Get a Clue - Weed

Details: Published: 11 November 2021; Hits: 1743

By Karen Schmidt, American Heart Association News

At a time of increasing legalization of marijuana, a growing number of people under 50 diagnosed with cannabis use disorder were later hospitalized for a heart attack, new research has found.

The rising trend from 2007 to 2018 was most pronounced in three groups: ages 18 to 34, men and African Americans, according to findings being presented this Sunday at the American Heart Association's virtual Scientific Sessions conference. The results are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Although AHA statistics show heart attacks are much less common in people under 50 compared to older adults, the study suggests people who use cannabis should be followed more closely for possible heart problems.

Now that cannabis is becoming legal in many states, "we need to specifically pay attention to this," said lead researcher Darshi Desai, a clinical observer at the University of California Riverside who is applying for her medical residency.

"If we have more (heart attack) patients coming in because of cannabis use disorder, if there is a temporal relationship, it is definitely going to put a huge stress on health care resources in general," Desai said.

She and her colleagues analyzed medical records of 819,354 people from a large public database of hospital stays. They identified people 18 to 49 who had been hospitalized for a heart attack and whose records showed a previous diagnosis of cannabis use disorder. That is defined as excessive, chronic use of marijuana with symptoms of dependence, inability to control use and impairment in social functioning.

The new analysis found that overall, 4.1% of patients hospitalized for heart attacks also had cannabis use disorder, and the proportion nearly tripled from 2.4% in 2007 to 6.7% in 2018.

When researchers broke the data into subgroups, they found the biggest increases during the decade among:

people 18 to 34, 7.3% in 2007 to 20.2% in 2018
African Americans, 15.8% in 2007 to 35.2% in 2018
men, 71.6% in 2007 to 78.1% in 2018

Although previous studies suggested a link between cannabis use and heart attack, this adds to the evidence, said Robert Page, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Colorado in Aurora. He holds a doctorate in pharmacy and chaired the group that prepared an AHA scientific statement published last year on cannabis and cardiovascular health.

"These data add to the body of literature that there is a red flag with cannabis use in young adults," said Page, who was not involved in the new study. Cannabis users need to realize that just because it's "natural" does not mean it is safe. "It is not safe. It's like any other psychotropic medication – it has side effects, and this could be one of them."

"We need to determine whether or not cannabis is a risk factor for heart disease, particularly in younger adults," Page said. "Because as we know, young adults think that they're invincible, and they're not."

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For more research…

Details: Published: 11 November 2021; Hits: 1739

JAMA Psychiatry. 2021;78(9):1013-1019. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1471

Question: Has the population-attributable risk fraction for cannabis use disorder in schizophrenia increased over time, as would be expected with increasing use and potency of cannabis?

Findings: In this Danish nationwide, register-based cohort study, the population-attributable risk fraction for cannabis use disorder in schizophrenia increased from approximately 2% in the period to 1995 to approximately 6% to 8% since 2010.

Meaning: These findings may indicate that cannabis use disorders are associated with an increase in the proportion of cases of schizophrenia.

Abstract

Importance: Cannabis use and potency of cannabis have increased during the past 2 decades. If the association between cannabis use and schizophrenia is causal, this should be reflected in an increase in the proportion of cases of schizophrenia being attributable to cannabis, the population-attributable risk fraction (PARF).

Objective: To determine whether the PARF for cannabis use disorder in schizophrenia has increased over time.

Exposure: Diagnosis of cannabis use disorder.

Main Outcomes and Measures: Diagnosis of schizophrenia, with estimated PARF of cannabis use disorder in schizophrenia from 1972 to 2016.

Results: A total of 7 186 834 individuals were included in the analysis, including 3 595 910 women (50.0%) and 3 590 924 men (50.0%). The adjusted hazard ratio for schizophrenia fluctuated at approximately 4 (with 95% CIs ranging from approximately 3 to 6) throughout most of the study period when people diagnosed with cannabis use disorder were compared with those without cannabis use disorder. The PARF of cannabis use disorder in schizophrenia also fluctuated, but with clear evidence of an increase from 1995 (when the PARF was relatively stable around 2.0%, with a 95% CI of approximately 0.3% to either side) until reaching some stability around 6.0% to 8.0% (with a 95% CI of approximately 0.5% to either side) since 2010.

Conclusions and Relevance: The results from these longitudinal analyses show the proportion of cases of schizophrenia associated with cannabis use disorder has increased 3- to 4-fold during the past 2 decades, which is expected given previously described increases in the use and potency of cannabis. This finding has important ramifications regarding legalization and control of use of cannabis.

For complete research

For more Data on Cannabis impact on Mental Health

All Young Cannabis Users Face Psychosis Risk

Cannabis & Psychosis – irrefutable

Cannabis & Mental Health – Professor Copeland

Does Marijuana Cause Mental Illness?

Do You Think You Know? Does Cannabis Cause Mental Illness?

Cannabis & Psychosis: Understanding risk is of 'vital importance'

Details: Published: 08 November 2021; Hits: 1462

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Considerable growth was observed in the prevalence of CUD diagnoses among individuals hospitalized prenatally and in the prevalence of depression, anxiety, nausea, and other conditions in individuals with CUD at hospitalization. This study highlights the need for more screening, prevention, and treatment, particularly in populations with co-occurring CUD and psychiatric disorders. Research on the determinants and outcomes associated with CUD during pregnancy is needed to guide clinicians, policy makers, and patients in making informed decisions.

For complete study

(Also Cannabis use disorder rising significantly during Pregnancy )

Details: Published: 08 November 2021; Hits: 1660

JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(9):e2125063. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.25063

Question Has the number of vomiting-related emergency department visits increased after recreational cannabis legalization in Colorado?

Findings In this cross-sectional study of 820 778 patients seeking care through Colorado emergency departments, cannabis legalization was associated with an increase in annual vomiting-related health care encounters. The highest increases were observed in counties without existing medical dispensaries.

Meaning These findings suggest that health care clinicians in states that have legalized cannabis should be aware of symptoms associated with cannabis hyperemesis syndrome; documentation may help ensure accurate public health surveillance on consequences associated with cannabis legalization.

Abstract

Importance Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome is an emerging clinical issue associated with cannabis use. Legalization of cannabis has led to an increase in vomiting-related illnesses in health care settings.

Objective To examine whether legalization of cannabis in Colorado has been associated with increases in vomiting-related emergency department (ED) visits.

Results Vomiting-related ED health care encounters increased from 119 312 in 2013 to 153 699 in 2018 (29% increase). Over this period, 203 861 patients (25%) were aged 0 to 18 years; 114 201 (14%) were aged 19 to 25 years, and 502 771 (61%) were aged 26 years or older; 510 584 patients (62%) were female. Additional recreational dispensaries were associated with increased vomiting-related ED visits (incidence rate ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05), but counties with high baseline medical dispensary exposure experienced smaller increases in vomiting-related ED visits than counties with no baseline medical dispensary exposure (incidence rate ratio, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.95-0.99). Counties with a high number of medical marijuana dispensaries had increases at a 5.8% slower rate than counties with none.

Conclusions and Relevance The findings of this study suggest that cannabis legalization in Colorado is associated with an increase in annual vomiting-related health care encounters with regard to exposure to these markets. It may be useful for health care clinicians to be aware of cannabis hyperemesis syndrome and inquire about cannabis use when appropriate.

For complete research https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2784270?resultClick=3

Other Research on ‘Scromiting’

Details: Published: 26 October 2021; Hits: 1644

Local government opposition, high taxes and competition from unlicensed businesses are complicating the state's push to build a thriving legal market.

California’s cannabis law lets local officials decide whether to open the door to cannabis or slam it shut. So far, most are opting for the

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By ALEXANDER NIEVES 10/23/2021 07:00 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES — California’s cannabis market is booming nearly five years after voters legalized recreational weed. But there’s a catch: the vast majority of pot sales are still underground.

Rather than make cannabis a Main Street fixture, California’s strict regulations have led most industry operators to close shop, flee the state or sell in the state’s illegal market that approaches $8 billion annually, twice the volume of legal sales.

Local government opposition, high taxes and competition from unlicensed businesses are complicating California’s push to build a thriving legal market. Many of those factors are baked into California law, including rules allowing city leaders to shut out licensed cannabis enterprises. Meanwhile, the state has relaxed penalties against illegal operations in the name of racial justice.

Infighting between industry groups and lobbying dysfunction in Sacramento have stalled potential legislative fixes, with no clear end in sight. The scale of those problems has California’s iconic cannabis industry — the legal side, at least — lagging behind other states that have regulated the market.

“You don't have a real cannabis industry if the dominant portion of it has no interest in being legal,” said Adam Spiker, executive director of the Southern California Coalition, a cannabis trade association. “There's no other regulated industry in the world that I know of that operates like that.”

Licensed cannabis shops offering legal goods are sparsely scattered across the state — there are roughly 2 per 100,000 people, one of the lowest rates in the nation among states that support legal recreational sales.

By comparison, Oregon has 17.9 retail shops for every 100,000 residents. Colorado boasts a similar ratio, and Washington state’s rate is more than triple California’s.

California has just 823 licensed brick-and-mortar cannabis shops, but close to 3,000 retailers and delivery services operate in the state without a permit, a February 2020 market analysis by Marijuana Business Daily found.

The unchecked cannabis ecosystem has caused major economic and environmental damage in California. Many of the state's estimated 50,000 illegal cultivation sites have been found to use banned pesticides that can poison wildlife and water supplies and are believed to account for hundreds of millions of gallons in water stolen from farms and neighboring communities each year.

Law enforcement agencies in the last few months alone have broken up sprawling grow operations in the arid Antelope Valley and urban Alameda County, discovering around 50 tons of processed cannabis goods and more than 100,000 plants, a haul valued well above $1 billion.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced earlier this week that the state had seized 165 weapons and more than 33 tons of infrastructure like water lines and toxic chemicals after conducting close to 500 raids this year.

“The victims of illegal marijuana cultivation are many and the toll is severe,” he said during a news conference. “Families whose water supply is polluted by outlawed pesticides, exploited labor exposed to dangerous and illegal working conditions, farmers deprived of clean soil and water.”

Lawmakers and Capitol staffers say this disunity makes legislative fixes nearly impossible to pass and perpetuates the status quo. That’s a scenario the industry can’t afford, given “the overhead costs that the illegal guy doesn’t do,” Spiker warned.

“The divide between legal and illegal is too big a gap to overcome."

For complete article go to California’s legal weed industry can’t compete with illicit market - POLITICO