A recent study published in JAMA Network Open delved into the association between heavy cannabis use and mortality, specifically focusing on cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality among females. The research, utilising data from the UK Biobank and analysing a substantial cohort of individuals aged 40 to 69, revealed compelling insights into the risks posed by intensive cannabis consumption, particularly for women.

The study’s findings shed light on the sex-specific impact of heavy cannabis use on mortality, particularly underscoring the elevated risk of CVD mortality for women engaged in intensive cannabis consumption. These revelations underscore the importance of further research endeavours aimed at unravelling the intricate interplay between cannabis use and mortality, with a specific focus on understanding the unique vulnerabilities faced by female cannabis users.

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June 3, 2024

Washington — Federal action aimed at easing restrictions on marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act “may have considerable negative consequences for highway safety and safety-sensitive industries,” the American Trucking Associations claims.

Dan Horvath, senior vice president of regulatory affairs and safety policy at ATA, sent a letter on May 15 to the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, and Transportation.

The correspondence preceded a May 21 notice of proposed rulemaking from DOJ and the Drug Enforcement Administration seeking comment on rescheduling marijuana to a Schedule III controlled substance from Schedule I. Although such a move wouldn’t legalize marijuana at the federal level, it would change its classification to a drug with “lower degree of abuse potential” and “a moderate to low level of physical dependence,” the notice states.

Because the federal government tests safety-sensitive workers for only Schedule I or II controlled substances, ATA is concerned that “without additional action, deregulation or rescheduling of marijuana would have the likely consequence of precluding testing for all professional drivers and transportation workers as part of the DOT testing program,” Horvath writes.

He adds: “If the trucking and broader transportation industries’ ability to conduct drug testing is restricted, the risk of impaired drivers operating on our nation’s roadways undetected would increase, endangering all who share the road.”

As of March, marijuana represented nearly 60% of positive employer drug tests of regulated truck drivers reported to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, the letter notes.

DOJ and DEA say that “if marijuana is transferred into Schedule III, the manufacture, distribution, dispensing and possession of marijuana would remain subject to the applicable criminal prohibitions of the CSA.

“Any drugs containing a substance within the CSA’s definition of ‘marijuana’ would also remain subject to the applicable prohibitions in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.”

Unlike alcoholics, daily pot users often use pot all day long; wake and bake, before breakfast, after breakfast, before lunch, after lunch, before dinner, after dinner, etc. This likely makes them impaired anytime they drive and they often drive when traffic is heavy. -Scott Chipman VP of AALM

(Source: Safety & Health Magazine  - June 2024)

Also see

• Age & Experience Don’t Lessen Cannabis Impact on Driving
• McLean Hospital Study Finds Marijuana Use Impacts Driving Even When Sober

Age-dependent association of cannabis use with risk of psychotic disorder

Abstract

Background: Epidemiologic research suggests that youth cannabis use is associated with psychotic disorders. However, current evidence is based heavily on 20th-century data when cannabis was substantially less potent than today.

Discussion: We found that cannabis use, compared to no cannabis use, was associated with over 11 times (95%CI4.6–27.3) greater risk of psychotic disorder at any point during adolescence (ages12–19 years)…

We observed a stronger measure of association during adolescence than the vast majority of previous studies. Meta-analyses of longitudinal studies suggest that cannabis use roughly doubles the risk of developing a psychotic disorder compared to non-users…

However, meta-analyses suggest that cannabis use is more strongly associated with psychotic disorders than with psychotic experiences (Marconi etal., 2016;Mooreetal., 2007).Our data also suggests that cannabis use is more strongly associated with more severe psychotic outcomes as the strength of association during adolescence increased markedly when we restricted the outcome to hospitalizations and ED visits (the most severe types of health service use).We highlight that of all the incident psychotic disorder hospitalizations/ED visits during adolescence, roughly 5 in 6 had reported lifetime cannabis use at baseline…

Conclusions: This study provides new evidence of a strong but age-dependent association between cannabis use and risk of psychotic disorder, consistent with the neurodevelopmental theory that adolescence is a vulnerable time to use cannabis. The strength of association dur ing adolescence was notably greater than in previous studies, possibly reflecting the recent rise in cannabis potency.

(Source: Psychological Medicine – Cambridge.org )

Also see

• Cannabis & Psychosis - Irrefutable
• ALL Young Cannabis Users At Risk!

How has non-medical cannabis legalization served the health and welfare of under-age (adolescent) youth in Canada?

• prevalence of cannabis use (in the past 12-months) among ages 16–19 years increased from 36% in 2018 to 43% in 2023. 
• implementation of cannabis legalization (2018–2019), compared with pre-legalization (2001–2017) was associated with a 31% increased likelihood of any cannabis use, a 40% increased likelihood of daily cannabis use and a 98% increased likelihood of cannabis dependence among Ontario secondary students
• under-age youth in Alberta (<18 years) and Ontario (<19 years), legalization was associated with a 20% increase-equivalent (2015–2019) for emergency department visits involving cannabis-related disorder/poisoning, and there were (moderate) increases in cannabis-related (e.g., for psychosis, poisoning, withdrawal, harmful use) hospitalizations among young individuals (ages 15–24) in Canada's four largest provinces
• remained as the respective relative majorities of enforced cannabis offenses in the post-legalization period. Despite a supposed general ‘ban’ on cannabis-related advertisement especially for youth protection, almost two-thirds (63%) of Canadian adolescents reported exposure to cannabis-related advertisements or promotions in 2023.3
• Half-a-decade into legalization and its consequential ‘normalization’ environment for cannabis, we observe a mixed picture of developments for main outcome indicators among underage/adolescent youth in Canada. While cannabis use rates have remained steady at best at comparably high levels, selected adverse cannabis-related health outcomes (e.g., hospitalizations), and some risk-behaviors have increased. 
• With exposure to cannabis commercialization common, adolescents' cannabis sourcing practices have shifted from predominantly ‘illegal’ to ‘legal’ (albeit so only for adults) and ‘grey’ (e.g., ‘social’) sources. [remember it is illegal for children/youth under the age of 18, (some provinces 19 and 21) to buy or use cannabis] Cannabis-related enforcement has been markedly reduced; however, cannabis (possession) offenses remain disproportionately enforced against underage individuals… [because it is illegal for them to have and use] The—widely promoted—objective of effective cannabis access and use reduction for this particular age group has not been achieved through legalization.

(Source:  The Lancet Regional Health – Americas)

Incident psychotic experiences following self-reported use of high-potency cannabis

Findings: Use of high-potency cannabis at age 16 or 18 was associated with twice the likelihood of experiencing incident psychotic experiences from age 19–24 

Conclusions: Use of high-potency cannabis appears to be associated with increased likelihood of psychotic experiences.

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