Another result from Tuesday’s US election — 63% of voters in Michigan approved of letting people who are ill grow their own pot. Continue reading Michigan voters say OK to medical marijuana
Category Archives: Marijuana (Cannabinoids)
CAM and diabetes: An update of recent studies
The World Health Organization has predicted a 39% rise in the worldwide prevalence of diabetes by 2030. And an article in The Lancet indicates this might be an underestimation.
Since November is Diabetes Month, here’s a round-up of CAM options for people with diabetes from 2006 through March 2007.
Continue reading CAM and diabetes: An update of recent studies
The effects of smoking pot by pregnant mums on their offspring.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania report negative effects on school-age children’s intellectual development. Continue reading The effects of smoking pot by pregnant mums on their offspring.
Effect of cannabis on the onset of psychosis
Researchers from Spain and Boston studied the relationship between age and cannabis use in patients with a first psychotic episode. Continue reading Effect of cannabis on the onset of psychosis
Cannabis use in hepatitis C
Cannabis use should be discouraged in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), according to researchers in France.
First, the details.
- 315 patients with untreated CHC and having a liver biopsy were studied.
- Detailed histories of recent marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco use were recorded.
- The biopsies were examined using METAVIR — a scoring system that gives an indication of the activity or amount of inflammation and amount of fibrosis or scarring in the liver.
And, the results.
There were 6 predictors of marked steatosis (accumulation of fat in the liver).
- Daily cannabis users compared to occasional users and nonusers
- Viral activity grade of the disease (greater or equal to A2)
- Genotype 3 (one of the genetic variations and stains of hepatitis C)
- Body mass index (BMI) greater than 27 kg/m2
- High blood sugar levels or diabetes
- HCV RNA load in the blood (associated with a worse outcome of disease) or alcohol intake (greater than 30 g/day)
The bottom line?
Steatosis is important because a build up of fat in the liver worsens liver damage and makes CHC harder to treat.
The authors concluded that daily cannabis smoking is a “predictor of steatosis severity during CHC.” And they recommend that “cannabis use should be discouraged in patients with CHC.”
Among the 6 predictors of steatosis reported in this study, marijuana use is a comparatively easy risk factor to modify and thereby reduce the severity of this disease.
7/6/08 11:05 JR
Debate: Don’t be fooled into legalizing marijuana
Earlier this year, a study published by researchers at Texas A&M Health Science Center concluded, “Consistent with other studies of the liberalization of cannabis laws, medical cannabis laws do not appear to increase use of the drug.”
Gee wiz. I guess that’s the end of that debate. Not really, as I debate the issue with a valued reader of this blog. Continue reading Debate: Don’t be fooled into legalizing marijuana
A study of cannabis cigarettes for neuropathic pain
Researchers from the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento tell us “Despite [a] lack of scientific validation, many patients routinely use ‘medical marijuana,’ and in many cases this use is for pain related to nerve injury.”
In this study, “no effect on evoked pain was seen.” Continue reading A study of cannabis cigarettes for neuropathic pain
Oral cannabis is not effective for acute pain
There’s some supporting evidence in animals, but what about in humans? Continue reading Oral cannabis is not effective for acute pain
Negative effects of cannabinoids on human sperm
Delta(9)- and Delta(8)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are potent inhibitors of mitochondrial respiration in human sperm, according to this study by researchers at the State University of New York, Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Continue reading Negative effects of cannabinoids on human sperm
Cannabis and psychosis in adolescence
In the largest unselected, population-based study on this topic to date, researchers from Finland observed “Cannabis use is associated with prodromal symptoms of psychosis in adolescence.” Continue reading Cannabis and psychosis in adolescence
Brain shrinks with long-term marijuana use
According to this study by Dr. Murat Yücel at the University of Melbourne in Australia, heavy, long-term marijuana use was associated with significant changes in hippocampus and amygdala volumes by -6% to -12%. Continue reading Brain shrinks with long-term marijuana use
The role for marijuana in medical practice
Two Canadian doctors debate the issue. And a reader debates me.
Enjoy!
Continue reading The role for marijuana in medical practice
The effect of marijuana on ADHD
It’s not just pot, but tobacco and alcohol also appear to influence the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Continue reading The effect of marijuana on ADHD
Cannabis drug fails in neuropathic pain due to MS
GW Pharmaceuticals has announced that its major study of Sativex in 339 patients with central neuropathic pain due to multiple sclerosis (MS) failed to provide adequate pain relieve in patients who had failed conventional therapy previously. Continue reading Cannabis drug fails in neuropathic pain due to MS
Making a case for an endocannabinoid deficiency
Dr. Ethan Russo (no relation) is a consultant for GW Pharmaceuticals and a proponent of medical marijuana.
This article is the latest justification that “migraine, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and related conditions display common clinical, biochemical and pathophysiological patterns that suggest an underlying clinical endocannabinoid deficiency that may be suitably treated with cannabinoid medicines.†Continue reading Making a case for an endocannabinoid deficiency
Lung cancer associated with cannabis smoking
“Long-term cannabis use increases the risk of lung cancer in young adults,” according to this study from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington. Continue reading Lung cancer associated with cannabis smoking
Marijuana use increases the risk of schizophrenia
According to a study in The Lancet, “There is now sufficient evidence to warn young people that using cannabis could increase their risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life.” Continue reading Marijuana use increases the risk of schizophrenia
Hazards of marijuana in heart attack survivors
OK, you survived your first heart attack.
Smoke pot and you’ll lower your chances of surviving the second “big one.” Continue reading Hazards of marijuana in heart attack survivors
Periodontal disease in kids who smoke pot
Periodontal disease is a gum disease (such as periodontitis or gingivitis) that, if untreated, inflames and eventually destroys the bone and tissues that support and anchor the teeth.
Cannabis smoking is a risk factor for periodontal disease, according to this study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Continue reading Periodontal disease in kids who smoke pot
Marijuana available from vending machines in California
Here’s a CBS video on the subject.
It saddens me, but it’s instructive regarding the bias at CBS. Notice there’s no attempt to balance the report with any of the risks of marijuana or the lack of science on its “benefits.”
Go here for balance. Continue reading Marijuana available from vending machines in California