Cannabis Use Associated with Increased Physical Activity, Study Finds
A recent study examined daily relationships between cannabis use and three other behaviors: physical activity, alcohol use, and smoking cigarettes.
This research used momentary assessments over 28 days using smartphone-based surveys among 98 participants who reported cannabis use at any point during the study period.
During days when participants used cannabis, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity increased by 3.31 minutes, and alcohol consumption rose by 0.45 drinks and cigarette smoking by 0.63 cigarettes.
This study is really timely because there is more cannabis use now in the United States due to many states legalizing or decriminalizing cannabis for both recreational and medicinal purposes.
Between 2017 and 2022, the number of cannabis users rose by 9%. There are large rises in cannabis use for the two groups of people in this study-the younger age group of 19-30-year-olds and the older age group of 35-50-year-olds.
This study fills a need in a woefully under-investigated area of daily cannabis use about its relation to other behaviors-one stymied by federal regulations and constraints on funding research.
Thus, EMA, as a mobile phone-based method, provides more ecologically valid data with less recall bias compared to traditional survey methods.
The data indicates that cannabis users tend to use more alcohol and cigarettes on the days they use cannabis, other than cannabis being used as a substitute for these other substances.
The positive association between cannabis use and physical activity runs contrary to some speculation that cannabis could lower physical activity levels.
The authors conclude that such findings may have the potential to contribute valuable information towards formulating multiple behavior change interventions and public health policy in general, including targeted interventions.
Source: ScienceDirect
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Cannabis Use, and the Endocannabinoid System
This detailed review explores the growing connection between the endocannabinoid system and ADHD, showing both the treatment possibilities and what we still don’t know.
Animal studies have demonstrated that the activation of the endocannabinoid system via CB1 receptors may modulate ADHD symptoms, including impulsivity, reward-seeking, and hyperactivity, by affecting the brain’s dopaminergic and GABA systems.
The few clinical trials studying cannabinoids’ effects on ADHD symptoms have shown mixed results. THC modulates executive function and inhibitory control, while CBD may blunt many of the cognition effects induced by THC.
Most of the clinical studies done so far have essential methodological limitations and small samples.
Critical areas of investigation, in particular long-term and therapeutic use, have been identified.
While the endocannabinoid system represents a promising target in the treatment of ADHD, much more clinical research using an adequate methodology will be necessary to establish safety and efficacy.
With increasing knowledge, this may inform novel therapeutic strategies that could complement the currently available treatments for ADHD; however, that would still have to be at an individual patient level.
Source: Wiley
Why Delaying DEA’s Biased Marijuana Rescheduling Hearing Is Good For The Cannabis Industry
The delay of the hearing to reschedule cannabis with the DEA has underlined deep-seated prejudices within the agency against reform.
Pro-rescheduling groups, including Village Farms and Hemp for Victory, showed misconduct such as undisclosed communications with prohibitionist organizations and favorable participant selection.
The delay, supported by legal efforts, would make certain that transparency and equity were considered under a new administration that did indeed support rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III.
This would be a shift that just might save the state-regulated cannabis industry: it would accept that cannabis has medical value and curb the regulatory hurdles in its path.
The rescheduling of cannabis continues to be a complicated issue scientifically, medically, and socio-economically.
Source: MarijuanaMoment
National Cannabis Roundtable and US Cannabis Council Merge to Form US Cannabis Roundtable
The U.S. Cannabis Council and National Cannabis Roundtable will consolidate under the name U.S. Cannabis Roundtable, providing a single voice in advocating for the cannabis industry.
The new organization will represent operators in 38 states, which comprise a significant proportion of the industry’s 13,000 retail stores and 450,000 full-time employees.
The merger could not be better in terms of strategy, as it is releasing at the beginning of the new 119th Congress and Trump administration.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump showed, for the first time, direct support for several cannabis reform initiatives, including rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, states’ rights legislation, and the SAFE Banking Act.
Some of the organization’s key priorities will be rescheduling cannabis as Schedule III; passing states’ rights legislation related to cannabis policy; passage of cannabis banking legislation; and finally, the ability of U.S. cannabis companies to list on major exchanges such as NASDAQ and NYSE.
Consolidating the group will utilize an advocacy team that includes former members of Congress and a former Trump adviser.
That makes one loud, clear, single voice on cannabis policy, research, safety and standards, and positions the industry to move these reform initiatives with the new administration.
Source: BusinessWire
Cannabis as a medicine to alleviate chronic diseases in Spain
The Spanish Ministry of Health has just made a giant leap toward completing its policy on medical cannabis, opening public consultations for a groundbreaking decree that will regulate the use of cannabis for chronic conditions and painful illnesses resistant to other therapies.
This is an important turn in Spain’s regulation of medical cannabis.
Under the National Institute for Medical Research, Spanish researchers led by Dr. Javier Calaveras have done a great deal of research that documents cannabis for therapeutic purposes.
Specifically, their research has gone into primary active ingredients like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD); several of them have had promising medicinal results.
Such research has well-documented the ways active ingredients interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system to alleviate a variety of symptoms.
Approved cannabis-based medicines are currently showing promise.
The CBD-based medicine Epidiolex has shown itself remarkably effective against the most serious forms of epilepsy-that resistant to all other existing treatments.
Most impressively, however, Sativex-a medication containing both THC and CBD-has shown to be effective in treating spasticity in multiple sclerosis sufferers, regaining a normal life quality.
The future regulation will establish controls regarding the quality and safety of cannabis-based medicinal products.
It would allow pharmaceutical research to be done with one increasingly extensive clinical study and in a controlled, blind fashion. This will provide the scientific basis that is so necessary for setting up homogeneous action protocols and dosage instructions for the use of medical cannabis.
Such an action places Spain among the pioneering countries in the research and application of medical cannabis.
This is an opportunity for patients who suffer from chronic diseases for which they have already tried all other conventional treatments. Chronic pain and neurological diseases are just a few examples of diseases resistant to treatment that might be represented under the regulation.
Medical professionals, researchers, and representatives from patient organizations are invited to take part in the open consultative process.
Hearings are organized in order to take all opinions into consideration for the presentation of a balanced framework, considering the needs of the patients as well as the scientific rigor involved.
Source: Cadenaser (Spanish)
