http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26303557
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(15)00217-5/fulltext
“There is considerable interest in the effects of medical marijuana laws (MML) on marijuana use in the USA, particularly among youth. The article by Stolzenberg et al. (2015) “The effect of medical cannabis laws on juvenile cannabis use” concludes that “implementation of medical cannabis laws increase juvenile cannabis use”. This result is opposite to the findings of other studies that analysed the same US National Survey on Drug Use in Households data as well as opposite to studies analysing other national data which show no increase or even a decrease in youth marijuana use after the passage of MML. We provide a replication of the Stolzenberg et al. results and demonstrate how the comparison they are making is actually driven by differences between states with and without MML rather than being driven by pre and post-MML changes within states. We show that Stolzenberg et al. do not properly control for the fact that states that pass MML during 2002-2011 tend to already have higher past-month marijuana use before passing the MML in the first place. We further show that when within-state changes are properly considered and pre-MML prevalence is properly controlled, there is no evidence of a differential increase in past-month marijuana use in youth that can be attributed to state MML.”
“This may be hard to believe — as we’re fairly accustomed to the notion that inhaling smoke is always bad for your health — but research shows smoking marijuana actually decreases the risk for developing lung cancer.
According to multiple study findings published on Cancer.gov, “Cannabinoids appear to kill tumor cells but do not affect their nontransformed counterparts and may even protect them from cell death.”
Dr. Donald Tashkin, professor emeritus of medicine at UCLA, also recently revealed to LA Weekly that after 30 years of studying the effects of marijuana smoke on lung function, he did not find any association between lung cancer and smoking weed.
Tashkin also found smoking marijuana does not lead to impaired lung function even after years of habitual use.”
More: http://extract.suntimes.com/information-resources/10/153/892/smoking-marijuana-reduces-cancer-risk
“Cannabis has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory. Cannabinoids appear to kill tumor cells but do not affect their nontransformed counterparts and may even protect them from cell death.” http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/cannabis-pdq#section/all
“This case study illustrates the use of cannabidiol (CBD) oil to decrease the addictive use of marijuana and provide anxiolytic and sleep benefits.
The second most abundant component-CBD-has been suggested to have the medicinal effects of decreasing anxiety, improving sleep, and other neuro-protective effects.
The mechanism of action for CBD has been suggested to be antagonistic to the psychoactive properties of THC in many locations within the central nervous system. Such action raises the issue of whether it might be beneficial to use CBD in isolation to facilitate withdrawal of marijuana use.
With use of the CBD oil, the patient reported being less anxious, as well as settling into a regular pattern of sleep. He also indicated that he had not used any marijuana since starting the CBD oil. With the decrease in the dosage to 18 mg, the patient was able to maintain his nonuse of marijuana.”
“New regulations are in place at the federal and provincial levels in Canada regarding the way medical cannabis is to be controlled. We present them together with guidance for the safe use of medical cannabis and recent clinical trials on cannabis and pain.
“Different types of insults to the CNS lead to axon demyelination. Remyelination occurs when the CNS attempts to recover from myelin loss and requires the activation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells.
With the rationale that CB1 receptor is expressed in oligodendrocytes and marijuana consumption alters CNS myelination, we study the effects of the cannabinoid agonist WIN55212.2 in (1) an in vitro model of oligodendrocyte differentiation and (2) the cuprizone model for demyelination.
“The purpose of this article is to review the current status of cannabis in the treatment of glaucoma, including the greater availability of marijuana in the USA.
The pharmacology of marijuana and its effect on intraocular pressure has not changed since the research in the 1970s and 1980s.
Marijuana is an effective ocular hypotensive agent.
However, cardiovascular and neurological effects are observed at the same dose, and may theoretically reduce the beneficial effect of lowering intraocular pressure by reducing ocular blood flow. The clinician must be cognizant of this potential in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.”
“The endocannabinoids, endogenous lipid mediators of related chemical structure to the prototype exogenous cannabinoid Δ9-THC found in marijuana, have emerged as important mediators that regulate central and peripheral neural functions as well as immune responses.
Endogenous and exogenous cannabinoid ligands bind to cannabinoid receptors: the predominant central cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) and the peripheral cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2). CB1 and CB2 are members of the G-protein coupled receptor family.
Cannabinoids were shown to modulate the immune system and to affect the migration of blood cells, such as T-cells, monocytes and myeloid leukemia cells, through CB receptors.
Recent data indicate the potential role of cannabinoid ligands and receptors in the regulation of hematopoiesis and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) migration and trafficking.
These studies may lead to clinical applications of cannabinoid-based compounds as new HSC-mobilizer agents for therapeutic intervention in bone marrow failure.”
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-2993-3_30
“Laboratory data suggest that marijuana could have an immunomodulatory effect.
Little is known, however, regarding the effects of marijuana use on cervical HPV or neoplasia. Therefore, we studied the natural history (i.e., prevalence, incident detection, clearance/persistence) of cervical HPV and cervical neoplasia (i.e., squamous intraepithelial lesions; SIL) in a large prospective cohort of 2,584 HIV-seropositive and 915 HIV-seronegative women.
No positive associations were observed between use of marijuana, and either cervical HPV infection or SIL. The findings were similar among HIV-seropositive and HIV-seronegative women, and in tobacco smokers and nonsmokers. These data suggest that marijuana use does not increase the burden of cervical HPV infection or SIL.
In summary, our investigation found no positive associations between marijuana use and cervical HPV or SIL. These findings are comforting given the high prevalence of marijuana use in HIV-seropositive and other populations…”
“Cannabis has been cultivated and used by humans for thousands of years. Research for decades was focused on understanding the mechanisms of an illegal/addictive drug. This led to the discovery of the vast endocannabinoid system.
Research has now shifted to understanding fundamental biological questions related to one of the most widespread signaling systems in both the brain and the body.
Our understanding of cannabinoid signaling has advanced significantly in the last two decades. In this review, we discuss the state of knowledge on mechanisms of Cannabis signaling in the brain and the modulation of key brain neurotransmitter systems involved in both brain reward/addiction and psychiatric disorders.
It is highly probable that various cannabinoids will be found to be efficacious in the treatment of a number of psychiatric disorders.
We are at crossroads for research on endocannabinoid function and therapeutics (including the use of exogenous treatments such as Cannabis).
With over 100 cannabinoid constituents, the majority of which have not been studied, there is much Cannabis research yet to be done. With more states legalizing both the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana the rigorous scientific investigation into cannabinoid signaling is imperative.”
