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Cannabis Conundrum Overview

We have been fed, ad nauseum, that Cannabis is just a plant and relatively harmless, right? If you say it loud and long enough, you might believe it? We were told by the consensus manufacturing #420 activists and their propogandist promotors, the evidence ignoring media, that if we legalize this stuff ALL will be well – on every front! 

No more crime! Health will increase! Taxes and surplus revenue will be raised, well, so the cornucopian pronouncements went. Well, a chaotic conundrum has inevitably arisen. All promises have not only failed, but greater harms are being done to even more of our community, with the permission modelling pushing the drug onto a now ill-informed culture and clueless Gen Next.

Here you will find an ever growing list of data that is but a fraction of the evidence-based scientific research that reveals the social, mental, health, genetic, environment and community harms of this ‘harmless plant!’ If facts and evidence matter in making informed best-practice decisions, then this is your space!

Quebec pot arrests behind the wheel up 54% since legalization

Details
139

One year after the legalization of recreational use of cannabis in Canada, the black market for the drug — as well as its use behind the wheel — continues to keep Quebec police forces busy.

In 2018, police collected 795 blood samples from motorists suspected of driving while under the influence, and sent them to Quebec’s medical legal centre for processing. That’s 254 more than in the previous year. The presence of cannabis was detected in 46 per cent of those cases.

More than 670 officers trained in drug use evaluation have been deployed across the province. (WHAT MORE Law Enforcement? Legalization was supposed to “slash the cost of law enforcement and add to the bottom line of the budget!”)

IMeanwhile, raids on illegal outdoor cannabis fields were carried out in August and September, and saw 37,000 plants seized.

Over the past year, the SQ seized 71,500 cannabis plants, 161 kilograms of cannabis, 15.8 kilograms of cannabis oil and resin, 23,460 units of edible cannabis and $180,000 in cash.

For complete article

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  • Weed and fertility: Five things scientists want you to know

    Friday, June 14, 2019 120
    Scientists have warned that smoking weed can affect fertility in both men and women. They say that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis plant – can have an effect on the reproductive organs. Here are five things the scientists want you to know about marijuana and fertility: The active ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), acts on the receptors found in the hypothalamus, pituitary and internal reproductive organs in both males and females....
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  • Smart Alternatives to Marijuana:

    Wednesday, June 12, 2019 161
    Smart Alternatives to Marijuana: Commercialized Cannabis Recipe for Community & Health Care Chaos! Colorado Clear Contender!
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  • Cannabis – NO CURE – for Opioid Crisis!

    Wednesday, June 12, 2019 219
    A new study took the same methodology of the previous study and expanded it to include states that legalized medical marijuana between 1999 and 2017 and found a surprising result: medical marijuana was associated with a 23% INCREASE in opioid deaths . The Misplaced Optimism in Legal Pot Legalizing medical marijuana does not reduce the rate of fatal opioid overdoses, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. (National Academy of Science...
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  • Mum put fatal dose of fentanyl in baby's sippy cup so she could 'relax and smoke marijuana': prosecutor

    Thursday, June 06, 2019 295
    (The Monster that is Marijuana A-Motivation; and people want governments to endorse this psychotropic toxin through law??!!) A woman found guilty of spiking her baby's sippy cup with a fatal dose of fentanyl committed the crime in order to quiet the child so she could "sit back, relax and smoke marijuana," a prosecutor said Monday. Assistant district attorney Diana Page told a Pennsylvania jury that Jhenea Pratt, 23, drugged her 17-month-old daughter, Charlette Napper-Talley, in April 2018...
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  • Legalized Cannabis in Colorado Emergency Departments: A Cautionary Review of Negative Health and Safety Effects

    Thursday, June 06, 2019 298
    June 3 rd 2019 Abstract: Cannabis legalization has led to significant health consequences, particularly to patients in emergency departments and hospitals in Colorado. The most concerning include psychosis, suicide, and other substance abuse. Deleterious effects on the brain include decrements in complex decision-making, which may not be reversible with abstinence. Increases in fatal motor vehicle collisions, adverse effects on cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, inadvertent pediatric...
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  • Acute Illness Associated With Cannabis Use, by Route of Exposure

    Monday, June 03, 2019 125
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  • Colorado: Largest Marijuana Bust in State History – AND WEED IS FULLY LEGAL HERE!!! Three Markets Now In Play! (Cannabis Chaos Continues!)

    Wednesday, May 29, 2019 140
    Friday 24 th May 2019, Colorado law enforcement and federal authorities announced they have successfully completed the largest marijuana bust in state history. The bust resulted in the seizure of over 80,000 marijuana plants, 4,500 pounds of "finished marijuana products," and over $2.1 million in cash. "Colorado has become the epicenter of black-market marijuana in the United States," said Jason Dunn, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado in a press conference Friday. "We want people...
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  • Cannabis can affect teenagers so severely that they end up three years behind their classmates, study finds

    Wednesday, May 29, 2019 123
    Results concluded from an investigation of 4,000 Canadian school children Researchers found cannabis more toxic for youngsters’ brains than alcohol Persistent use of the drug seriously affected basic reasoning skills Regularly smoking cannabis can affect teenagers so severely that they end up three years behind their classmates in terms of brain development, a landmark study has found. The results of the investigation, which involved almost 4,000 secondary school children in Canada , led...
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  • Marijuana’s Ecological Impact

    Tuesday, May 28, 2019 211
    View Video The utterly staggering cost to environment (and on energy and water consumption) by Cannabis production (driven by demand just to get high??) is never raised by pro-weed lobby! No true environmentalist would promote pot! Check out Integral Ecology Research Centre , www.IERCecology.org and Silent Poison https://silentpoison.com
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  • Legalization of cannabis sparks curiosity in people who haven’t used it in years – or ever

    Tuesday, May 28, 2019 170
    Government oversight and the now legal promotion of ‘getting high’ under government legislation, sees Canadian Government as the new promoter, permitter and pusher of weed! Regardless of outcomes! (Dalgarno Institute) Legalization has drawn a whole new segment of people who prefer to use legal cannabis and are willing to pay more for it, said Jennifer Lee, the lead partner managing the cannabis sector for consulting firm Deloitte. “Government oversight does bring a whole new cohort to the...
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  • Growing up high: Neurobiological consequences of adolescent cannabis use

    Tuesday, May 28, 2019 148
    Adolescent cannabis use is associated with behavioral changes related to reward and motivation in humans. Paradoxically, this use has both been suggested to increase motivation for other drug use (the gateway hypothesis) and a potential "amotivation syndrome" in which individuals are less willing to expend effort to receive a reward. Growing up high: Neurobiological consequences of adolescent cannabis use ( May, 2019)
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  • The False Arguments for Legal Marijuana

    Tuesday, May 21, 2019 161
    The rationale for legalization varies, from achieving “social justice” (even though racial disparities in arrests persist in legalized states like Colorado or Washington ) to more blatant appeals to greed. The global legal market has been estimated at $9.5 billion for 2017 , with investor testimonials projecting future markets at values between $300 and $500 billion in a few short years. But not all signs are rosy. The evidence to date—such as the consequences in states like Colorado where...
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  • Clinicians and Scientists release Statement of Concern regarding marijuana policy (USA)

    Monday, May 13, 2019 173
    BOSTON – A consortium of clinicians and scientists from across Massachusetts has joined together to publicly release a "Satement of Concern” expressing their disagreement with how marijuana policy is being shaped in the Commonwealth. According to the Statement of Concern , marijuana is being governed and regulated as if it were an “ordinary commodity”, rather than following a Public Health Framework. This is of concern because scientific evidence clearly establishes that marijuana (and...
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  • Effect of Cannabis Legalization on US Autism Incidence and Medium

    Monday, May 06, 2019 199
    Conclusion: ASD is the commonest form of cannabis-associated clinical teratology. Using two independent datasets and two categorization methods we confirmed that medical, decriminalized and legal cannabis regimes are associated with higher rates of ASD than illegal ones. Findings are consistent with molecular, cellular and epigenetic mechanisms. Formerly quadratic regression curves become exponential when projected forwards to 2030; predict a lower quantum than the 2014 ADDM CDC figure; and...
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  • There's nothing funny about today's highly potent marijuana. It killed my son.

    Monday, May 06, 2019 180
    “I want to die,” he wrote before hanging himself at the age of 31. “My soul is already dead. Marijuana killed my soul + ruined my brain.” Andy wanted to quit. He couldn't A new study shows he's not alone The peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet last month published a major study that found people who use high-potency marijuana daily are five times more likely to develop psychosis than those who never partake. The researchers compared data for more than 2,100 people in multiple countries....
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  • Canadian Government: Cannabis health warning messages

    Monday, May 06, 2019 145
    Part 1: Health warning messages for cannabis products that are dried cannabis or cannabis accessories that contain dried cannabis WARNING: Cannabis smoke is harmful. Harmful chemicals found in tobacco smoke are also found in cannabis smoke. WARNING: Do not use if pregnant or breastfeeding. Using cannabis during pregnancy may harm your baby and result in low birth weight. WARNING: Do not use if pregnant or breastfeeding. Substances found in cannabis are also found in the breast milk of mothers...
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  • Cannabis use predicts risks of heart failure and cerebrovascular accidents: results from the National Inpatient Sample

    Thursday, May 02, 2019 175
    Abstract BACKGROUND: Cannabis for medicinal and/or recreational purposes has been decriminalized in 28 states as of the 2016 election. In the remaining states, cannabis remains the most commonly used illicit drug. Cardiovascular effects of cannabis use are not well established due to a limited number of studies. We therefore utilized a large national database to examine the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and events amongst patients with cannabis use. RESULTS: Prevalence of heart...
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  • Weed – Dismantling the Brain!

    Wednesday, May 01, 2019 161
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  • Cannabis Use & Violence – A Meta-analytical Investigation

    Monday, April 29, 2019 190
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  • Marijuana investors are forgetting about legal risks faced by cannabis companies

    Monday, April 29, 2019 170
    Lawsuits could easily arise out of health risks and for several other reasons, lawyers say Like stoners, cannabis investors seem euphorically oblivious to marijuana risks. Weed smokers face health risks. Investors in companies including Tilray TLRY, +3.67% Canopy Growth CGC, +3.55% Cronos CRON, +3.87% and Green Thumb Industries GTBIF, +0.13% are taking on serious litigation risk. Marijuana-stock investors could see their investments tank if lawyers launch legal assaults based on...
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  • Legalization of cannabis sparks curiosity in people who haven’t used it in years – or ever

    Wednesday, April 17, 2019 236
    Government oversight and the now legal promotion of ‘getting high’ under government legislation, sees Canadian Government as the new promoter, permitter and pusher of weed! Regardless of outcomes! (Dalgarno Institute) Legalization has drawn a whole new segment of people who prefer to use legal cannabis and are willing to pay more for it, said Jennifer Lee, the lead partner managing the cannabis sector for consulting firm Deloitte. “Government oversight does bring a whole new cohort to the...
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  • Should We Blame Marijuana for a 14-Year High in Positive Work-Related Drug Tests?

    Wednesday, April 17, 2019 202
    Apr 14, 2019 Uh-Oh! Drug use is on the rise in the workplace This past week, Quest Diagnostics ( NYSE:DGX ), a leading diagnostic testing firm, and the company responsible for testing millions of Americans a year in the workplace for illicit substances, released its latest analysis , known as the Drug Testing Index, on workplace drug usage. Having tested more than 10 million urine samples in 2018, Quest found that 4.4% resulted in a positive test, which includes a combination of illicit (i.e.,...
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  • Marijuana use kills Indiana teen, mother speaks out

    Wednesday, April 17, 2019 353
    April 2019 INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis mother has struggled to cope with her son's untimely death. He died from complications of using marijuana, and now the mother is warning parents about the condition that took her son's life. "He said mom I can't breathe. I rolled him over, and my son was gone," Regina Denney said. It was one year ago that Denney's son was diagnosed with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. A condition caused by chronic marijuana usage that leads to extreme vomiting,...
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  • In 1997, this newspaper launched a campaign to decriminalise the drug. If only we had known then what we can reveal today...

    Wednesday, April 17, 2019 179
    (This was 12 years ago…it’s even worse now!!!) By Jonathan Owen Sunday 18 March 2007 Record numbers of teenagers are requiring drug treatment as a result of smoking skunk, the highly potent cannabis strain that is 25 times stronger than resin sold a decade ago. More than 22,000 people were treated last year for cannabis addiction - and almost half of those affected were under 18. With doctors and drugs experts warning that skunk can be as damaging as cocaine and heroin, leading to mental...
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  • Cannabis & Psychosis: Understanding risk is of 'vital importance'

    Wednesday, April 03, 2019 189
    In Amsterdam and London, specifically, there was a strong tie between the use of high-potency cannabis and the presence of psychosis. The researchers linked four in 10 (43.8 percent) new cases of psychosis in Amsterdam to daily cannabis consumption and five out of 10 (50.3 percent) of new cases with the use of highly potent versions of the drug. In London, the researchers believe they could link 21.0 percent of new cases to daily use and 30.3 percent to a preference for highly potent cannabis....
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  • Children aged NINE are damaged by cannabis: Shocking toll of young patients admitted to hospital with mental disorders

    Tuesday, March 26, 2019 260
    More than 3,400 patients under 19 went to hospital due to mental and behavioural illnesses brought on by cannabis last year NHS figures show the number of admission has risen 38 per cent since 2013/14 Teenagers say cannabis has become more accessible through social media sites Dealers may post cannabis bag pictures on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram James Hamilton had a cannabis addiction aged 14 and developed depression Last week a major study in the Lancet Psychiatry journal revealed that...
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  • UK: The wards are full of lives wrecked by the evil drug that is cannabis

    Monday, March 25, 2019 228
    Walk on to any mental health ward as I have and you will be confronted with the tragic victims of our lackadaisical attitude towards cannabis. There is mounting evidence to show the drug is having a horrific effect on the young, not least the Mail’s disturbing story today. A third of psychosis cases in London are the result of smoking skunk, according to research. Another study by Oxford University showed it increases the risk of depression in teenagers by 40 per cent. They join the hundreds...
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  • Top Yale Professor – Slams Weed!

    Monday, March 25, 2019 312
    One of the state’s most vocal opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana in recent years has been Dr. Deepak D’Souza , a research scientist and professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. In testimony before the legislature and in his role as a member of the state medical marijuana program’s board of physicians, an advisory group for lawmakers, D’Souza has laid out what he says are the dangers of legalization. His four areas of concern are the impact on young people and the...
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  • The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe: a multicentre case-control study

    Thursday, March 21, 2019 288
    Findings: Differences in frequency of daily cannabis use and in use of high-potency cannabis contributed to the striking variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across the 11 studied sites. Given the increasing availability of high-potency cannabis, this has important implications for public health. Read More Download PDF
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  • What you should know about Marijuana and Sperm

    Wednesday, March 20, 2019 347
    Mar 19, 2019 Mark Gold, MD Limited information exists on marijuana use and male reproductive health. A recent study from Duke University evaluated differences in sperm quality resulting from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure in both rats and humans. Findings suggest that paternal marijuana use, prior to conception, may present epigenetic risks to potential offspring. Key Findings Individuals who used marijuana can have higher and also can have significantly lower sperm concentrations,...
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  • U.N. News – Recreational cannabis poses ‘significant’ health challenges to youth: drugs control body

    Tuesday, March 19, 2019 315
    The UN-backed International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) warned on Tuesday that poorly regulated medical cannabis programmes could step-up the “recreational” use of the drug while diminishing public concern over its harmful effects. “Legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes, as seen in a small number of countries, represents not only a challenge to the universal implementation of the treaties and the signatories to the treaties, but also a significant challenge to health and...
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  • Adolescent Marijuana Use Is Linked to Altered Neural Circuitry and Mood Symptoms

    Tuesday, March 19, 2019 324
    In this research: Some teens' marijuana use has been linked to disrupted communication between two key regions in the brain's reward circuitry at age 20. Disrupted communication between the regions was associated with poorer psychosocial functioning at age 22. In a recent NIDA-supported study, males from low-income backgrounds who used marijuana in escalating frequency throughout their teen years exhibited disrupted connectivity at age 20 in a brain circuit that links rewarding experiences...
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  • Failed Arguments that Support Legalizing Weed!

    Tuesday, March 19, 2019 288
    Whatever you think about marijuana legalization, it’s important to avoid making bad arguments. There may be good reasons to legalize marijuana. But if there are, the following arguments shouldn’t be considered to be among them. 7 Arguments For Legalizing Marijuana That No One Should Believe
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  • The real cause of knife crime? It's hidden in a fog of cannabis smoke

    Wednesday, March 13, 2019 426
    (10 March 2019) Here is the problem. We are told that stabbings are at their worst since 1945. This is itself untrue. The year 1945 is chosen because that was when figures on stabbings began to be collected. In reality, they are the worst figures since this became a civilised country under the Victorians, really the worst figures since an unpoliced London was roamed by armed footpads, and highwaymen haunted the country roads. In a way, they are even worse than then. This is, by comparison with...
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  • Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2018

    Tuesday, March 12, 2019 372
    Chapter I: Cannabis and cannabinoids for medical, scientific and "recreational" use: risks and benefits Recommendations Under medical cannabis programmes implemented in Canada and possibly in some other States, and in some states in the United States, the medical use of cannabinoids is poorly regulated. Those programmes are inconsistent with the international drug control treaties in failing to control cannabis production and supply. They fail to ensure that good-quality medicines are provided...
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  • I Was Quite Shocked By My Last Visit To San Francisco

    Tuesday, March 05, 2019 366
    When it comes to foreigners visiting the US, while the general reaction is overall favorable, it appears that one city tends to draw a reaction of sheer shock if not disgust: San Francisco….San Francisco has always been one of favourite US cities, but the degree of homelessness, mental illness and drug abuse we saw on this trip was truly shocking. Walking round SF on a Sunday Morning and we saw sights we couldn’t believe. This must be one of the richest cities in the world – home to 4 of the...
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  • Alesha MacPhail: Murder leads to calls to get tough on cannabis

    Sunday, March 03, 2019 464
    THE abduction, rape and murder of Alesha MacPhail has prompted calls for ministers at Westminster and Holyrood to change their soft-touch stance on cannabis. Campaigner Ross Grainger has compiled a “catalogue of suicide and psychopathic violence committed by cannabis smokers in the UK and Ireland” over the past two decades including 200 murders, rapes and savage assaults. He said: “In this case, as in all such cases, I do not say that cannabis 'caused' the perpetrator to do what he did, but...
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  • Cannabinoid Hyperemesis – a Nasty and Growing Affliction

    Tuesday, February 26, 2019 606
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  • Explaining Contemporary Patterns of Cannabis Teratology

    Sunday, February 24, 2019 422
    From the Abstract Cannabis has been shown to be teratogenic in cells, animals and humans. Particular targets of prenatal exposure include brain, heart and blood vessels and chromosomal segregation… Studies in cells, together with the above mentioned epidemiology, implicate cannabidiol, cannabichromene, cannabidivarin and other cannabinoids in significant genotoxicity and/or epigenotoxicity. Notch signalling has recently been shown to be altered by cannabinoids, which is highly pertinent to...
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  • DR MAX: After seeing too many young lives blighted, why I'm sickened that we're still so soft on cannabis

    Friday, February 22, 2019 351
    We will, in years to come, look back and wonder how we could have been so foolish — so incredibly blind to the dangers of cannabis. We will be horrified at our reckless disregard for young minds. We will berate our liberally-minded politicians for their weakness, and the police for allowing, what is, in effect, its decriminalisation. And we will feel justifiable fury towards those who demanded the liberalisation of drug laws; who denied the mountain of evidence that this is a highly damaging...
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  • Smoking cannabis in your teens IS linked to depression in later life: Major study reveals drug 'damages children's brains' and half a MILLION adults could avoid mental-health disorder if they had...

    Friday, February 22, 2019 357
    Largest study of its kind found that 7% of adult depression could be prevented Drug has also been linked to suicidal thoughts and attempts Researchers say tackling the use of millions of under 18s should be a priority PUBLISHED: 14 February 2019 Smoking cannabis in your teenage years raises the risk of depression and suicide in later life, a landmark new study has found. Researchers from the US and UK have revealed the drug could impair a child's brain to the extent it triggers mental health...
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  • Smoking cannabis in your teens IS linked to depression in later life:

    Friday, February 15, 2019 443
    Major study reveals drug 'damages children's brains' and half a MILLION adults could avoid mental-health disorder if they had turned down marijuana Largest study of its kind found that 7% of adult depression could be prevented Drug has also been linked to suicidal thoughts and attempts Researchers say tackling the use of millions of under 18s should be a priority PUBLISHED: 14 February 2019 Smoking cannabis in your teenage years raises the risk of depression and suicide in later life, a...
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  • Study ties heart disease, diabetes to cannabis exposure in utero

    Wednesday, February 06, 2019 466
    February 2019 by Adela Talbot, University of Western Ontario Daniel Hardy, a Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry professor, led a recent study that found “alarming” damage to important organs in newborns who were exposed to cannabis – and, specifically, to THC – while in utero. This damage could lead to heart disease and diabetes later in life. Just because it's legal, doesn't mean it's safe. Exposure to cannabis – and, specifically, to THC – while in utero leads to heart defects and...
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  • Cannabis Problematics Include but are not Limited to Pain Management

    Tuesday, February 05, 2019 439
    These newer studies bring into precise focus recent work in the cannabis field showing that adolescent cannabis exposure results in loss of whole dendrites including synapses (4) and a reduction in post-synaptic glutamate A2 AMPA receptors (5)… Cannabis dependence is notable for its wide spectrum of clinical presentations including psychiatric, respiratory, immune, cardiac, vascular, bony, reproductive and malignant manifestations…Tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol and other cannabinoids have...
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  • University students' grades plunge when cannabis is legalised, studies find

    Monday, February 04, 2019 470
    Studies have found that legalising cannabis leads to students failing exams Legalisation was said to lead to an increase in the assignment of D and F grades Researchers found ‘a much stronger effect on grades of men than women’ 4 February 2019 Legalising cannabis leads to more university students flunking their exams. Striking evidence that legalising the drug negatively affects undergraduates’ behaviour and makes weaker students particularly likely to fall behind is provided by three new...
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  • What Would Legalizing Marijuana Cultivation Cost Taxpayers?

    Saturday, February 02, 2019 432
    Here's What It is Costing Colorado Taxpayers Download PDF Executive Summary
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  • Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence – What we are NOT told!

    Tuesday, January 29, 2019 436
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  • Position Statement on the Implications of Cannabis use for Safety-Sensitive Work (Canada)

    Tuesday, January 29, 2019 330
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  • Cannabis use disorder: The policy climate matters

    Thursday, January 24, 2019 481
    COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S MAILMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH Adolescents and young adults living in states with more liberal policies reported higher average rates of past-year cannabis use than those in states with more conservative policies, according to a new study conducted at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Past year cannabis use was consistently higher in liberal compared to conservative states, and remained significantly higher for ages 12-17 and 18-25 after adjusting for...
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  • Marijuana Withdrawal Symptoms & Side Effects From Daily Use

    Monday, January 21, 2019 2210
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  • Colorado Emergency Medical Doctors Open Letter to ALL Physicians!

    Friday, January 18, 2019 433
    Dear Doctors, who are mandated to do 'No Harm'! My name is Karen Randall. I am an emergency physician (also residency trained in pediatrics and family medicine). I spent numerous years as an academic teaching physician at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. I moved to Colorado to be back home. I moved here in 2013. I moved just in time to see this town I live in, Pueblo, go from a blue collar working town to a drug infested town that is not safe. I appreciate your article about brain sizes, View...
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  • Exposure to cannabis and stress in adolescence can lead to anxiety disorders in adulthood

    Thursday, January 17, 2019 418
    The work carried out by the Neuropharmacology Laboratory highlight the influence of environmental factors such as stress on the harmful effects of the exposure to cannabis during early ages A new study conducted on laboratory animals shows that exposure to cannabis and stress during adolescence may lead to long-term anxiety disorders characterized by the presence of pathological fear. The work carried out by the Neuropharmacology Laboratory-NeuroPhar at Pompeu Fabra University, was led by the...
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  • Smoking cannabis just once can change a teenager’s brain, study reveals

    Wednesday, January 16, 2019 407
    The Independent - January 2019 Teenagers who use cannabis just once or twice may end up with changes to the structure of their brain, scientists have warned. A study, conducted by researchers at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, found that there were clear differences on brain scans between teens who said they had smoked cannabis a couple of times and those who had never tried it. For complete article
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  • This reporter took a deep look into the science of smoking pot. What he found is scary

    Tuesday, January 15, 2019 378
    Alex Berenson’s new book delves into research linking heavy use with violent crime and mental illness. by Stephanie Mencimer Mother Jones (San Francisco), January 5, 2019. It’s been a few years since Alex Berenson has “committed journalism,” as he likes to say. As a New York Times reporter, Berenson did two tours covering the Iraq War, an experience that inspired him to write his first of nearly a dozen spy novels. Starting with the 2006 Edgar Award-winning The Faithful Spy, his books were so...
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  • Is marijuana as safe as we think?

    Tuesday, January 15, 2019 342
    A few years ago, the National Academy of Medicine convened a panel of sixteen leading medical experts to analyze the scientific literature on cannabis. The report they prepared, which came out in January of 2017, runs to four hundred and sixty-eight pages. It contains no bombshells or surprises, which perhaps explains why it went largely unnoticed. It simply stated, over and over again, that a drug North Americans have become enthusiastic about remains a mystery! For more
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  • Prenatal Exposure to Cannabis Affects the Developing Brain

    Tuesday, January 15, 2019 298
    Children born to moms who smoked or ingested marijuana during pregnancy suffer higher rates of depression, hyperactivity, and inattention. Yet, Seventy percent of women in the United States believe that there is “slight or no risk of harm” in using can­nabis during pregnancy. Read More
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  • Medicinal cannabis a honey pot for crooks

    Monday, January 14, 2019 525
    The documents offer unprecedented insight into the challenges of establishing and regulating an industry where the product is traditionally ­illegal. Picture: AFP SEAN PARNELL 12:00AM JANUARY 7, 2019 High demand for a stake in Australia’s medicinal cannabis industry — including from people with links to organised crime — has caught the regulator unprepared and under-resourced, an internal audit has found. Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws show independent auditors hired by...
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  • Daily Patterns of Marijuana and Alcohol Co-Use Among Individuals with Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorders.

    Monday, January 14, 2019 353
    Abstract BACKGROUND : The study aims were to examine daily associations between marijuana and alcohol use and the extent to which the association differs as a function of cannabis use disorder (CUD) and/or alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnosis. METHODS : Timeline Followback interview data was collected in a study of veterans (N = 127) recruited from a Veterans Affairs hospital who reported at least 1 day of co-use of marijuana and alcohol in the past 180 days (22,860 observations). Participants...
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  • How Marijuana Legalisation Impacts Use Rates

    Sunday, December 30, 2018 410
    How Marijuana Legalisation Impacts Use Rates - Idho and National Comparision
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  • Changes in Healthcare Encounter Rates Possibly Related to Cannabis or Alcohol following Legalization of Recreational Marijuana in a Safety-Net Hospital: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis

    Saturday, December 22, 2018 385
    Patients with encounters possibly related to cannabis were younger, more likely to be hospitalized and more likely to be admitted to the psychiatric unit than patients with encounters possibly related to alcohol. Initial and sustained effects of encounter rates possibly related to cannabis demonstrated an increased trend in slope before and after recreational marijuana legalization. The slope became more abrupt following legalization with a significant increase in trend during the...
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  • New study finds that marijuana can reprogram sperm genes

    Saturday, December 22, 2018 443
    December 20, 2018 We already know that cannabis lowers sperm count, but new research suggests that the drug actually causes genetic changes to the sperm itself — which might have implications for the health of a potential baby. For a study published today in the journal Epigenetics, scientists at Duke University Think of your DNA as a list of instructions for making proteins, and genes as small subsets of that list. Our body has little chemical tags (called methyl groups) that get added to the...
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  • Cannabis Genotoxicity Chromothripsis Carcinogenicity and Fetotoxicity MR FMMM

    Thursday, December 20, 2018 476
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  • One month of abstinence from cannabis improves memory in adolescents, young adults

    Monday, December 17, 2018 381
    A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) study finds that one month of abstaining from cannabis use resulted in measurable improvement in memory functions important for learning among adolescents and young adults who are regular cannabis users. The study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry is one of the first to prospectively track over time changes in cognitive function associated with halting cannabis use. “Our findings provide two pieces of convincing evidence,” says Randi...
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  • Cultivating Crime – Colorado Cannabis

    Monday, December 17, 2018 407
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  • Cannabis withdrawal can be 'highly disabling'

    Wednesday, December 12, 2018 299
    October 2018 By Maria Kohut Fact checked by Jasmin Collier Authorities are legalizing cannabis, particularly for medicinal use, in an increasing number of states. Many people stand by its alleged benefits, but new research warns that frequent use may lead to the "disabling" symptoms of cannabis withdrawal syndrome. The researchers also note that cannabis withdrawal symptoms appeared to be linked with mental disability and a family history of depression. Also, these symptoms were associated...
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  • We must study marijuana's impact on the environment before it's too late.

    Tuesday, December 11, 2018 462
    Often featuring in the lower rungs of priority when it comes to determining the safety of a drug, the impact of a pharmaceutical on the freshwater environment can be significant on the health of lakes, rivers and those who reside nearby. The gamut is wide and worrying – from limpets in the UK no longer able to cling on to rocks for survival as they “bathe in a soup” of antidepressants to Canadian male fish growing eggs in their testes after being exposed to the synthetic estrogen found in...
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  • Marijuana – Man Made Disaster!

    Tuesday, December 11, 2018 509
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  • Cannabis: The case against legalisation

    Monday, December 10, 2018 353
    Executive Summary Cannabis can be both addictive and harmful. Our understanding of the precise extent and nature of the health implications of recreational cannabis use is developing but, at this stage, there is a great deal of uncertainty. On the eve of the first legal retail sales of recreational cannabis in Canada, the Canadian Medical Association Journal published an editorial which referred to legalisation as: a national, uncontrolled experiment in which the profits of cannabis producers...
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  • The Marijuana Conundrum in North America – A recognized deficiency: Inadequate protective protocols

    Monday, December 03, 2018 491
    An evaluation of risk applied to marijuana products for recreational or medical purposes concludes that advanced mitigation strategies and new protective delivery protocols are necessary to adequately protect the public from harm. In Canada a controlled distribution program is in place called the RevAid ® . 1,2 This program assures consumers are monitored to prevent or minimize major side effects and or reactions. Under this program only prescribers and pharmacists who are registered or...
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  • Low doses of widely consumed cannabinoids (cannabidiol and cannabidivarin) cause DNA damage and chromosomal aberrations in human-derived cells.

    Thursday, November 29, 2018 472
    Abstract Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidivarin (CBDV) are natural cannabinoids which are consumed in increasing amounts worldwide in cannabis extracts, as they prevent epilepsy, anxiety, and seizures. It was claimed that they may be useful in cancer therapy and have anti-inflammatory properties. Adverse long-term effects of these drugs (induction of cancer and infertility) which are related to damage of the genetic material have not been investigated. Therefore, we studied their DNA-damaging...
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  • How marijuana harms a developing baby’s brain

    Tuesday, November 27, 2018 368
    Three studies in rodents suggest prenatal exposure to the drug may pose risks for infants DANA G. SMITH NOVEMBER 18, 2018 This article was originally published by Scientific American . One recent study revealed that in 2016 7 percent of pregnant women in California used marijuana, with rates as high as 22 percent among teenage mothers. In Colorado 69 percent of dispensaries recommended the drug to pregnant women to help with morning sickness. … prenatal drug exposure can be harmful to unborn...
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  • Could medical cannabis be the new THALIDOMIDE? Fears of a crisis as doctors consider doling marijuana-based medicines out to pregnant mothers despite evidence the drug can damage foetuses

    Sunday, November 25, 2018 483
    Pressure to loosen NHS guidelines on medical cannabis use is growing in the UK The British Medical Journal warned that widespread use could lead to disaster The potential crisis was compared to the thalidomide scandal of the 50s and 60s By GUY ADAMS FOR THE DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED: 24 November 2018 Each of the 400 phone calls to the cannabis dispensaries followed a script. ‘Hi,’ said a female voice. ‘I’m eight weeks pregnant and feeling really nauseated. Are there any products recommended for...
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  • How smoking CANNABIS affects your lungs

    Wednesday, November 21, 2018 533
    How Smoking CANNABIS for a Month Affects Your Lungs View Video See also Cannabis Impact on Your Lungs by British Lung Foundation
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  • Teens are trying marijuana before alcohol and tobacco

    Wednesday, November 21, 2018 389
    It’s not because teens are consuming weed more, it’s because they’re using tobacco and alcohol less Teens used to try alcohol first, then tobacco, and then marijuana. Now, marijuana is increasingly the first “gateway” substance for adolescents, according to new research. This trend is not because teens are smoking cannabis more than ever. Rather, the change is because teens are smoking cigarettes and drinking less while the numbers for marijuana have held steady, according to Katherine M....
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  • Licensed cannabis growers have ties to organized crime, Enquête investigation finds

    Tuesday, November 06, 2018 489
    Despite security checks by Health Canada, investors with Mafia connections involved in legal production Marie-Maude Denis · CBC News · Posted: Nov 01, 2018 An investigation by Radio-Canada's Enquête shows Health Canada has granted production licences to companies with individuals with links to the criminal underworld. (Tijana Martin/Canadian Press) An investor in a major Canadian cannabis company has had longstanding ties, including business dealings, with influential Mafia members and drug...
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  • Marijuana in babies? Colo. researchers find new evidence

    Tuesday, November 06, 2018 283
    After a nursing woman smokes marijuana once, her baby through her breast milk will consume traces of the drug's chief psychoactive element for at least six weeks and possibly longer, according to a soon-to-be-released study out of Colorado. For physicians who see cannabis-associated birth complications and long-term brain development concerns with children, the research is another step to try to square growing public nonchalance about marijuana with medical guidelines about use. Researchers...
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  • Isn't Two Enough? || Spoken Word

    Friday, November 02, 2018 416
    Isn't Two Enough? || Spoken Word View Video
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  • Low Dose Cannabinoid Consumption Causes DNA Damage

    Monday, October 29, 2018 341
    Abstract Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidivarin (CBDV) are natural cannabinoids which are consumed in increasing amounts worldwide in cannabis extracts, as they prevent epilepsy, anxiety, and seizures. It was claimed that they may be useful in cancer therapy and have anti-inflammatory properties. Adverse long-term effects of these drugs (induction of cancer and infertility) which are related to damage of the genetic material have not been investigated. Therefore, we studied their DNA-damaging...
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  • A 21ST CENTURY PROBLEM: CANNABIS TOXICITY IN A 13-MONTH-OLD CHILD

    Friday, October 26, 2018 429
    Abstract —Background: Cannabis is one of the most abused drugs worldwide, with more than 20 million users in the United States (US). As access to cannabis products increases with expanding US legislation and decriminalization of marijuana, emergency physicians must be adept in recognizing unintentional cannabis toxicity in young children, which can range from altered mental status to encephalopathy and coma. Case Report: We report the case of a 13- month-old female presenting with...
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  • Colorado Schools using marijuana test kit to show results instantly: Rossen Reports Spot the Pot

    Friday, October 26, 2018 479
    Marijuana can be incredibly easy for kids to sneak into school, but now some school districts across the country are using a new gadget to spot it in just seconds. TODAY national investigative correspondent Jeff Rossen heads to Colorado, where marijuana is legal, to show viewers how the new “test kit” works. For complete storyFor complete story
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  • Cannabis withdrawal can be 'highly disabling'

    Thursday, October 25, 2018 508
    Frequent users of cannabis may have 'disabling' withdrawal symptoms, researchers warn. This condition is included in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which was published in 2013. According to the DSM-5, a formerly frequent user of the drug has cannabis withdrawal syndrome when they experience at least three of the following symptoms within a week from cessation: irritability or hostility nervousness or anxiety poor sleep loss of appetite...
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  • Dazed and confused: Canada cannabis legalization brings complex new laws

    Thursday, October 18, 2018 526
    Canada legalizes marijuana: here’s everything you need to know Leyland Cecco Tue 16 Oct 2018 Canada will become the second country in the world to legalise recreational marijuana. Photograph: Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images Canada will this week become the second country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana, but as they negotiate a patchwork of new legislation and inconsistent enforcement, smokers may soon find that their enjoyment of weed is still blunted. New rules...
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  • A Population-Based Analysis of the Relationship Between Substance Use and Adolescent Cognitive Development

    Monday, October 08, 2018 345
    Conclusions : Beyond the role of cognition in vulnerability to substance use, the concurrent and lasting effects of adolescent cannabis use can be observed on important cognitive functions and appear to be more pronounced than those observed for alcohol. read more Download PDF
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  • Daily cannabis smoking as a risk factor for progression of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C

    Thursday, October 04, 2018 445
    Conclusion : Daily cannabis smoking is significantly associated with fibrosis progression during CHC. Patients with ongoing CHC should be advised to refrain from regular cannabis use. Read More
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  • Maternal Cannabis Use During a Child's Lifetime Associated With Earlier Initiation...

    Monday, October 01, 2018 356
    Conclusions : As cannabis legalization expands across the U.S., adult use may become increasingly normative. This study indicates that maternal cannabis use may be a risk factor for early initiation among their offspring. Preventive interventions should consider strategies to delay initiation among children of cannabis users! Download Article
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  • FORMER New York Times WRITER’S NEW BOOK WARNS OF MARIJUANA, VIOLENCE, MENTAL ILLNESS!

    Wednesday, September 26, 2018 621
    October 2018 A former New York Times reporter and now a best-selling author, Alex Berenson has an important new book, Tell Your Children: The truth about marijuana, violence and mental health. Simon & Schuster will publish and release it on January 8, 2019 . “I know this topic is controversial……I spoke to scores of scientists and doctors and examined hundreds of studies and papers. Whatever you think of marijuana, you owe it to yourself and to your families to know the truth that legalizers...
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  • Cannabis Use Increase – Worst in Recent History!

    Monday, September 24, 2018 385
    As the very, very false perception that ‘Weed is harmful’ goes down – consumption goes up, and up, and up! Big Tobacco 2.0 is now in full flight and like version 1.0 is conning too many people, particularly the young. Ah! But that’s the key demographic to seduce and manipulate if you want to drive your industry profits moving forward – customers for life – Addiction is the business model and the emerging generation will be the first causalities, then families, then communities, then…. In...
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  • SHOCK REPORT: Large Numbers Of Child Slaves May Be Working On Cannabis Farms In London

    Monday, September 17, 2018 419
    "Potentially thousands of children and young people are being trafficked from Vietnam and exploited by ruthless criminal gangs." August 21, 2018 Experts warned Monday that large numbers of child slaves may be working on cannabis farms in London. Since 2016, authorities have found 314 illegal cannabis farms in London, according to police data. The most alarming figures, however, come via human trafficking experts, who warn that the number of children used as slave labor on these farms is likely...
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  • Canada: Pot Permissible for Police Provided they Prove...Not 'Stoned'???

    Monday, September 17, 2018 324
    Police will be able to toke, but must be fit for duty September 15, 2018 While members of the Canadian Armed Forces must refrain from using cannabis in the eight hours before they report for duty and for 24 hours before handling a firearm, regulations for police officers don't appear to be as tight. Provided they show up at work fit for duty, your local police officers will be free to smoke a joint with the neighbours when recreational cannabis becomes legal under federal law on Oct. 17. While...
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  • Spike in cannabis overdoses blamed on potent edibles, poor public education

    Tuesday, September 04, 2018 476
    "He had eaten a [cannabis] edible and just couldn't handle it," MacIntosh said. Cannabis overdoses are something he said he's personally witnessed at the bar three times in the past year. That mirrors a trend happening across the country — as the Oct. 17 date for legalization of recreational pot looms, CBC News has learned that cannabis-related emergency room visits have spiked. Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) shows that over the past three years the number of...
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  • Marijuana found in breast milk up to six days after use

    Thursday, August 30, 2018 369
    Researchers report 63 percent of breast milk samples from mothers using marijuana contained traces of the drug UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SAN DIEGO With the legalization of marijuana in several states, increased use for both medicinal and recreational purposes has been documented in pregnant and breastfeeding women. Although national organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that breastfeeding mothers do not use marijuana, there has been a lack of specific data to support...
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  • America’s Invisible Pot Addicts

    Tuesday, August 21, 2018 362
    More and more Americans are reporting near-constant cannabis use, as legalization forges ahead. Evan, who asked that his full name not be used for fear of the professional repercussions, has a self-described cannabis-use disorder. If not necessarily because of legalization, but alongside legalization, such problems are becoming more common: The share of adults with one has doubled since the early aughts, as the share of cannabis users who consume it daily or near-daily has jumped nearly 50...
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  • Huge surge in blackmarket cannabis trade and organised crime in California DESPITE drug being legalised, cops reveal in warning to UK

    Friday, August 17, 2018 527
    After calls for cannabis to be legalised in the UK police chiefs in Los Angeles - the state’s largest legal weed market - say there’s been a rise in illegal cannabis market even though recreational marijuana was legalised back in January…. But there are hundreds of illegal cannabis stores where customers can buy the drug at cheaper prices than at the heavily regulated and taxed legal dispensaries. California regulators sent out almost 1,000 cease and desist letters to marijuana businesses they...
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  • Energy Drinks – Drug Use link: Study suggests link between energy drinks and drug use

    Thursday, August 16, 2018 412
    Teens who drink more than one energy drink per day are less likely to believe drugs like cocaine and heroin are dangerous, according to new research. University of Texas at San Antonio researcher Dr. Dylan Jackson and his team studied data from 8th and 10th graders between 2010 and 2016. Teens that drank an energy everyday are “125 percent more likely to fail to perceive any risk in trying to consume cocaine,” compared to their peers. And when it came to heroin, they were 143 percent more...
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  • How cannabis and cannabis-based drugs harm the brain

    Wednesday, August 15, 2018 378
    A new study led by Ana Sebastião, group leader at Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes and Professor of Faculdade de Medicina of Universidade de Lisboa (iMM, FMUL; Portugal) and her team in collaboration with researchers from the University of Lancaster (UK), shows that the long-term use of either cannabis or cannabis-based drugs impairs memory. The study now published in the Journal of Neurochemistry reveals the implications for both recreational users and people who use the drug...
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  • Crazed cannabis user, 31, who gouged a seven-month-old boy’s eyes then threw him and his mother out of a window is jailed for life!

    Monday, August 13, 2018 362
    Sean Ziemelis, 31, attacked a seven-month-old baby at a flat in Luton last year A court heard he was high on cannabis when he threw the child out a window He also threw the child's mother out of a window. Both escaped major injury Mr Lofthouse said there were concerns about Ziemelis' behaviour after he had taken cannabis the previous night. He had been discovered with his genitals out while on top of a dog in an alleyway. Then at 2am on August 1 last year the child's mother found him with his...
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  • Big Marijuana Claims Vs Science States

    Wednesday, August 01, 2018 375
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  • Are There Any Alternatives When A Physician Offers My Child Opioids for Pain?

    Tuesday, July 31, 2018 397
    JULY 18, 2018 BY COREY W. HUNTER, MD, FIPP While opioid medications may be effective for treating pain in the short-term, they have an extremely high propensity for addiction and do nothing to address the underlying cause of the pain. The good news is that there are many alternatives to opioids that can help alleviate your son or daughter’s pain. Below, we’ve helped to spell them out for you and have provided guidance on how to ask your doctor about these alternatives. What if My Child Has...
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  • Marijuana Users Grossly Underachieve

    Tuesday, July 31, 2018 377
    by Dr. Drew W. Edwards Republished from DrDrewEdwards.org All the independent, peer-reviewed research confirms what I and other experts have observed for years. Cannabis users significantly underachieve in education, their careers, and have significant problems with their most significant relationships. Two recent and eye-opening studies published in the medical journals Addiction, and Neuropharmacology respectively reveal gross deficits in cognitive ability (IQ) executive functioning,...
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  • All Young Cannabis Users Face Psychosis Risk

    Tuesday, June 26, 2018 448
    (Medscape and JAMA Psychiatry) June 15, 2018 Cannabis use directly increases the risk for psychosis in teens, new research shows. A large prospective study of teens shows that "in adolescents, cannabis use is harmful" with respect to psychosis risk, study author Patricia J. Conrod, PhD, professor of psychiatry, University of Montreal, Canada, told Medscape Medical News. The study included 3720 adolescents from the Co-Venture cohort, which represents 76% of all grade 7 students attending 31...
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  • Canada has made a huge mistake in legalising recreational cannabis – it’s a gateway to serious addiction

    Tuesday, June 26, 2018 384
    I heard the news that Canada became the second country in the world to legalise the recreational use of cannabis and, in all honesty, it shocked me. Mums are smoking weed while pregnant to get rid of morning sickness The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, believes that legalising the drug will help keep marijuana away from underage users and reduce related crime, but in our experience of treating some 140 patients per month for various addictions, addiction to ‘harder’ drugs in our patients stems...
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  • How THC Injures the Brain, By Mark Gold MD

    Monday, June 25, 2018 445
    The acute and long-term effects of THC on the brain and behavior are mediated via the vast endocannabinoid system (ECS), which was not discovered until the early 1990s and remains poorly understood. However, addiction is addiction and the psychopathology associated with marijuana, especially the high potency products, amid the drumbeat for full legalization in the absence of any serious scientific scrutiny is tantamount to political malpractice. Use can be associated with psychosis,...
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  • How to Know if Your Kid is Vaping Marijuana — and What to Do About It

    Friday, June 15, 2018 539
    BY THE PARTNERSHIP First things first — how is marijuana vaped? Vaping refers to the inhalation of an aerosol produced by heating a liquid/oil or substance in a compact electronic portable vaporizer. While many young “vapers” say they inhale flavored liquids like Gummy Bear, German Chocolate Cake and Cotton Candy, youth can vaporize marijuana – either the ground plant itself, waxes often referred to as dabs, or THC and CBD oils. Selling equipment to vape marijuana in its leaf, dab or oil form...
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  • Study finds THC increases false recollections of memories

    Wednesday, June 06, 2018 291
    A new study published in Biological Psychiatry indicates that THC, the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, can increase false recollections when trying to remember words and images “Previous work from our group had found that THC can impair the encoding (i.e., the acquisition or learning) of new emotional experiences…” For complete article
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  • Cannabis puts 27,000 people a year in hospital: Rise in admissions could be due to increase in use of super-strength 'skunk', warns MP

    Wednesday, May 30, 2018 482
    There were 27,501 admissions linked to cannabis in England in 2016/17, a 15 per cent rise in just two years from 23,866 in 2014/15 Medical journal The Lancet takes unprecedented step of branding cannabis a ‘huge risk to health’ Tens of thousands of people are ending up in hospital with cannabis-related health problems, official figures have revealed. There were 27,501 admissions linked to cannabis in England in 2016/17, a 15 per cent rise in just two years from 23,866 in 2014/15. Labour MP...
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  • Cannabis Intoxication Case Series: The Dangers of Edibles Containing Tetrahydrocannabinol.

    Monday, April 23, 2018 496
    Abstract STUDY OBJECTIVE: Cannabis and its principal active constituent, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), are increasingly available as edibles resembling commercially available food products. In this case series, we describe a population of predominantly paediatric patients who were inadvertently exposed to a THC-containing product in San Francisco. METHODS : Twelve children and 9 adults were identified, with 16 patients having detectable serum THC and THC metabolites. All patients presented to...
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  • Can You Be Allergic To Marijuana?

    Thursday, April 05, 2018 432
    Prevention : Avoiding exposure to marijuana is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction to the plant or drug. A person who is using medical marijuana and suspects that they may be allergic to it should speak with their doctor to find an alternative treatment. Read More
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  • Is Cannabis Use Associated With Increased Risk of Cigarette Smoking Initiation, Persistence, and Relapse?

    Tuesday, April 03, 2018 346
    Longitudinal Data From a Representative Sample of US Adults J Clin Psychiatry 2018;79(2):17m11522; 10.4088/JCP.17m11522 © Copyright 2018 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc. Objective : The current study prospectively investigated the relationship between cannabis use and cigarette smoking initiation, persistence, and relapse during a 3-year period among adults in the United States. Methods: Analyses included respondents who completed Waves 1 (2001–2002) and 2 (2004–2005) of the National...
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  • Marijuana Use Disorder, Subcortical Dopamine Hyper-Connectivity and Psychosis—Is There a Connection?

    Wednesday, March 28, 2018 412
    Author: Mark Gold, MD A continued effort to legalize the unrestricted access and use of marijuana in the U.S., primarily through voter initiatives, continues in spite of clinical trial evidence of lack of efficacy, increasing teen use, and reports of serious consequences from accidents to mental illness. As marijuana is currently viewed by the public as “safe until proven dangerous” rather than dangerous until proven safe and effective, by way of randomized double blind clinical trials for a...
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  • DRIVING UNDER INFLUENCE OF CANNABIS

    Wednesday, March 28, 2018 322
    Download PDF
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  • As scans show drug’s impact on brain, a top doctor warns of a psychosis, paranoid delusions and a superskunk schizophrenia timebomb

    Monday, March 26, 2018 300
    The UK Mail on Sunday PUBLISHED: 25 March 2018 Britain could set off a schizophrenia timebomb if it ignores the dangers of super-strength ‘skunk’ cannabis, one of the UK’s most eminent psychiatrists warns today. Strong evidence now shows that smoking potent forms of the Class B drug increases the chance of psychosis, paranoid delusions and schizophrenia. But too many people – from teenagers to top officials – have little idea of the terrible toll it can take on the mind, says Professor Sir...
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  • Are There Risks From Second-hand Marijuana Smoke? Early Science Says Yes

    Tuesday, March 20, 2018 626
    March 19, 2018 The inspiration arrived in a haze at a Paul McCartney concert a few years ago in San Francisco. "People in front of me started lighting up and then other people started lighting up," says Matthew Springer , a biologist and professor in the division of cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco. "And for a few naive split seconds I was thinking to myself, 'Hey, they can't smoke in AT&T Park! I'm sure that's not allowed.' And then I realized that it was all...
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  • Alcohol and Marijuana Together Magnifies Driving Difficulties

    Wednesday, February 14, 2018 391
    13/2/18Bottom of Form Mixing Alcohol and Marijuana Amplifies THC in the System Three news stories exemplify the tragic results of mixing alcohol and marijuana before getting behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. Most recently, a suspected-DUI driver crashed into a California Highway patrolman in a parked vehicle on Christmas Eve. Andrew Camilleri, 33, died instantly. He left behind a wife and three children. A driver who drank alcohol and smoked marijuana killed CHP Officer Andrew Camilleri,...
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  • Tampa man who blamed edible marijuana for airline melee pleads guilty

    Wednesday, February 14, 2018 409
    Associated Press Published: February 12, 2018 This July 7, 2017, photo taken the FBI and released via the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle shows the aftermath of a cabin on Delta Flight 129 from Seattle to Beijing, after authorities say flight attendants struggled with a passenger who lunged for an exit door. A Florida man who brawled with flight attendants and passengers when he tried to open the exit door of a Delta Air Lines flight bound from Seattle to China has pleaded guilty to four...
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  • Cigarettes and pot linked to teen psychosis

    Tuesday, February 06, 2018 387
    January 29, 2018 - According to a recent study, the use of weed or tobacco cigarettes is connected to the increased risk of psychotic-like experiences, which could include hallucinations or delusions. The study, published by JAMA Psychiatry, is entitled “ Association of Combined Patterns of Tobacco and Cannabis Use in Adolescence With Psychotic Experiences ,” and analyzes data from a longitudinal cohort study of more than 3,300 teens. While both marijuana and tobacco smoking were associated...
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  • Marijuana at school: Loss of concentration, risk of psychosis

    Friday, February 02, 2018 351
    January 26, 2018 10.17am AEDT Updated January 31, 2018 5.11pm AEDT One of the enduring myths about marijuana is that it is “harmless” and can be safely used by teens. Many high school teachers would beg to disagree, and consider the legalization of marijuana to be the biggest upcoming challenge in and around schools. And the evidence is on their side As an education researcher, I have visited hundreds of schools over four decades, conducting research into both education policy and teen mental...
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  • Skunk user who bit, throttled and stabbed his mother 23 times in drug-induced frenzy leaving her fighting for her life is detained in hospital indefinitely

    Thursday, February 01, 2018 429
    By Stewart Paterson For Mailonline 18 January 2018 Jamil Jabbie stabbed his nurse mother 23 times in a cannabis-induced frenzy She considered sectioning him because of his unbalanced mind and drug use Jabbie, 19, stabbed his mother in the stomach, leg and chest before fleeing He left the home in south London covered in blood and then hid in a care home He was yesterday given an indefinite hospital order at Southwark Crown Court Read more
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  • Marijuana addiction is real, and teenage users are most at risk

    Wednesday, January 24, 2018 428
    In the rush to legalize marijuana in Canada, medical experts are warning about weed’s alarming side, particularly for younger users . For more
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  • Study reveals negative long-term effects of heavy cannabis use on brain function and behavior

    Thursday, January 18, 2018 397
    January 16, 2018 New study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging looks at the effects of heavy cannabis use on brain function and behavior Young people with cannabis dependence have altered brain function that may be the source of emotional disturbances and increased psychosis risk that are associated with cannabis abuse, according to a new study published in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. The alterations were most pronounced in...
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  • Stroke and cannabis use in patients with no cardiovascular risk factors: a systematic review of case reports.

    Wednesday, January 03, 2018 392
    INTRODUCTION: Cannabis and its synthetic analogues are currently the most widely consumed illicit substances worldwide. Multiple alterations have been linked to its use, including cerebrovascular disease (CVD) or stroke, whose association with the substance has been based mainly on the hypothesis of transient vasoconstriction, which explains a large proportion of the cases reported. CONCLUSIONS: There is a wide variety of reports of stroke associated with cannabis use in patients with no other...
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  • Adverse impact of marijuana use on clinical outcomes among psychiatry patients with depression and alcohol use disorder

    Friday, December 15, 2017 427
    Highlights Patients with depression frequently used marijuana and nearly half met the AUD criteria. Fewer patients with AUD were using marijuana at baseline compared to patients without AUD. Patients with AUD using marijuana increased over 6 months compared to those without AUD. Patients with AUD using marijuana had worse clinical outcomes than patients without AUD. Addressing marijuana use in outpatient psychiatry treatment may help improve outcomes. For More
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  • Teen marijuana use may lead to bipolar symptoms later on

    Thursday, December 07, 2017 444
    Published 4 December 2017 By Ana Sandoiu Fact checked by Jasmin Collier It's a well-known fact that many young people use cannabis, and studies have pointed to a link between the drug and psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia. However, the links between cannabis use and the development of bipolar symptoms over time have been insufficiently studied — until now. Using regression analysis, the scientists adjusted for gender, alcohol and other drug use, early environmental risk factors —...
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  • Cannabis Use and Hypomania in Young People: A Prospective Analysis

    Tuesday, December 05, 2017 483
    Schizophrenia Bulletin, sbx158 Published: 28 November 2017 Background Cannabis use in young people is common and associated with psychiatric disorders. However, the prospective link between cannabis use and bipolar disorder symptoms has rarely been investigated. The study hypothesis was that adolescent cannabis use is associated with hypomania in early adulthood via several potential etiological pathways. Results & Conclusions Data were available on 3370 participants. Cannabis use at least 2–3...
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  • Drinkable pot? Constellation Brands takes stake in marijuana company

    Thursday, November 02, 2017 409
    Oct 29, 2017 U.S. beer-industry executives have been debating whether legalized marijuana could cannibalize sales of beer. The U.S. distributor of Corona beer is chasing a new type of buzz. Constellation Brands Inc. STZ, -1.41% has agreed to take a 9.9% stake in Canopy Growth Corp., a Canadian marijuana company, and plans to work with the grower to develop and market cannabis-infused beverages. For more
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  • Teenager believes legalization of cannabis is a mistake

    Monday, October 30, 2017 368
    José Laganière | VAT News| Published October 25, 2017 Even though she is now 17, Jessika already knows the serious repercussions that drug and alcohol use can have on a life. She says legalizing marijuana in Canada is a big mistake. The last few years have not been easy for Jessika. After smoking her first pot joint when she was only 11, she then fell into alcohol and other harder drugs. Powerless, her parents witnessed this drift until a six-month therapy at the Portage Center finally came...
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  • Marijuana use disorder is common and often untreated

    Friday, October 27, 2017 351
    Survey shows marijuana use disorder linked to substance use/mental disorders and disability. Marijuana use disorder is common in the United States, is often associated with other substance use disorders, behavioral problems, and disability, and goes largely untreated, according to a new study conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The analysis found that 2.5 percent of adults — nearly 6 million people —...
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  • Marijuana Cannabis Use and Risk of Prescription Opioid Use

    Friday, October 27, 2017 366
    Download PDF - Marijuana Cannabis Use and Risk of Prescription Opioid Use
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  • Marijuana News Periodical 20 October 2017

    Friday, October 27, 2017 421
    Download PDF Marijuana News Periodical 20 October 2017 (4.5mb)
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  • Smoking cannabis increases violent behaviour in young people with mental health disorders

    Friday, October 27, 2017 371
    A new study on cannabis has found that users with mental illness present an increased risk of violent behaviour. The research conducted by the Institut en Santé Mentale de Montréal (Montreal Institute of Menal Health), studied 1,136 patients – from 18 to 40 years of age – with mental illnesses who had been seen five times during the year after discharge. And while previous research has already shown a link between cannabis and aggressive behaviour, this new study found that users who continued...
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  • Endocannabinoids and Hippocampal Signalling and Function

    Monday, October 16, 2017 343
    Author: Mark Gold, MD Ground-breaking research on the hippocampus and ECs has enhanced our knowledge of the role of molecular mechanisms necessary to process lipid EC messengers. It has been established that circuitry between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex is disrupted by the introduction of exogenous cannabinoid and thus is correlated with impairments in behavior (Kucewicz et al., 2011). Cannabinoids may disrupt cortical function by desynchronizing neuronal communication across...
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  • Smoking cannabis DOES make people more violent: Project confirms for the first time that using the drug is the cause of crimes

    Friday, October 06, 2017 500
    Cannabis users more likely to commit violent crimes, research has shown Study found there was a ‘more constant relationship’ between cannabis and violence than between alcohol or cocaine use and violence More than 20 US states have legalised cannabis for medical purposes By Steve Doughty PUBLISHED: 5 October 2017 Cannabis users are more likely to commit violent crime, pioneering research has shown. It warned those who smoke the drug regularly run an increased risk of using violence against...
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  • 'Dabbing' cannabis may release cancerous toxins

    Thursday, October 05, 2017 487
    Published 1 October 2017 By Ana Sandoiu Butane hash oil is a cannabis extract made using butane. Researchers have analyzed the chemical composition of the vapors released by butane hash oil - a cannabis extract commonly used in "dabbing," or vaporizing - and found carcinogenic substances. In light of cannabis being legalized in several states across America, more and more people use marijuana recreationally. The practice of " dabbing " has also gained popularity; users think that dabbing is...
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  • Cancer-Causing Compounds Found in Cannabis Oil

    Friday, September 29, 2017 494
    The authors continued, stating that the current study focused on the “chemistry of myrcene and other common terpenes found in cannabis extracts. Methacrolein, benzene, and several other products of concern to human health were formed under the conditions that simulated real-world dabbing. The terpene degradation products observed are consistent with those reported in the atmospheric chemistry literature.” Many of the terpenes that the researchers discovered in the vaporized hash oil are also...
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  • Marijuana and 'spice' could trigger seizures, study says

    Thursday, September 28, 2017 378
    September 2017 By Honor Whiteman Researchers suggest that the use of potent cannabinoids have the potential to trigger seizures. While a number of studies have suggested that marijuana may be effective for reducing seizures, new research cautions that potent and synthetic forms of the drug have the opposite effect. Researchers from the University of Tsukuba in Japan found that natural tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the psychoactive chemical in marijuana - and the synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018...
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  • Marijuana 'may be worse than cigarettes for cardiovascular health'

    Thursday, September 28, 2017 383
    August 2017 By Honor Whiteman Research suggests that marijuana use may raise the risk of death from hypertension by more than threefold. People who use marijuana may be three times more likely to die from high blood pressure than non-users of the drug, a new study finds. The researchers say that their findings indicate that marijuana use is a greater risk factor for poor cardiovascular health than cigarette smoking…Cigarette smoking is a well-established risk factor for high blood pressure and...
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  • Marijuana and Other Drugs – the Link We can’t ignore (S.A.M.)

    Thursday, September 28, 2017 409
    Download PDF Cannabis Use and Risk of Prescription Opioid Use Disorder in the United States View Website
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  • Get Out Your Checkbook: What Legalized Marijuana is Going to Cost

    Tuesday, September 26, 2017 406
    Many people fail to realize that alcohol, although legal, costs employers and taxpayers millions of dollars each year. In 2010, the cost of excessive alcohol use in the United States reached $249 billion, and two out of every five dollars of those costs were paid by federal, state, and local governments—all funded by the taxpayer. In fact, of this $249 billion drain on the American economy, $179 billion is directly associated to workplace productivity, and an additional $28 billion to health...
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  • Daily Cannabis Smoking as a Risk Factor for Progression of Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis C

    Monday, September 25, 2017 380
    In conclusion , we show a significant relationship between daily cannabis use and fibrosis progression in patients with ongoing CHC. We believe that patients with ongoing CHC should be strongly advised to abstain from daily cannabis use. This recommendation might be particularly beneficial in difficult-to-treat patients. Download PDF
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  • Marijuana: Effects of teenage use may be reversible

    Thursday, September 21, 2017 437
    Published 14 September 2017 By Catharine Paddock PhD Canadian researchers have found that they might be able to reverse the schizophrenia-like symptoms associated with prolonged teenage marijuana use. Scientists have identified a mechanism in the brain that seems to explain how long-term marijuana use in the teenage years might lead to schizophrenia and other similar psychiatric diseases in adulthood. For complete article Research Found at at
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  • California is about to open its first legal cannabis shops and it's posing a huge problem for local pot farms

    Thursday, September 07, 2017 412
    Wow! Check this out! These people are just openly admitting that they will sell to the black market in CA. Do these people expect us to feel sorry for them that decades long businesses of growing and selling pot ILLEGALLY (clearly drug dealers!!!) is going up in smoke because of legalization???? This is so amazingly absurd that it’s hard to believe it’s real. They cry when marijuana is illegal and now they are complaining that making it legal is too much of a hardship for them to follow...
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  • Cannabis Use during Pregnancy: Pharmacokinetics and Effects on Child Development.

    Thursday, September 07, 2017 377
    Grant KS 1, Petroff R 2, Isoherranen N 3, Stella N 4, Burbacher TM 5. Abstract The broad-based legalization of cannabis use has created a strong need to understand its impact on human health and behavior. The risks that may be associated with cannabis use, particularly for sensitive subgroups such as pregnant women, are difficult to define because of a paucity of dose-response data and the recent increase in cannabis potency. Although there is a large body of evidence detailing the mode of...
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  • Marijuana Use Holds Three-Fold Blood Pressure Death Risk - The risk grows with every year of use.

    Wednesday, August 16, 2017 363
    Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - People who smoke marijuana have a three times greater risk of dying from hypertension, or high blood pressure, than those who have never used the drug, scientists said on Wednesday. The risk grows with every year of use, they said. The findings, from a study of some 1,200 people, could have implications in the United States among other countries. Several states have legalized marijuana and others are moving toward it. It is decriminalized in a number of other...
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  • Black Market WEED Smashing Environment Yet Again...

    Friday, August 11, 2017 407
    Black Market WEED Smashing Environment Yet Again - Not so 'green' after all: Pollution from illegal California marijuana farms is forming toxic waste dumps that span thousands of acres (Remember – WEED is fully legal in this State!) In California, illegal marijuana farms are taking over thousands of acres of land as toxic wastes are increasingly corrupting ecosystems California is responsible for the majority of illegal U.S. marijuana farming New data says the state holds '731,000 pounds of...
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  • Marijuana devastated Colorado, don’t legalize it nationally

    Tuesday, August 08, 2017 505
    In 2012, we were promised funds from marijuana taxes would benefit our communities, particularly schools. Dr. Harry Bull, the Superintendent of Cherry Creek Schools, one of the largest school districts in the state, said, "So far, the only thing that the legalization of marijuana has brought to our schools has been marijuana." In fiscal year 2016, marijuana tax revenue resulted in $156,701,018. The total tax revenue for Colorado was $13,327,123,798, making marijuana only 1.18% of the state's...
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  • Colorado official: 'Marijuana is gateway drug to homicide'

    Wednesday, August 02, 2017 410
    A Colorado district attorney drew attention this week after he pronounced marijuana to be a "gateway drug to homicide." The controversial remarks made by 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May came at a news conference Tuesday about a large black market marijuana bust in the state, KKTV reported. Thirteen people have been indicted, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman announced. For more Black market marijuana bust leaves bruises on Colorado's marijuana industry July 2017 Check out this...
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  • Cannabis use and suicidal ideation: Test of the utility of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide

    Wednesday, August 02, 2017 498
    Abstract Despite a documented relationship between cannabis use and suicidality, little is known about psychological vulnerability factors that may increase suicidality among this high-risk group. The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS; Joiner, 2005) proposes that people are vulnerable to wanting to die by suicide if they experience both perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. Daily cannabis users may be especially vulnerable to these factors. The current study...
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  • Chronic depression in young teens tied to marijuana use later

    Monday, July 31, 2017 392
    July 2017 Teens at risk for marijuana-use disorder - People with cannabis- or marijuana-use disorder often have symptoms of withdrawal when they stop using the substance. In some cases, it can take the form of a severe addiction . It has been suggested that 30 percent of marijuana users "may have some degree of marijuana-use disorder." The likelihood of developing marijuana-use disorder is four to seven times higher in people who start using the drug before the age of 18. Dependence on...
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  • Cannabis-Induced Psychosis: A Review

    Sunday, July 23, 2017 553
    July 14, 2017 | Substance Use Disorder , Addiction By Ruby S. Grewal, MD and Tony P. George, MD, FRCPC Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, and trends show increasing use in the general population. As cannabis consumption rises, there has been significant emerging evidence for cannabis-related risks to health.1 Numerous lines of evidence suggest a correlation between cannabis consumption and a variety of psychiatric conditions, including cannabis-induced...
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  • “I feel like I've hit the bottom and have no idea what to do.”

    Tuesday, July 18, 2017 438
    “I feel like I've hit the bottom and have no idea what to do.”: Supportive social networking on Reddit for individuals with a desire to quit cannabis use Shaina J. Sowles , M.P.H, Melissa J. Krauss , M.P.H, Lewam Gebremedhn & Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg , Ph.D. Accepted 03 Feb 2017, Accepted author version posted online: 13 Jul 2017 Conclusions: This exploratory research highlights the potential of online communities as tools for individuals coping with addiction recovery, and future research...
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  • Marijuana use linked to poorer school performance, major new research reveals

    Sunday, July 16, 2017 405
    Teenagers who smoke marijuana regularly achieve poorer grades at school and risk their chances of going to university, according to a major new scientific study. A longitudinal study of more than 26,400 pupils in Canada found those who started using marijuana at least once a month were around half as likely to achieve high grades as they were before taking up the habit, and were ultimately less likely to pursue university ambitions. Marijuana users were also four times more likely to skip...
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  • Marijuana use linked to greater psychosis risk in teens

    Friday, July 14, 2017 343
    Published July 2017 By Honor Whiteman Researchers say that adolescents who increase their use of the drug may be more susceptible to psychotic-like episodes. Studies have long suggested a link between marijuana use and psychosis. New research sheds further light on this association, after finding that teenagers who increase their use of the drug are more likely to experience psychotic-like episodes…Compared with teenagers in the general population, the researchers found that teenagers who...
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  • Marijuana Lobby Admits Tobacco Industry Executives Pay-to-Play

    Friday, July 07, 2017 349
    6/07/2017 “What do you want, what do you hate, what’s going to turn you off so I can’t ask you for money?” This was the question the nation’s top pot lobbyist recently posed to tobacco executives in Michigan, where his lobbying group has drafted language for a recreational marijuana legalization law and is now collecting signatures to place it on the state’s 2018 ballot. That Rob Kampia, Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), went on-the-record to admit he asked this of...
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  • Marijuana legalisation in the United States: An Australian perspective

    Thursday, July 06, 2017 475
    This paper reviews the US experience to identify any potential lessons or hazards likely to emerge. It outlines the regulatory requirements of different US states for managing medicinal and recreational marijuana use, and the costs and benefits of these measures. It also critically analyses the most common commercial for-profit production and distribution model and examines the implications of this approach in terms of individual, social and criminological outcomes. Download Article
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  • Legal cannabis laws impact teen use

    Monday, July 03, 2017 388
    A new study by researchers at Dartmouth has found that adolescents living in medical marijuana states with a plethora of dispensaries are more likely to have tried new methods of cannabis use, such as edibles and vaping, at a younger age than those living in states with fewer dispensaries. The study will appear in the August issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. For more
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  • Teen cannabis use and illicit drug use in early adulthood linked

    Friday, June 16, 2017 395
    One in 5 adolescents at risk of tobacco dependency, harmful alcohol consumption and illicit drug use Date: June 7, 2017 Source : University of Bristol Summary: Researchers have found regular and occasional cannabis use as a teen is associated with a greater risk of other illicit drug taking in early adulthood. The study also found cannabis use was associated with harmful drinking and smoking. For more
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  • Dose-related effects of delta-9-THC on emotional responses to acute psychosocial stress

    Tuesday, June 06, 2017 461
    The University of Chicago, Department of Psychiatry Behavioral Neuroscience, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., MC3077, Chicago IL 60637, United States Present address: The University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Psychiatry, 1601 W. Taylor St., MC912, Chicago, Illinois 60612 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.03.030 Highlights •We assessed effects of delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) in healthy volunteers. •THC produced nonlinear...
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  • Teenage rugby player cut off penis while high on skunk, says father who wants drug made Class A

    Tuesday, June 06, 2017 514
    2 June 2017 The teenager's father is backing Lord Monson's call for skunk to be reclassified Credit:Matthew Fearn/PA wire Ateenage rugby player cut off his own penis and stabbed his mother while high on skunk, his father has revealed, as he called for the drug to be reclassified. The father, named only as Nick because he wants to remain anonymous as his son is rebuilding his life, is backing Lord Nicholas Monson's campaign to have skunk reclassified from a class B to a class A drug and for the...
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  • Marijuana may complicate tobacco cessation

    Monday, June 05, 2017 427
    05/31/2017 Adults who have used tobacco and currently use marijuana are twice as likely as those who have never used marijuana to be continued tobacco users, according to a new study from the University of Washington School of Public Health. About 70 percent of adult marijuana users are also tobacco users, which may complicate tobacco cessation…“We do not yet know how the widespread legalization of marijuana for recreational or non-medical purposes will impact tobacco use and cessation,” said...
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  • Marijuana Violence and Law

    Friday, May 26, 2017 407
    Miller and Oberbarnscheidt, Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy 2017, S11:014 DOI: 10.4172/2155-6105.1000S11-014 Conclusion According to research studies, marijuana use causes aggressive behavior, causes or exacerbates psychosis and produce paranoias. Нese eوٴects have been illustrated through case studies of highly publicized incidents and heightened political profiles. Нese cases contain examples of repeated illustrations of aggression, psychosis and paranoia by marijuana users and...
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  • Dr Randall's letter exposes truth of pot legalization

    Monday, May 22, 2017 424
    In 2012, Coloradans voted to pass Colorado Amendment 64 which led to the state-wide legalization of recreational marijuana beginning in January of 2014. Since then, the number of medical and recreational dispensaries in Colorado has grown to more than double the number of McDonald’s and Starbucks combined. While individual counties could and did choose to abstain from allowing recreational marijuana sales, my county, Pueblo, was one of many that embraced Amendment 64 and the projected benefits...
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  • Callous Disregard for Human Life in Pursuit of Profit and Getting Stoned

    Monday, May 22, 2017 498
    In Washington, a man high on marijuana killed policeman Jake Gutierrez. He was holding his 6-year-old daughter while in a standoff with multiple police that lasted 10 hours. The perpetrator claimed to be a sheriff named “Zeus.” Bruce Randall Johnson, 38, had been unravelling for weeks before police fired the shots that killed him. “A regular marijuana user, he’d been smoking more lately,” according to KIRO 7. The autopsy revealed: “Johnson’s body weighed in at a spindly 104 pounds. He had no...
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  • High employees mean higher costs when marijuana legalized, oil and gas CEOs warn

    Friday, May 05, 2017 444
    CALGARY -- Oilpatch CEOs fear their costs will rise when the federal government passes recently introduced legislation to legalize recreational marijuana. The issue of drug use is closely watched in the industry, where workers tend to be young and hazards include long commutes to and from remote drilling sites, wells that produce poisonous or explosive gas and exposure to heavy machinery. Many oil and gas companies have strict bans on alcohol and drugs at work. Precision Drilling CEO Kevin...
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  • Cannabis and schizophrenia: New evidence unveiled

    Friday, May 05, 2017 462
    "Our research demonstrates that cannabis has a differential risk on susceptible versus non-susceptible individuals. In other words, young people with a genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia - those who have psychiatric disorders in their families - should bear in mind that they're playing with fire if they smoke pot during adolescence." Dr. Barzilay For more
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  • 'Ice corridors' mean one-third of Queensland children in protection have parent using meth

    Thursday, April 27, 2017 645
    BY KATHY MCLEISH APR 27, 2017 One-third of children who came into the care of the Queensland's Department of Child Safety in 2016 had parents who use or have used methamphetamines, most commonly ice, a new report has found. About 60 per cent of those 749 children suffered neglect, about a third were subjected to emotional harm, 11 per cent experienced physical harm and 1 per cent were sexually abused. Of the children with a parent who had used ice: 59pc were neglected 29pc experienced...
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  • Kicking Pot to the Curb: Cannabis and Alzheimer’s?

    Wednesday, April 26, 2017 470
    “It is beyond epidemic proportions. There truly is a tidal wave of Alzheimers disease", says, Dr. Fortanasce. An estimated 200,000 people in the United States un rage 65 are living with younger onset Alzheimers disease. And hundreds of thousands more are coping with mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to Alzheimers and other dementia. Through his research, Dr. Vincent Fortanasce, a clinical professor of neurology in Southern California, believes that there may be a link between chronic use...
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  • Long-lasting alterations of hippocampal GABAergic neurotransmission in adult rats following perinatal Δ9-THC exposure.

    Monday, April 24, 2017 466
    Abstract : The long-lasting effects of gestational cannabinoids exposure on the adult brain of the offspring are still controversial. It has already been shown that pre- or perinatal cannabinoids exposure induces learning and memory disruption in rat adult offspring, associated with permanent alterations of cortical glutamatergic neurotransmission and cognitive deficits. In the present study, the risk of long-term consequences induced by perinatal exposure to cannabinoids on rat hippocampal...
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  • Long lasting effects of chronic heavy cannabis abuse.

    Monday, April 24, 2017 506
    Nestoros JN1, Vakonaki E2, Tzatzarakis MN2, Alegakis A2, Skondras MD3, Tsatsakis AM2. Author information Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent of short-term memory impairment and schizophrenia-like symptoms in heavy and systematic cannabis users and the association between the severity of abuse and the longevity of its persistent symptoms after refraining from such use. CONCLUSIONS: The existence of hallucinations, delusions, and organic brain...
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  • Cannabis Harms: Here’s the Science that proves it!

    Tuesday, April 18, 2017 379
    Anandamide regulates how active neurons are, and how much neurotransmitter they release. This acts as a sort of ‘dimmer’ switch, slowing down communication between cells and keeping all the circulating chemicals on an even keel and in balance (homeostasis). Levels of the neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, endorphins etc for pleasure, mood, appetite, motivation, body movement, cognition, concentration. memory, brain development etc are all kept in balance by anandamide. But THC is much...
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  • Study shows marijuana use interrupts adolescent brain development

    Wednesday, April 12, 2017 551
    Regular marijuana use by teens can stop the brain from maturing. This new study is the first to establish a causal link between repeated cannabinoid exposure during adolescence and an interruption of the normal maturation processes in the prefrontal cortex, a region in the brain's frontal lobe, which regulates decision ­making and working memory and undergoes critical development during adolescence. Scientists at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL For more
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  • Cannabis use may predict opioid use in women undergoing addictions treatment March 29, 2017

    Tuesday, April 04, 2017 393
    A new study suggests that the use of cannabis may impact treatment in women undergoing methadone treatment therapy. Researchers from McMaster University and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton have found that women in methadone treatment who use cannabis are 82 per cent more likely to continue using opioids. This means that women who use cannabis are at high risk of failing methadone treatment. "About 60 per cent of men and 44 per cent of women who are undergoing methadone treatment therapy also...
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  • Eight of 16 people indicted in Colorado marijuana trafficking operation listed as having state pot licenses

    Tuesday, April 04, 2017 465
    Michael Alan Stonehouse, the alleged ringleader, is listed as having an active “key” license (Legally allowed to sell ‘Weed’, but operating a Black Market operation? Surprise, surprise – now you have TWO markets, legal and illegal trafficking? Promise of the demise of criminal enterprise was ALWAYS a myth!) By JESSE PAUL | jpaul@denverpost.com | The Denver Post | UPDATED: March 25, 2017 at 5:31 pm Eight of the 16 people indicted on charges they ran a massive illicit marijuana operation that...
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  • Cannabis users 'are four times more likely to suffer a heart attack'

    Thursday, March 23, 2017 442
    Scientists say users suffer more cardiac-related illness than those who do not smoke the drug Users in their late 20s were three times more likely to have a cardiac illness Most concerns over cannabis use are associated with mental health disorders Researchers in Ohio said users are tend to have higher blood pressures Read more
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  • Marijuana use may raise stroke, heart failure risk

    Thursday, March 16, 2017 610
    Written by Honor Whiteman Published: Friday 10 March 2017 In the United States, marijuana is becoming increasingly legalized for medicinal or recreational purposes. However, new research warns of the harms of marijuana use after finding that the drug may have negative implications for cardiovascular health. New research has found a link between marijuana use and greater cardiovascular risk. From an analysis of more than 20 million health records across the U.S., researchers have uncovered a...
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  • Experts ask: Can cannabis be made safer?

    Friday, March 10, 2017 421
    2 March 2017 As cannabis laws become liberalised in many countries, experts writing in The Lancet Psychiatry argue that there is an urgent need to explore how cannabis use can be made safer. "Although most users will not develop problems from their cannabis use, it is vital, especially now that cannabis is becoming increasingly liberalised, that we explore alternative and innovative ways by which we can reduce and mitigate cannabis related harms" says Dr Amir Englund, lead author from King's...
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  • Longitudinal influence of alcohol and marijuana use on academic performance in college students

    Thursday, March 09, 2017 428
    Abstract BACKGROUND : Alcohol and marijuana are the two most abused substances in US colleges. However, research on the combined influence (cross sectional or longitudinal) of these substances on academic performance is currently scant. METHODS : Data were derived from the longitudinal 2-year Brain and Alcohol Research in College Students (BARCS) study including 1142 freshman students who completed monthly marijuana use and alcohol consumption surveys. Subjects were classified into data-driven...
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  • Marijuana and Suicide:

    Tuesday, March 07, 2017 462
    A Growing Risk for our Youth March 6, 2017 When Hamza Warsame fell six floors to his death in December, 2015, the social media was abuzz with suggestions of a hate crime against the Muslim teen. Warsame, an immigrant from Somalia, was living in Seattle and had been invited to the 21-year-old classmate’s apartment. Hamza Warsame. The 16-year-old killed himself after using only once, a reflection of the high potency of today’s pot. However, the news came out that Warsame had smoked marijuana for...
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  • Countering the Threat of Legalized Marijuana: A Blueprint for Federal, Community, and Private Action

    Tuesday, February 28, 2017 464
    A more specific scenario has been presented by the economists of the RAND Corporation, who projected the impact of legalization on the state of California. Their analysis focused on marijuana consumption by Past Month users. The California Society of Addiction Medicine offers a summary of their findings, some of which are: Cannabis legalization would plausibly lead to a 58 percent increase in consumption Increased consumption would result from price reduction and removal of legal penalties....
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  • Cannabis industry opposes call for plain packaging and bans on advertising

    Friday, February 17, 2017 408
    LAURA KANE, THE CANADIAN PRESS 02.14.2017 VANCOUVER - Garfield Mahood has spent 30 years fighting for the Canadian government to require plain packaging for cigarettes. So, the long-time non-smokers' rights activist says he doesn't have much faith in the government's ability to regulate and restrict the marketing of marijuana. "They identified tobacco products as a cause of disease back in the 1950s," said Mahood, president of the Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud. "They've never been able...
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  • Cannabis Treatment and Child Exploitation

    Wednesday, February 01, 2017 463
    A new report by the Children’s Society on behalf of Public Health England highlights the relationship between sexual exploitation and drug use. Like their adult counterparts, young people in specialist drug treatment have a range of complex problems that extend beyond drug use. The latest treatment data from England reveal that 38% of young people (anyone under the age of 18) had at least 4 problems such as mental health, sexual exploitation or were affected by someone else’s drug use. So,...
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  • Cannabis use and its associated disorders: clinical care

    Wednesday, February 01, 2017 515
    Jan Copeland December 2016 Source: Australian Family Physician : Link to Resource : Background Globally, cannabis is the most widely used and variably regulated illicit drug. The rates of use appeared to be stable in Australia at the time of the 2013 National Drug Strategy Household Survey, but levels of cannabis use disorder are rising and treatment seeking is increasing internationally. Objective/s This article describes the prevalence of cannabis use, associated disorders (e.g. harms with...
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  • Marijuana use dampens brain's response to reward over time

    Wednesday, January 25, 2017 448
    Date: July 6, 2016 Source: University of Michigan Health System Summary : Changes may increase risk of continued drug use and addiction Most people would get a little 'rush' out of the idea that they're about to win some money. In fact, if you could look into their brain at that very moment, you'd see activity in the part of the brain that responds to rewards. But for marijuana users, that rush just isn't as big -- and gets smaller over time, a new study finds. And that may open them up to...
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  • Irish general practitioner attitudes toward decriminalisation and medical use of cannabis: results from a national survey

    Monday, January 23, 2017 492
    DOI: 10.1186/s12954-016-0129-7 Published: 13 January 2017 Abstract Background - Governmental debate in Ireland on the de facto decriminalisation of cannabis and legalisation for medical use is ongoing. A cannabis-based medicinal product (Sativex®) has recently been granted market authorisation in Ireland. This unique study aimed to investigate Irish general practitioner (GP) attitudes toward decriminalisation of cannabis and assess levels of support for use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes...
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  • 10 Marijuana Truths

    Thursday, January 19, 2017 512
    1) It causes death. The most frequent types of deaths are suicide , murder, traffic fatalities and child abuse deaths. Just because toxic overdose is nearly impossible doesn’t mean that deaths don’t occur. BRAIN DAMAGE is quantitative too. A doctor from the Netherlands, Dr. Martien Kooyman , said chronic marijuana use is “ more dangerous than chronic heroin use .” 2) Marijuana is NOT safer than Alcohol. The percentage of adults age 21 and over who use marijuana in the U.S. is roughly between...
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  • Marijuana use and schizophrenia: New evidence suggests link

    Friday, January 06, 2017 518
    Written by Yvette Brazier: Published 26 December 2016 A new study, published in Psychological Medicine, has added to the body of evidence pointing to a link between schizophrenia and the use of cannabis…Studies show that cannabis use is more common among people with psychosis than in the general population, and that it may also increase the risk of psychotic symptoms. Its use has been linked to symptoms of psychosis, such as paranoia and delusional thinking, in up to 40 percent of users. Read...
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  • Effects of Cannabis Use on Human Behavior, Including Cognition,Motivation, and Psychosis: A Review

    Friday, December 23, 2016 590
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  • Inslee Seeks $300 Million in New Funding for Mental Health

    Monday, December 19, 2016 489
    Governor Jay Inslee of Washington submitted a budget asking for $300 million to fund the state’s mental health system . Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper asked his state to increase the funding for homelessness and for school counselors. The first two states to legalize pot are grappling with a host of new problems. Are California, Nevada and Massachusetts ready to expand their mental health care services? Legalizing marijuana is costly and has many victims, including those who fall into the...
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  • Could marijuana use increase vulnerability to Alzheimer's?

    Wednesday, November 30, 2016 407
    Written by Honor Whiteman, 29 November 2016 A new study warns that marijuana use may increase susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease, after finding the drug severely reduces blood flow in an area of the brain affected by the illness. [A man smoking marijuana] Researchers suggest marijuana use may increase susceptibility to Alzheimer's by reducing blood flow in the hippocampus. Published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, the study reveals that individuals with a marijuana use disorder...
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  • Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome

    Tuesday, November 29, 2016 774
    Galli JA, et al. Curr Drug Abuse Rev. 2011 Abstract Coinciding with the increasing rates of cannabis abuse has been the recognition of a new clinical condition known as Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome is characterized by chronic cannabis use, cyclic episodes of nausea and vomiting, and frequent hot bathing. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome occurs by an unknown mechanism. Despite the well-established anti-emetic properties of marijuana, there is increasing...
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  • Marijuana Threat Assessment, Part One: Recent Evidence for Health Risks of Marijuana Use

    Monday, November 28, 2016 510
    David W. Murray, Brian Blake & John P. Walters Summary : Thanks to advances in science, we have never known so much about the effects marijuana use has on the human body, particularly, the fragile brain. Yet, in a political era when scientific research is regularly marshalled to end public policy debates, the powerful, growing scholarship on marijuana has largely been ignored or dismissed. Indeed, marijuana use seems to be one of the glaring areas in modern life where wishful thinking reigns...
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  • Lessons Learned After 4 Years of Marijuana Legalisation in Colorado & Washington State

    Monday, November 28, 2016 456
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  • How marijuana causes memory loss

    Friday, November 18, 2016 581
    Written by Honor Whiteman Published:12 November 2016 Researchers have long suggested marijuana can cause memory loss. Now, a new study provides insight on this association, revealing how cannabinoids in the drug activate receptors in the mitochondria of the brain's memory center to cause amnesia. Researchers have shed light on how cannabinoids affect the brain to cause memory loss. Study leader Dr. Giovanni Marsicano, of the University of Bordeaux in France, and team believe their findings -...
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  • Marijuana use may be linked to temporarily weakened heart muscle

    Tuesday, November 15, 2016 476
    American Heart Association Meeting Report - Poster: S4054 - Session: HF.APS.P14 American Heart Association NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 13, 2016 -- Active marijuana use may double the risk of stress cardiomyopathy, an uncommon heart muscle malfunction that can mimic heart attack symptoms, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2016. The researchers found that marijuana users were almost twice as likely to develop stress cardiomyopathy compared to...
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  • Marijuana IQ Study Successfully Defended by Scientists - CADCA Jan 24, 2013

    Friday, November 04, 2016 491
    A highly-publicized study finding that marijuana use is linked to a severe drop in IQ has been successfully defended by the scientific community overseas and in the United States, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow. The original study, published last August in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Madeline Meier of Duke University, and colleagues, was the strongest evidence yet that teen use of cannabis could cause a drop in IQ....
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  • Smoking marijuana regularly as a teen may lower IQ scores as an adult

    Friday, November 04, 2016 522
    By CBS News Staff (CBS/AP) Teens who smoke marijuana frequently are more likely to experience a long-term drop in their IQ, according to a new study. That could be a potential pitfall for millions of teens, given recent estimates show about one in 10 teens in grades nine through 12 smoke marijuana at least 20 times per month. The researchers however didn't find the same IQ dip for people who became frequent users of pot after 18, suggesting pot use is especially dangerous for the developing...
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  • Legalized Marijuana Boosts High School Dropout Rates

    Friday, November 04, 2016 563
    Fran Lowry October 20, 2016 Legalizing medical marijuana may have an adverse effect on educational attainment, new research shows. A study examining the impact of laws that legalize marijuana on educational attainment shows that states with these laws had an increase in the high-school dropout rate among 12th graders. In addition, among those who did graduate from high school, fewer went on to attend college or to graduate from college. The study was published online October 11 in Drug and...
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  • Marijuana Threat Assessment, Part One: Recent Evidence for Health Risks of Marijuana Use (Hudson Institute)

    Thursday, November 03, 2016 450
    David W. Murray, Brian Blake & John P. Walters Summary : Thanks to advances in science, we have never known so much about the effects marijuana use has on the human body, particularly, the fragile brain. Yet, in a political era when scientific research is regularly marshalled to end public policy debates, the powerful, growing scholarship on marijuana has largely been ignored or dismissed. Indeed, marijuana use seems to be one of the glaring areas in modern life where wishful thinking reigns...
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  • A Public Health Framework for Legalized Retail Marijuana Based on the US Experience: Avoiding a New Tobacco Industry

    Friday, October 28, 2016 478
    Summary Points The US states that have legalized retail marijuana are using US alcohol policies as a model for regulating retail marijuana, which prioritizes business interests over public health. The history of major multinational corporations using aggressive marketing strategies to increase and sustain tobacco and alcohol use illustrates the risks of corporate domination of a legalized marijuana market. To protect public health, marijuana should be treated like tobacco, not as the US treats...
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  • Lessons Learned After 4 Years of Marijuana Legalisation(Colorado and Beyond)

    Thursday, October 27, 2016 484
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  • Study adds to evidence that high strength cannabis is associated with an increased risk of becoming dependent

    Wednesday, October 26, 2016 430
    October 22, 2016 New data presented at this year's International Early Psychosis Association (IEPA) meeting in Milan, Italy (20-22 October) adds to accumulating evidence that high-potency cannabis in associated with an increased risk of users becoming dependent on cannabis. The analysis is by Dr Tom Freeman at University College London, UK. Estimates suggest around 182 million people worldwide use cannabis each year, a number that could rise as legalisation of recreational use and/or medical...
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  • Colorado visitors are using pot and ending up in the ER

    Wednesday, October 26, 2016 435
    Marijuana-related ER visits are on the rise in Colorado, especially among out-of-state visitors Experts say more education is needed for consumers at pot retailers Colorado legalized retail marijuana in 2012 and sales began in 2014 (CNN)Weed-related emergency room visits are on the rise in Colorado since voters approved the legalization of retail marijuana in 2012 and sales began in 2014. And these incidents are increasing more dramatically among out-of-state visitors, according to research...
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  • Colorado Physician talks candidly about legalised Cannabis Health Chaos

    Tuesday, October 25, 2016 437
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  • Marijuana is a hard drug, Dutch Doctor compares to Heroin

    Wednesday, October 19, 2016 593
    A Growing Threat to Our Youth There are several reasons that marijuana should no longer be called a soft drug, which is misleading. The cannabis of today is undeniably a hard drug. Dr. Darryl Inaba, Director of an addictions recovery center in Medford, Oregon was recently interviewed on the science of marijuana addiction. He said: “As a clinician who has worked with those who experience medical, emotional and social problems from its use for the past 40 years, I am concerned about the life...
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  • Cannabis excess linked to bone thinning

    Friday, October 14, 2016 623
    People who regularly smoke large amounts of cannabis have reduced bone density and are more prone to fractures, research has found. The study also found that heavy cannabis users have a lower body weight and a reduced body mass index (BMI), which could contribute to thinning of their bones. “Our research has shown that heavy users of cannabis have quite a large reduction in bone density compared with non-users and there is a real concern that this may put them at increased risk of developing...
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  • Marijuana use trajectories during college predict health outcomes nine years post-matriculation

    Thursday, October 13, 2016 492
    The University of Maryland’s Center on Young Adult Health and Development released a paper from their ongoing College Life Study. This study followed 1,253 students for 10 years, beginning in their first year of college. Students were assessed annually on their marijuana use and 9 health outcomes including functional impairment due to injury and psychological distress, and physical health service utilization. The study found that students who did not use marijuana had better outcomes than...
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  • Heavy Marijuana Use May Damage the Brain

    Thursday, September 29, 2016 510
    Heavy marijuana use over a long period of time may severely damage the brain, according to a new review of previous research. "When we looked at the brain, it had horrible degenerative changes," said Dr. Suzanne M. de la Monte, a professor of neurosurgery at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, who co-authored the review and examined the man's brain after his death. For complete article
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  • Marijuana use rising as more people think it is safe

    Thursday, September 08, 2016 517
    Written by Honor Whiteman Published: 1 September 2016 The perception of marijuana as a harmful drug has reduced among American adults, leading to an increase in its use, according to new research published in The Lancet Psychiatry. Researchers suggest a rise in marijuana use in the U.S. is down to a reduced perception that the drug is harmful. Study co-author Dr. Wilson M. Compton, of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and colleagues found that between 2002-2014, marijuana use among...
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  • Marijuana Tied to Persistent Subclinical Psychotic Symptoms in Teens

    Friday, August 26, 2016 563
    Megan Brooks August, 2016 Adolescent boys who regularly use marijuana are at increased risk of experiencing persistent, subclinical psychotic symptoms, particularly paranoia and hallucinations, even after they stop using the drug, a new study suggests. "Perhaps the most concerning finding is that the effect of prior weekly marijuana use persists even after adolescents have stopped using for 1 year," lead investigator Jordan Bechtold, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh...
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  • Legalized pot is making America’s lower class poorer and less responsible

    Friday, August 26, 2016 527
    By Naomi Schaefer Riley August 20, 2016 | 5:35pm Pot for the poor! That could be the new slogan of marijuana legalization advocates. In 1996, California became the first state to legalize the use of medical marijuana. There are now 25 states that permit the use of marijuana, including four as well as the District of Columbia that permit it for purely recreational use. Colorado and Washington were the first to pass those laws in 2012. At least five states have measures on the ballot this fall...
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  • Study: Americans are using marijuana a lot more often, and poorer users are smoking the most Pot users profile closer to cigarette smokers than alcohol drinkers

    Wednesday, August 17, 2016 424
    PUBLISHED: AUG 15, 2016 By Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post A massive study published this month in the Journal of Drug Issues found that the proportion of marijuana users who smoke daily has rapidly grown, and that many of those frequent users are poor and lack a high-school diploma. Examining a decade of federal surveys of drug use conducted between 2002 and 2013, study authors Steven Davenport and Jonathan Caulkins paint one of the clearest pictures yet of the demographics of...
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  • A minute of second-hand marijuana smoke may damage blood vessels - American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report

    Tuesday, August 16, 2016 410
    AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION DALLAS, July 27, 2016 -- Rats' blood vessels took at least three times longer to recover function after only a minute of breathing second-hand marijuana smoke, compared to recovery after a minute of breathing second-hand tobacco smoke, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. When rats inhaled second-hand marijuana smoke for one minute, their arteries...
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  • Smoking cannabis DOES dampen your emotions 'and increases the risk of addiction to ALL drugs'

    Friday, July 08, 2016 629
    Smoking cannabis affects the reward centre in a user's brain, scans show That is the region responsible for releasing 'pleasure' hormone dopamine In cannabis users, scans show less activity in the reward centre, so a smaller amount of dopamine is released That dampened, blunted emotional response means a marijuana smoker will need more of the drug to illicit the same reward - raising addiction risk By LIZZIE PARRY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM PUBLISHED: 07:21 EST, 7 July 2016 | UPDATED: 07:37 EST, 7 July...
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  • Marijuana, alcohol use may harm teens' mental health, academic outcomes

    Thursday, July 07, 2016 547
    "Many youth tend to think that alcohol use has more consequences than marijuana use and therefore view marijuana use as safer than drinking. However, youth need to better understand the harms of marijuana use, such as the potential effect on their developing brain and how it can affect performance in both adolescence and adulthood." Elizabeth D'Amico For complete article
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  • Marijuana addiction is real: Overcoming the fall from the mellow high

    Thursday, July 07, 2016 608
    “It’s just so difficult… you wouldn’t know." Megha Varier | Wednesday, July 6, 2016 Being fired from his job in May was a wake-up call that permeated through the relaxed mellowness induced by the marijuana Devank was hooked to. “I realized I had to get my act together before it was too late,” Devank says. Devank smoked pot for the first time during a college fest at the age of 19, giving in to his friends’ cajoling. After that first time, it became a weekend affair, but soon, he was cutting...
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  • Do we need health warnings about cannabis and pregnancy?

    Tuesday, July 05, 2016 543
    If you’re pregnant or planning to be, tobacco and alcohol are high on the list of things not to use. But do we need an equally loud message about avoiding cannabis too? Yes, say some Australian researchers who’ve linked cannabis smoking both before and during pregnancy to a higher risk of preterm birth – and possibly an increased risk of birth defects. It’s a message that should make would-be dads prick up their ears too. Some studies have already found a higher risk of health problems and...
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  • Marijuana Legalization Has Led To More Use And Addiction While Illegal Market Continues To Thrive

    Wednesday, June 29, 2016 867
    Author: Robert L. DuPont, M.D. It comes as no surprise that the prevalence of marijuana use has significantly increased over the last decade. With marijuana legal for recreational use in four states and the District of Columbia and for medical use in an additional 31 states, the public perception about marijuana has shifted, with more people reporting that they support legalization . However, there is little public awareness, and close to zero media attention, to the near-doubling of past year...
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  • Cannabis use during pregnancy may affect brain development in offspring

    Wednesday, June 22, 2016 562
    (putting new spin on the term ‘THICK as a BRICK’!) “Compared with unexposed children, those who were prenatally exposed to cannabis had a thicker prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain involved in complex cognition, decision-making, and working memory. Author of the study Dr. Hanan El Marroun, of Erasmus University Medical Center in The Netherlands, said: "this study is important because cannabis use during pregnancy is relatively common and we know very little about the potential...
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  • Colorado. Pot Director Tells Massachusetts - That State Revenue Gains 'Are A Myth'

    Tuesday, June 21, 2016 672
    BY MEGAN ARELLANO ON 06/12/2015 - Andrew Freedman, Colorado's director of marijuana coordination, said Thursday that most of the money from marijuana is going to the cost of legalization. “You do not legalize for taxation. It is a myth. You are not going to pave streets. You are not going to be able to pay teachers,” Andrew Freedman, director of Marijuana Coordination for Colorado, said on Boston Herald Radio yesterday. “The big red herring is the whole thing that the tax revenue will solve a...
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  • In Patients with Psychosis, Cannabis Use Is Associated with Adverse Clinical Outcomes

    Tuesday, June 21, 2016 514
    The link between cannabis use and the development of psychosis is established. This systematic review and meta-analysis of 24 studies summarizes the evidence of the impact of cannabis use after the onset of psychosis (schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or bipolar if outcome was reported as number of psychotic episodes). Researchers compared the outcomes of those who continued using cannabis, those who stopped, and those who did not have cannabis use. Irrespective of the stage of the psychotic...
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  • Marijuana use may reduce dopamine in the brain

    Friday, June 17, 2016 619
    Written by Marie EllisPublished: Friday 15 April 2016 “Results showed that, compared with the control group, the marijuana users' striatum had lower dopamine release. There was also lower release in subregions that play a role in associative and sensorimotor learning, as well as in the globus pallidus.” For complete Article
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  • Australia needs to take marijuana addiction more seriously, experts say

    Tuesday, June 14, 2016 680
    THERE’S a secret addiction sweeping across Australia and we aren’t hearing about it. We all know the damaging effects of the monster drug ice and other hard narcotics, but what about the substances that are a little easier to get and widely spread? Marijuana is not something you often associate with the word “addiction” or consider it to be dangerous, but many people are hooked on the drug and it’s a problem experts say we need to take more seriously. A National Epidemiological Study of...
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  • Colorado prosecutor: Marijuana-related murders are skyrocketing

    Friday, June 03, 2016 583
    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. Read More at Americian Thinker
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  • Cannabis and tolerance: acute drug impairment as a function of cannabis use history

    Wednesday, June 01, 2016 560
    “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...
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  • Marijuana use is associated with worse outcomes in symptom severity and violent behavior in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.

    Thursday, May 26, 2016 473
    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...
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  • Marijuana use in the immediate 5-year premorbid period is associated with increased risk of onset of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.

    Friday, May 13, 2016 523
    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...
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  • Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

    Friday, May 13, 2016 720
    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...
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  • Legalizing marijuana will increase our opiate epidemic

    Friday, May 06, 2016 548
    By Heidi Heilman | March 3, 2016, 14:23 EDT We have, for some time, known that the more marijuana there is in our communities, the more opiate and heroin use rises. Now, brain science is beginning to explain why. Studies reveal that the cannabinoid-opioid systems of the brain are intimately connected. There is a functional interaction between the mu and Cb1 receptors of the brain and these receptors commonly exist together on brain cells. In the areas of the brain where cannabinoids bind,...
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  • Cannabis 'kills 30,000 a year'

    Tuesday, May 03, 2016 627
    by JENNY HOPE, Daily Mail More than 30,000 cannabis smokers could die every year, doctors warn today. Medical experts blame the Home Secretary for creating confusion about the risks posed by the drug - leading young people wrongly to believe it is harmless. They claim David Blunkett's decision to reclassify cannabis as a class C drug - putting it on a level with anabolic steroids and prescription painkillers - sent out the wrong message and played down the devastating health effects of its...
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  • Study Claims to Find First Two Deaths Caused by Marijuana

    Tuesday, May 03, 2016 687
    Cuts against many other studies that have showed pot doesn't have fatal health implications A recent German study claims to have documented the first known deaths resulting from marijuana use. While researchers studied 15 people whose deaths were allegedly linked to marijuana use, 13 of those deaths were confirmed to be caused by other factors. Researchers said, however, that the drug was to blame in two isolated cases of two seemingly healthy people, one 23 years old and another 28. Autopsies...
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  • Marijuana Use: Detrimental to Youth

    Wednesday, November 18, 2015 966
    American College of Pediatricians – September 2015 ABSTRACT : Although increasing legalization of marijuana has contributed to the growing belief that marijuana is harmless, research documents the risks of its use by youth are grave. Marijuana is addicting, has adverse effects upon the adolescent brain, is a risk for both cardio-respiratory disease and testicular cancer, and is associated with both psychiatric illness and negative social outcomes. Evidence indicates limited legalization of...
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