“No studies have shown that the potential existence of a protective effect for cardiovascular diseases or type 2 diabetes also reduces the risk of cancer for an individual consumer. Evidence does not indicate the existence of a particular threshold at which the carcinogenic effects of alcohol start to manifest in the human body. As such, no safe amount of alcohol consumption for cancers and health can be established. Alcohol consumers should be objectively informed about the risks of cancer and other health conditions associated with alcohol consumption.”
Exposure to Pro and Anti-Cannabis Social Media Messages and Teens’ and College Students’ Intentions to Use Cannabis
Content analyses have documented that posts about cannabis are increasingly common on social media. The relationship between the cannabis-related content to which teens and college students are exposed on social media and how such content may be associated with intentions to use and use of cannabis is less known, however. We conducted an online survey with teens (N = 350) who lived in Washington state using online survey panel participants in June 2018 and with college students (N = 966) in a Washington state-wide university system in February and March 2019. Participants in both samples reported seeing both pro-cannabis and anti-cannabis messages on social media platforms.
Exposure to pro-cannabis messages on social media was associated with an increased intention to use cannabis.
Exposure to anti-cannabis messages on social media was indirectly associated with decreased intentions to use cannabis through negative outcome beliefs of cannabis use and, among college students, through perceived norms.
Among college students specifically, exposure to pro-cannabis messages on social media was also associated with more frequent cannabis use.
Health communicators could focus anti-cannabis messaging on negative outcome beliefs among teens and college students as well as norms among college students to potentially influence constructs associated with intentions and use.
by Prabhjot Sohal, University of Western Ontario Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry researchers have shown that chronic exposure during adolescence to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis, may induce long-lasting memory impairments and increased anxiety levels. The study, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology,NeuropsychopharmacologyThe study, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, uses a rodent model to pinpoint two different parts of the brain—the dorsal and the ventral regions in the hippocampus—and shows evidence of different sets of abnormalities in each region following THC exposure. The researchers identified several key molecular and neuronal anomalies in specific regions of the hippocampus that might be independently responsible for the cognitive and emotional side effects. The study confirms previous work from their lab that shows THC exposure during adolescence can induce long-lasting disturbances. "Following the legalization of cannabis, there is evidence of a reduction in perceived risks associated with cannabis use. There is a need to expand knowledge on the potential negative consequences of cannabis exposure during adolescence and this study addresses some of those gaps," said Marta De Felice, who emphasized the need to have crucial scientific evidence to inform public health policy "Adolescents consuming cannabis may not be thinking of the negative long-term impacts. Our findings suggest adolescent cannabis use may affect cognitive and emotional functions through different brain pathways," said Laviolette. "The detailed anatomical findings of the study give us a chance to use more targeted interventions that might reverse the long-lasting impairments and symptoms following cannabis exposure during adolescence."
Motivation is a subjective experience and therefore extremely difficult to measure objectively.
Motivational syndrome has long been seen as a sign of cannabis addiction, but has only recently been measured.
Liking and wanting are two different forces. Drug use changes the brain in ways that stimulate wanting the drug.
Until recently, I ignored the idea of a cannabis-induced amotivational syndrome. Of course, I was familiar with the stereotypical view of potheads couch-locked into immobility, but this could have a variety of causes other than amotivational syndrome. Besides, I could not imagine how motivation could be measured objectively. Then Meghan Martz[1], at the University of Michigan, published research that changed my mind. Martz used a delayed monetary reward protocol, which means people were given a simple computer task that promised cash rewards at the end of the test—a low monetary reward for poor performance and a higher reward for better performance. While watching the computer screen and pressing a button whenever a stimulus appeared, and before any money was received, Martz used functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) to measure activity in a small part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, the reward center. She tested individuals three times, at ages 20, 22, and 24. She also recorded their report of marijuana use at each age. Her data showed that, while everyone at age 20 had the same level of reward center activation in anticipation of the cash reward, those who most increased their cannabis use over the next four years showed progressively less activation at ages 22 and 24. Cannabis users no longer viewed cash with as much anticipation of the reward. Martz concluded that the effects of long-term cannabis use results in a general blunting of reward response. While it could be argued cannabis produces enlightenment and freedom from materialistic desires, a deeper look at nucleus accumbens functioning points in other directions.
