According to the latest reports coming out of Colorado, marijuana is a major cause of homicides in the state, and the problem is only getting worse.

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“Executive function, impulse control, attention, psychomotor function and subjective intoxication were significantly worse after cannabis administration relative to placebo.”
 
"Overall, the present study demonstrates that cannabis induced impairment does not depend on cannabis use history and indicates that tolerance to impairing effects of cannabis on neurocognitive function is generally absent in frequent users. These data confirm previous suspicions that neurocognitive impairments during cannabis intoxication do occur in infrequent as well as frequent cannabis users.”
 
"The present demonstration of absence of tolerance to cannabis impairment has important implications for risk perception in frequent users. It implies that neurocognitive function of daily or near daily cannabis users can be substantially impaired from repeated cannabis use, during and beyond the initial phase of intoxication. As a consequence, frequent cannabis use and intoxication can be expected to interfere with neurocognitive performance in many daily environments such as school, work or traffic.”
 
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Wilkinson ST1, Stefanovics E, Rosenheck RA.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

An increasing number of states have approved posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana, although little evidence exists evaluating the effect of marijuana use in PTSD. We examined the association between marijuana use and PTSD symptom severity in a longitudinal, observational study.

METHOD:

From 1992 to 2011, veterans with DSM-III/-IV PTSD (N = 2,276) were admitted to specialized Veterans Affairs treatment programs, with assessments conducted at intake and 4 months after discharge. Subjects were classified into 4 groups according to marijuana use: those with no use at admission or after discharge ("never-users"), those who used at admission but not after discharge ("stoppers"), those who used at admission and after discharge ("continuing users"), and those using after discharge but not at admission ("starters"). Analyses of variance compared baseline characteristics and identified relevant covariates. Analyses of covariance then compared groups on follow-up measures of PTSD symptoms, drug and alcohol use, violent behavior, and employment.

RESULTS:

After we adjusted for relevant baseline covariates, marijuana use was significantly associated with worse outcomes in PTSD symptom severity (P < .01), violent behavior (P < .01), and measures of alcohol and drug use (P <.01) when compared with stoppers and never-users. At follow-up, stoppers and never-users had the lowest levels of PTSD symptoms (P < .0001), and starters had the highest levels of violent behavior (P < .0001). After adjusting for covariates and using never-users as a reference, starting marijuana use had an effect size on PTSD symptoms of +0.34 (Cohen d = change/SD), and stopping marijuana use had an effect size of -0.18.

CONCLUSIONS:

In this observational study, initiating marijuana use after treatment was associated with worse PTSD symptoms, more violent behavior, and alcohol use. Marijuana may actually worsen PTSD symptoms or nullify the benefits of specialized, intensive treatment. Cessation or prevention of use may be an important goal of treatment.

(c) Copyright 2015 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

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Authors Kelley ME, Wan CR, Broussard B, Crisafio A, Cristofaro S, Johnson S, Reed TA, Amar P, Kaslow NJ, Walker EF, Compton MT.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:
Several studies suggest that adolescent marijuana use predicts earlier age at onset of schizophrenia, which is a crucial prognostic indicator. Yet, many investigations have not adequately established a clear temporal relationship between the use and onset.

METHODS:
We enrolled 247 first-episode psychosis patients from six psychiatric units and collected data on lifetime marijuana/alcohol/tobacco use, and ages at onset of prodrome and psychosis in 210 of these patients. Cox regression (survival analysis) was employed to quantify hazard ratios (HRs) for effects of diverse premorbid use variables on psychosis onset.

RESULTS:
Escalation of premorbid use in the 5years prior to onset was highly predictive of an increased risk for onset (e.g., increasing from no use to daily use, HR=3.6, p<0.0005). Through the analysis of time-specific measures, we determined that daily use approximately doubled the rate of onset (HR=2.2, p<0.0005), even after controlling for simultaneous alcohol/tobacco use. Building on previous studies, we were able to determine that cumulative marijuana exposure was associated with an increased rate of onset of psychosis (p=0.007), independent of gender and family history, and this is possibly the reason for age at initiation of marijuana use also being associated with rate of onset in this cohort.

CONCLUSIONS:
These data provide evidence of a clear temporal relationship between escalations in use in the five years pre-onset and an increased rate of onset, demonstrate that the strength of the association is similar pre- and post-onset of prodromal symptoms, and determine that early adult use may be just as important as adolescent use in these associations.

Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

For complete article

Parekh JD, Wozniak SE, Khan K, Dutta SK.

Abstract

The antiemetic properties of marijuana are well known, but there is increasing evidence of its paradoxical hyperemetic effects on the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system, known as 'cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome' (CHS). We report a case of CHS encountered in our outpatient clinic. We also completed a review of the literature using PubMed in patients over 18 years of age with CHS. Understanding the diagnostic criteria and risk factors associated with CHS may reduce the ordering of unnecessary and expensive investigations, and pursuing inappropriate medical and surgical treatments. Ultimately, abstaining from cannabis use leads to resolution of symptoms in the majority of patients.

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2016 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.