“If we are going to say ‘NO’ to violence against women – and we must – then we cannot say ‘Yes’ to drug use!” Dalgarno Institute
“Continuing acceptance and normalisation of drug using behaviours by the culture, whether overt promotion of products or the libertarian pursuit of individual ‘rights’, the acceptance of psychotropic toxins in social and familial settings only grows and will act counter to the need to shift cultural attitudes underpinning ‘acceptable’ violence toward women and children.”
Cannabis in Adolescence: Lasting Cognitive Alterations and Underlying Mechanisms
Abstract: Cannabis consumption during adolescence is an area of particular concern, owing to changes in the social and political perception of the drug, and presents a scientific, medical, and economic challenge. Major social and economic interests continue to push toward cannabis legalization as well as pharmaceutical development. As a result, shifting perceptions of both legal and illicit cannabis use across the population have changed the collective evaluation of the potential dangers of the product.
The wave of cannabis legalization therefore comes with new responsibility to educate the public on potential risks and known dangers associated with both recreational and medical cannabis. Among these is the risk of long-term cognitive and psychological consequences, particularly following early-life initiation of use, compounded by high-potency and heavy/frequent use of the drug. Underlying these cognitive and psychiatric consequences are lasting aberrations in the development of synaptic function, often secondary to epigenetic changes. Additional factors such as genetic risk and environmental influences or nondrug toxic insults during development are also profound contributors to these long-term functional alterations following adolescent cannabis use. Preclinical studies indicate that exposure to cannabinoids during specific windows of vulnerability (e.g., adolescence) impacts neurodevelopmental processes and behavior by durably changing dendritic structure and synaptic functions, including those normally mediated by endogenous cannabinoids and neuronal circuits.
Conclusions: Accurate and informative labelling of hemp and hemp-derived CBD products is an important public health issue. FDA-regulated product labels are considered an essential tool for protecting consumers and enabling informed decision-making. Untruthful or unsubstantiated health-related claims, and unallowed Drug Claims, in marketing materials and on labels of CBD products may create harm by enticing consumers to forgo more evidence-based medical interventions. Furthermore, missing or inaccurate labelling of the amount of CBD, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and potentially harmful contaminants such as pesticides, naturally-occurring yeast and mold or heavy metals may result in harm and/or lack of efficacy. Manufacturers of these products may reasonably be expected to understand and adhere to FDA regulations for labelling and marketing of food, dietary supplements and drugs, both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription, even though FDA has interpreted federal law as excluding them from these categories. As manufacturers prepare for forthcoming regulations, a better understanding of the basic framework for FDA labelling and marketing regulations for food, dietary supplements and drugs is warranted.