All posts tagged: Social Equity

Adolescent Cannabis Use Linked to Sleep Disturbances

September 9, 2019 Adolescents, Adverse Effects, Behavior change, Cannabis Dependence, Cannabis Science, Case Study, Cognition, Gender, Impairment, Legislation, Mental Health, Pediatrics, Sleep, Social Equity, Stigma, Stress

Sleep Disturbances, Psychosocial Difficulties and Health Risk Behavior

Summary info:

A Dutch study investigated sleep disturbances in adolescents. Sleep disruption was linked to cannabis use, psychosocial difficulties, health risk behavior, and increased suicidality. Additionally, gender disparity in results suggests that girls may be more susceptible to sleep disturbances than boys , a result consistent with past recognition of some gender discrepancies in cannabis activity. These results highlight the importance of discouraging haphazard cannabis use, during adolescence, and the need for further gender-focused research surrounding sleep habits and cannabis use.

Dr Caplan, CED Foundation, and the #MDTake:

There are a few important issues that converge in this review. Generally, the question of adolescents’ use, (as an alternative way of describing the question of effects on a developing brain.) Also, this paper raises valuable questions about how cannabis may be interacting with sleep hygiene, for better or for worse. Psychosocial impact and risky behaviors are very complex topics to engage, even with a fairly large population sample of (n=16,781.) There are lots of intercorrelated topics assessed, analyzed, and discussed in the review, and it is all-too-easy to want to find causal patterns that are not apparent, again for better or worse, unless one chooses to construe the results or interpretation with causation in mind. Realistically, it is very likely to find overlap in a population of adolescents who have psychosocial difficulties, engage in risky behaviors, have increased risk of suicidality, and consume cannabis. To point to one of the components, arbitrarily, as the primary cause of the others is to unnecessarily and unjustly oversimplify a complex set of circumstances. The essential tenet, different genders seem to react differently with cannabis, is an excellent take-away, and also that we have much more still to learn.

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Sleep Disturbances, Psychosocial Difficulties and Health Risk BehaviorDownload

This paper is also stored here: http://bit.ly/314TsEC inside the CED Foundation Archive

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Youth Cannabis Consumption Trends

August 22, 2019 Adolescents, Behavior change, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, CED Foundation, History, Legislation, Regulation, Social Equity, Social Justice, Stigma

“Federal Data Shows Youth Marijuana Use Isn’t Increasing Under Legalization”

Federal Data Shows Youth Marijuana Use Isn’t Increasing Under Legalization

Video: Hemp and Paper in Human History

August 15, 2019 Business of Cannabis, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis News, Dr Caplan, Hemp, History, Processing, Products, Regulation, Social Equity, Social Justice

Video: History of The Many Names For Cannabis

August 12, 2019 Asia, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, CED Foundation, Dr Caplan, Hemp, History, Reefer Madness, Social Equity, Stigma, Video

Video: Part 3: Cannabis in American History

August 7, 2019 Adult, Behavior change, Cannabis, CED Clinic, CED Foundation, CED In The News, Dr Caplan, Future Medicine, History, Law, Legislation, Regulation, Social Equity, Social Justice, Stigma, THC, Video

Video: Part 2: Cannabis in American History

August 6, 2019 Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis News, CED Clinic, CED Foundation, Cultivation / Growing / Horticulture, Dr Caplan, Farming, Hemp, History, Law, Legislation, Reefer Madness, Regulation, Social Equity, Social Justice, Stigma, Video

Medical Marijuana Offers Benefits Comparable to Prescription Medication, Without the Side Effects

August 2, 2019 Adult, Adverse Effects, Anti-inflammatory properties, Anxiety, Arthritis, Blood-Levels, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Case Study, CBD, CED Clinic, CED Foundation, Citizen Science, Depression, Diabetes, DIY, Future Medicine, Impairment, Mental Health, Mood, Muscle Pain, Neuropathy, Pain, Sleep, Social Equity, Stigma, THC

Title: Preferences for Medical Marijuana over Prescription Medications Among Persons Living with Chronic Conditions: Alternative, Complementary, and Tapering Uses

In a survey of 30 patients using medical cannabis for a range of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, hepatitis C, PTSD, among others, patients reported an array of benefits they have reaped from cannabis use. Patients successfully used cannabis in several ways: as an alternative to prescription medication, complementarily with prescription medicine, and to gradually replace use of prescription medication.

Benefits described by participants included the effects of cannabis lasting longer than that of opioids, lower risk of addiction, fewer side-effects. Patients also saw their sleep, anxiety, appetite, and adverse reactions improve with the use of medical cannabis. Larger, more controlled studies may suggest cannabis more affirmatively as an alternative or complementary therapy with prescription medications.

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Preferences for Medical Marijuana over Prescription Medications Among Persons Living with Chronic Conditions: Alternative, Complementary, and Tapering Uses Download

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

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Author’s Response to Discrepancies in Medical Cannabis Use

August 1, 2019 Abuse, Addiction, Adult, Business of Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis News, CED Clinic, Dispensaries, Financial Projections, Future Medicine, History, Massachusetts, Politics, Products, Social Equity, Social Justice, THC

Medical Cannabis Use: The Authors Reply

In yesterday’s blog post, the discrepancies in the number of medical cannabis users were discussed and the suggestion arose that perhaps medical cannabis use may need stricter regulations. The author of the piece that inspired the letter featured in the post responded, highlighting the possibility that recreational cannabis is being used for medical purposes rather than users obtaining cannabis from more nefarious sources. The author points out that renewing medical licenses can be a hassle and in states where recreational cannabis has been legalized patients may just be obtaining their cannabis, used for medical purposes, from recreational dispensaries. Surveys that delve into this issue are needed to confirm the author’s hypothesis.

Describing the medical process of obtaining a cannabis license as a hassle is, unfortunately, reported by many consumers. State governments are forced to run the regulatory processes, in the absence of federal support, and conservative politicians and opposition groups often create difficulty around opening dispensaries in their districts. On top of the expenses of renewing or obtaining a medical license, it may seem almost less confrontational for people who reside in a state or have access to recreational marijuana (from a state-regulated dispensary) simply to purchase recreational cannabis, rather than take the time to obtain a license.

Of note, Massachusetts is one of the few states that has anticipated this circumstance and has codified protections and advantages of the medical program, into law. In Massachusetts, medical patients are incentivized through robust discounts (totaling greater than $2000 in discounts, and 20% cost reduction because of the absence of state taxation for medical patients.) Further, there are legal protections available only to medical patients, and the opportunity for delivery, which are not available to recreational consumers.

Discrepancies in Medical Cannabis Use

July 31, 2019 Adult, Behavior change, Business of Cannabis, Cannabis News, Financial Projections, Future Medicine, History, Politics, Regulation, Science, Social Equity, Social Justice

Medical Cannabis Use

A recent letter to the editor exposes the large discrepancy between the number of registered medical marijuana patients and those who self-reported medical cannabis use. Estimates given by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) suggest that 2.5% of Americans over the age of 12 used medical cannabis in 2013-2015 but a study from 2016 found that only 641,176 people were licensed to receive medical cannabis, a prevalence of 0.4%. If the numbers published by the NSDUH are accurate then states may need to delve into how so many people are accessing medical cannabis without proper licensing in order to better regulate the supply. If the numbers are extrapolated to 2019 and include all states where medical cannabis use in legal then more than 6.2 million people should be licensed but may not be.

Medical cannabis can be difficult to acquire due to its cost, post-legalization. Although medical cannabis in Massachusetts is readily available with a large number of dispensaries across the state, the cost of obtaining a doctor’s recommendation, complying with state fees, and then paying for the cannabis at a dispensary can be too much for some patients. Although MA will soon be waving the state fee, to obtaining a license, clinicians are still expensive and without the support of the federal government allowing national insurance companies to cover medical cannabis the costs still add up quickly. Fortunately, some dispensaries are designed to cater to those who need financial support.

View this review (yellow link) or download:

Medical Cannabis Use-Download

To read the Author’s reply:

Medical Cannabis Use: The Authors Reply Download

This paper is also stored here: http://bit.ly/2K7VQoh and http://bit.ly/2K3rnra inside the CED Foundation Archive

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