CED Foundation

Dr Caplan’s response to Surgeon General advisory statement

Last week’s statement by the US Surgeon General

https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/reports-and-publications/addiction-and-substance-misuse/advisory-on-marijuana-use-and-developing-brain/index.html

View this (yellow link) or download:

This review is also stored here:    http://bit.ly/34KRgEm     inside the CED Foundation Archive

To explore related information, click the keywords below:

Benjamin Caplan, MDDr Caplan’s response to Surgeon General advisory statement
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Vape-Gate 2019: Review of The Risks of vaping

Risks on the Production Side of the Market:

  • Bacteria: Within facilities that lack appropriate oversight, any bacteria present during the manufacturing of a vaped product can be a source of risk for the consumer.
  • Fungus: Similarly, fungus can be a normal part of ambient air and life on earth, particularly around plants and soil. If production facilities do not have state-of-the-science monitoring or control mechanisms to limit mold, fungus can accumulate during the manufacturing process and can be transmitted to consumers.
  • Particles: Nicotine- or cannabis-containing products that are not produced in regulated facilities (home-grown and/or street-sold real or counterfeit products) may contain dangerous solvents, including solutions that contain lipid content that does not belong inside human lungs. Equally concerning, even in states with strict regulatory oversight over cannabis, the regulations may not cover particulate matter which may come into the consumer’s body from the containers that store tested cannabis products. For example, labs across the US have identified particles of vapor cartridge construction materials that become airborne during the heating process of vaporization. There is currently no testing standard for such circumstances. More, the sheer volume of particles emitted by a tool producing vapor is unregulated. With respect to its effects on the lungs, it is likely that there are meaningful differences (and potential risk differences) between a vaporizer which produces a small cloud of particles compared with one that produces a large, dense cloud.
  • Nicotine/E-liquids: Many nicotine vaporizers contain flavoring, coloring, preservative liquids that can be irritating to the lungs and breathing architecture. Non-nicotine liquid mixers can include sugary substances which promote dangerous growth of bacteria, inside the lungs.
  • Supervision: Street or home-produced products lack quality control measures to ensure that they are made safely, and/or contain safe ingredients, and are being delivered inside safe devices. In contrast, most FDA-overseen nicotine products and state-overseen cannabis production facilities limit many risk factors for currently-known threats to health

Risks on the Consumer Side of the Market:

  • Bacteria: Once purchased, products exposed to everyday life can acquire potentially dangerous bacteria after they are produced and sold. When used with poor maintenance practices, or by a consumer with hygiene practices that may add additional risk, bacterial infections can arise.
  • Fungus: Like bacteria exposure and potential infections, mold/fungus can accumulate after a vaping product is purchased. Good maintenance/cleansing practices help to prevent this risk, and appropriate hygiene around the consumption of vaping products typically minimizes this concern.
  • Particulate Matter: When using and re-using vaporizer tools (pens, vaporizer ovens, edibles), foreign particulate matter may break-off from cartridges, or may accidentally enter into products that were previously free of these contaminants. Many of the popular vaporizer cartridges, for example, seem to come from three facilities in China and are sold, worldwide, because of the attractive low price-point. Across the US, lab evidence has discovered evidence of small particles of the cartridges themselves (plastics, metals, other materials.) These particles can cause irritation to, or have toxic local effects on, the lungs. These reactions can certainly stimulate an inflammatory response which is sometimes equally uncomfortable as the offending irritation.
  • Coughing: Vaporizing a product which causes the user to cough excessively can risk the accidental aspiration of bacteria or particles from the mouth. These particles, if small enough, can cause inflammation or infection in the lungs.
  • Nicotine: In addition to the well-documented increased risk of cancer from the consumption of nicotine, this chemical is an irritant to the tissues with which it interacts, causing arterial wall constriction and thickening. It increases blood pressure and heart rate, promotes increased inflammation and suppresses normal immune system function. More, it also artificially elevates dopamine, norepinephrine, and acetylcholine, with poorly understood consequences that are unlikely to be healthy for the lungs.
  • Maintenance: Vaporizing old or poorly-kept products may ignore the very real effects of deterioration of materials which may pose health concerns. A product which is not well-maintained or regularly cleaned may contain infectious particles, irritating particles, toxic elements which may also be found in a pocket or storage container (insecticides, animal poisons, other chemicals which may preserve or protect during production or travel)

Individual Differences:

Between the production and the consumer sides of the vaporization arena, individual differences and outside influences can have a tremendous impact on the experience of vapor. Someone with a history of lung disease may tolerate a very different product than someone without such a history. Similarly, someone with a weakened immune system may have a more difficult time healing from an average exposure (to an irritant or an infectious particle) than someone with different circumstances. These are not likely to explain a large incidence of illnesses, but in addition to the concerns above, they may help explain a smaller portion.


Some of the Medical Illnesses Potentially Associated with Vaping:

1. Pneumonia (bacterial)

2. Aspiration Pneumonia

3. Idiopathic Acute Eosinophilic Pneumonia

4. Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (extrinsic allergic alveolitis)

Typically this is related to the components of e-cigarettes: nicotine, propylene glycol/glycerol, ethylene glycol, any of >7000 flavorings, metals including tin, lead, nickel, chromium, manganese, and arsenic (have all been found in e-cigarette liquids), also nitrosamines common to tobacco, carbonyl compounds, volatile organic compounds, and phenolic compounds.


General Recommendations for Safer Consumption:

  • Use state-supervised companies, including dispensaries for cannabis-related vaporizer materials, and reputable nicotine suppliers
  • Convection vaporizer ovens that involve safe heating materials (ceramic, glass, quartz) are preferable to vaporizer cartridges.
  • Any means of detaching product from direct contact with a heat source is preferable. For example, stainless-steel containers that hold product, and are then placed into a heating chamber, is likely to be safer than placing product directly against heat.
  • Safe heating elements: chamber-based convection/conduction heating
  • Avoid direct contact with coils, and avoid combustion
  • Use fresh products from state-sponsored dispensaries or stores
  • Avoid products that are repeatedly reused (including vaporizer pens and vaporizer heating tools that stay full of organic material for more than a brief period of time
  • Prefer systems that include the opportunity to easily clean and replace individual used components
  • Use rubbing alcohol to clean any heating tools regularly

In Infographic form :


Sample Reference News Articles:

All about Vitamin E Acetate:

1.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/31/health/vaping-marijuana-ecigarettes-sickness.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

2.

3.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/09/05/contaminant-found-vaping-products-linked-deadly-lung-illnesses-state-federal-labs-show/

4.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/healthcare/electronic-cigarettes-vapes-scott-gottlieb

5.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/26/fake-juul-pods-fill-shelves-after-vaping-giant-pulled-fruity-flavors.html

6.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08-25/knockoff-cannabis-products-headache-for-california-legal-weed

To explore related information, click the keywords below:

Benjamin Caplan, MDVape-Gate 2019: Review of The Risks of vaping
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Natural & Cannabinoid Changes in Dopamine: A key to the psychosis question?

Comparing dopaminergic dynamics in the dorsolateral striatum between adolescent and adult rats- Effect of an acute dose of WIN55212-2

Brief summary:

A recent study has exposed an age-dependent mechanism within the dopaminergic system that relies on cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1). Adult and adolescent dopamine levels were examined in the presence of a CB1 agonist and increased levels of extracellular dopamine were found in adolescents. This study reveals the different effects cannabis-based medicine has depended on the age of the patient and warrants future research to ensure cannabis has the desired therapeutic effect on patients.   

Dr Caplan Discussion Points:

This adds a helpful layer of insight to the way an animal model of dopamine changes over time, as well as its interaction with exogenous cannabinoids. This sheds light on the natural evolution of the dopamine control system (irrespective of how it interacts with endocannabinoids), and it also points to how cannabinoids may be involved.

This helps to educate the discussion about how psychosis and cannabis use may interact. There is a long-held understanding that dopamine abnormalities in the specific parts of the brain (mesolimbic and prefrontal brain regions) exist in schizophrenia. More recently, research has also strongly suggested that other neurotransmitters, including glutamate, GABA, acetylcholine, and serotonin are also involved in schizophrenia (and, coincidentally, there is also interaction with these other neurotransmitters from various components of cannabis). Nonetheless, this study simply suggests that, by nature, basal dopamine levels increase during adolescence. Also, the study points out that some cannabinoids boost basal levels too. It seems logical to suggest that excessive dopamine may create a problematic force of additional tipping toward illness, within individuals for whom a congenital predisposition toward illness exists.

View this review (yellow link) or download:

This paper is also stored here:    http://bit.ly/2HpWqM5     inside the CED Foundation Archive

To explore related information, click the keywords below:

Benjamin Caplan, MDNatural & Cannabinoid Changes in Dopamine: A key to the psychosis question?
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Video: 4 major risks of recreational cannabis use

Though cannabis has many medical benefits, using the drug without professional guidance can cause serious harm. Watch this video to learn about 4 major risks associated with recreational cannabis use

Benjamin Caplan, MDVideo: 4 major risks of recreational cannabis use
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