancient times. It was used as an analgesic, anesthetic, and antianxiety herb as early as 2600 B.C.

The hedonic, anxiolytic, and mood-elevating properties of cannabis have also been cited in ancient records from different cultures. However, it was not until 1964 that the psychoactive constituent of cannabis, Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, was isolated and its chemical structure determined (Gaoni & Mechoulam, 1964).”

Liver’s cannabinoid receptors could be targeted to combat liver cancer in some patients

Posted on by
Reply

News Medical - Life Sciences & Medicine

“A new study reveals that the liver’s cannabinoid receptors could be targeted to fight liver cancer in some patients; and it offers a way to predict what treatments have the best chance of working.

The body’s own marijuana-like substances, — called endocannabinoids — are known to increase the biosynthesis of fatty acids in the liver by activating cannabinoid type 1 receptors (CB1). CB1 receptors can be found in the brain, lungs, liver and kidney, and they are involved in a number of physiological processes, including mood, appetite, pain sensation and memory.

The study found that the expression of these receptors increased in cancerous liver samples, when compared with cancer-free samples. This suggests that drugs that block CB1 receptors may be effective against HCC.

“Although such drugs were found to cause unwanted psychiatric side effects, non brain-penetrant CB1 receptor antagonists devoid of such side effects — but retaining therapeutic efficacy via peripheral CB1 receptors — are currently being developed,” says study co-author George Kunos, scientific director at the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).”

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20151123/Livers-cannabinoid-receptors-could-be-targeted-to-combat-liver-cancer-in-some-patients.aspx

Self-Medication of Somatic and Psychiatric Conditions Using Botanical Marijuana.

Posted on by
Reply

“As a complement to research evaluating botanical marijuana as a medical therapy for various somatic and psychiatric conditions, there is a growing body of research assessing marijuana users’ self-reports of the symptoms and conditions for which they use marijuana without a physician’s recommendation.

As part of two larger web-based surveys and one in-situ survey at an outdoor marijuana festival, we asked regular marijuana users if they consumed the drug without a physician’s recommendation and, if so, to describe (or select from a checklist) the conditions for which they used marijuana as a medication.

Participants reported using marijuana to self-medicate a wide variety of both somatic conditions (such as pain, diabetes, and irritable bowel syndrome) and psychiatric conditions (such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia).

Because fewer than half of the American states, and only a few countries, allow physicians to recommend medicinal marijuana, these findings may be of interest to clinicians as they treat patients, to lawmakers and policymakers as they consider legislation allowing physicians to recommend botanical marijuana for somatic and psychiatric conditions, and to researchers evaluating conditions that individuals elect to self-medicate using botanical marijuana.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26595140

The Effect of Medical Marijuana Laws on Body Weight.

Posted on by
Reply

“This study is the first to examine the effects of medical marijuana laws (MMLs) on body weight, physical wellness, and exercise.

Using data from the 1990 to 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and a difference-in-difference approach, we find that the enforcement of MMLs is associated with a 2% to 6% decline in the probability of obesity.

We find some evidence of age-specific heterogeneity in mechanisms. For older individuals, MML-induced increases in physical mobility may be a relatively important channel, while for younger individuals, a reduction in consumption of alcohol, a substitute for marijuana, appears more important.

These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that MMLs may be more likely to induce marijuana use for health-related reasons among older individuals, and cause substitution toward lower-calorie recreational ‘highs’ among younger individuals.

Our estimates suggest that MMLs induce a $58 to $115 per-person annual reduction in obesity-related medical costs.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26602324

Daily Marijuana Use Is Not Associated with Brain Morphometric Measures in Adolescents or Adults

Posted on by
Reply

“No statistically significant differences were found between daily users and nonusers on volume or shape in the regions of interest.

Effect sizes suggest that the failure to find differences was not due to a lack of statistical power, but rather was due to the lack of even a modest effect.

In sum, the results indicate that, when carefully controlling for alcohol use, gender, age, and other variables, there is no association between marijuana use and standard volumetric or shape measurements of subcortical structures.

The press may not cite studies that do not find sensational effects, but these studies are still extremely important. While the literature clearly supports a deleterious short-term effect of marijuana on learning and memory, it seems unlikely that marijuana use has the same level of long-term deleterious effects on brain morphology as other drugs like alcohol.”

http://www.jneurosci.org/content/35/4/1505.full

Seeing over the horizon – targeting the endocannabinoid system for the treatment of ocular disease.

Posted on by
Reply

“The observation that marijuana reduces intraocular pressure was made by Hepler and Frank in the 1970s. Since then, there has been a significant body of work investigating cannabinoids for their potential use as therapeutics.

To date, no endocannabinoid system (ECS)-modulating drug has been approved for clinical use in the eye; however, recent advances in our understanding of the ECS, as well as new pharmacological tools, has renewed interest in the development of ocular ECS-based therapeutics.

This review summarizes the current state-of-affairs for the use of ECS-modulating drugs for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular inflammatory and ischemic disease.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26565550

Metabolic Syndrome among Marijuana Users in the United States: An Analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data.

Posted on by
Reply

“Research on the health effects of marijuana use in light of its increased medical use and the current obesity epidemic is needed. Our objective was to explore the relationship between marijuana use and metabolic syndrome across stages of adulthood…

Current marijuana users had lower odds of presenting with metabolic syndrome than never users. Among emerging adults, current marijuana users were 54% less likely than never users to present with metabolic syndrome. Current and past middle-aged adult marijuana users were less likely to have metabolic syndrome than never users.

CONCLUSIONS:

Current marijuana use is associated with lower odds of metabolic syndrome across emerging and middle-aged US adults.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26548604