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Published: 08 March 2022

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Driving Under Influence of THC 2021 

Cannabis Legalization and THC in Injured Drivers 2022

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Published: 07 March 2022

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Jan. 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Here's more evidence that marijuana may make driving more dangerous: As pot has been legalized in more countries and states, a greater number of people are driving intoxicated by the drug and crashing, researchers report.

THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, has been detected in twice as many injured Canadian drivers since 2018, when cannabis was first legalized. The same effect is being seen in the United States, said lead researcher Dr. Jeffrey Brubacher, an associate professor in the department of emergency medicine at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver

"This is an emerging and extremely important area of research," Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a statement. "One recent study found increased rates of motor vehicle crashes in the six months following medical cannabis authorization in Canada, and another study found relative increased risk of fatal motor vehicle collisions of 15% and a relative increase in associated deaths of 16% in U.S. jurisdictions where cannabis is legal," she noted.

"As more and more states seek to legalize marijuana, it is crucial that we understand the impact of legalization on addiction and a range of other health outcomes, including driving accidents, to determine strategies for implementing legalization while minimizing the potential harms," Volkow added.

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Published: 15 February 2022

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by American Heart Association

"There's a lot of uncertainty in the medical community about the health effects of marijuana. This scientific statement is intended to guide health care professionals in having a balanced and intentional discussion with patients about the potential known and unknown effects of marijuana on brain health," said writing group Chair Fernando D. Testai, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA, a professor of neurology and rehabilitation at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

This is the Association's first scientific statement on cannabis and brain health, following a statement on marijuana and cardiovascular health, published in August 2020. Both statements are important since marijuana use in the U.S. is increasing, particularly among adolescents and young adults, with about one-third of 12^th graders and nearly half of college students reporting marijuana use in 2018.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classify cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance, on par with heroin and LSD, for having a "high potential for abuse and little to no medical benefit." In contrast, CBD is legal when derived from hemp, which is the same species of plant as cannabis and contains less than 0.3% THC. (also see CBD Products Under Serious Review in E.U. and Is your beef ‘Grass Fed’ or ‘Weed Fed’? Industrial Hemp in Food Chain and Cannabis as ‘Medicine?’: Pot Propaganda, Emotive Anecdote, Marketing Manipulation, and the Side Stepping of Science)

To fully understand the potential impact of marijuana, it's important to know that the human body naturally produces compounds called endocannabinoids that are similar to those in marijuana. Endocannabinoids are involved in the regulation of many body processes throughout life (including learning, memory, pain control and sleep), and the action of endocannabinoids is essential to prenatal brain development and to brain maturation during adolescence. (Important: Watch Psychiatrist Libby Stuyt)

Endocannabinoids, as well as THC, can attach to neurons in the brain through molecules called cannabinoid receptors. When THC activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain, it can disrupt the normal actions of endocannabinoids. "These receptors are highly concentrated in brain areas related to cognition," said Testai.

According to the statement, previous animal studies (in rodents) indicate that prolonged exposure to THC disrupts memory and learning, and impacts brain development and maturation in specific ways if exposed at certain stages of life:

• During prenatal life, an important time for brain development, THC disrupts the normal signaling pathways of the endocannabinoid system and may alter the offspring's thinking, emotional behavior and response to stress.
• During adolescence, an important time for brain maturation, THC changes the structure and function of brain circuits, particularly in areas involved in cognition, emotional regulation and social behavior (such as the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus).

"Data obtained in these animal studies demonstrate that disruption of endocannabinoid pathways leads to behavioral and cognitive abnormalities, such as poorer memory and learning ability and a heightened sensitivity to stress. Also, there may be vital life periods—gestation and adolescence—when the brain may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of THC," Testai said.

While the exact timing and amount of marijuana exposure are more easily controlled in animal studies, as well as controlling the animals' social and environmental conditions, human research studies cannot replicate similar strict parameters. Thus, results from existing studies in humans have been mixed, yet raise similar concerns about the impact of marijuana exposure on brain health. Among the studies in humans summarized in the scientific statement, the findings included:

• While actively using marijuana, people demonstrated worse scores on driving road tests when using THC-dominant marijuana, compared to when they were using CBD-dominant marijuana or no marijuana.
• In young adults who were followed for 25 years as part of a heart disease research project, scores on verbal memory tests declined in correlation to more years of self-reported exposure to marijuana.
• There were more psychological problems and poorer cognitive function in children (average age 9) whose mothers reported using marijuana during pregnancy.
• Marijuana use during adolescence has been associated with thinning in an area of the brain involved in cognition (the prefrontal cortex), with greater exposure to marijuana associated with more thinning. However, other studies detected no difference.
• Structural changes in the brain were visible in some studies comparing marijuana users and non-users. Specifically, there was thinning of brain areas important in orchestrating thoughts and actions, or decreased volume in an area of the brain important for memory. Other studies that compared cognitive testing and brain imaging found no differences between marijuana users and non-users.
• Cannabis users were found to have an increased risk of clot-caused stroke, with one study finding 17% more and another finding 24% more strokes among cannabis users.

The statement also highlights numerous open questions on the impact of cannabis on brain health, including:

• Does marijuana's impact on brain health differ depending on the person's age?
• How does marijuana interact with other substances such as prescription medications? This is a particular concern in elderly people who may be using multiple medications such as blood thinners, antiarrhythmia or anticonvulsant medications to treat other chronic health conditions.
• Do the effects of marijuana differ whether it is used recreationally or prescribed for the treatment of a specific medical condition?
• How much marijuana is too much? In older research studies conducted when marijuana was illegal in all U.S. states, there may have been significant under-reporting of how frequently marijuana was used.
• Do different types of marijuana (such as higher THC levels or synthetic cannabinoids) impact the brain differently?
• Are there differences in brain health depending on whether marijuana is smoked or consumed in an edible product?

"Our understanding of the effects of marijuana on the brain is imperfect, and human research in this area is a work in progress. Still, the results of recent animal studies challenge the widely accepted idea that cannabinoids are harmless and call for caution when using marijuana, particularly while pregnant or during adolescence," said Testai.

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Published: 11 February 2022

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Young cannabis users at increased risk of repeat stroke

According to a new study, young people with a history of stroke or TIA who regularly use cannabis are 50% more likely to experience a repeat stroke.

The adverse effect of cannabis use on health is well recognized, particularly in the young. It has associations with mental disorders, mood symptoms, and long-term psychotic illness.

Cannabis use disorder

CUD is “a relatively new diagnosis […] more of a physical and psychological dependence upon cannabis,” said Dr. Robert L Page II, professor in the Departments of Clinical Pharmacy and Physical Medicine at the University of Colorado in Aurora.

“[It] is different from recreation […] these individuals are using it on a regular basis, in a chronic fashion.”

The American Psychiatric Association classifies CUD as:

• taking large amounts over a long time
• wanting to control or cut down its use
• spending lots of time trying to get the drug or recover from using it
• failing to fulfill work or school tasks
• withdrawing from social, occupational, or recreational activities

Studies Trusted Sourcehave shown that cannabis use in younger individuals is a risk factor for first-time stroke or transient ischemic attack(TIA)Trusted Source, also known as a mini-stroke.

However, scientists have not established the risk of subsequent strokes and TIAs in people who use cannabis until now.

Increased stroke in the young

A stroke or TIA occurs when the blood supply to the brain is reduced or cut off. It is a life threatening medical emergency that needs immediate hospital treatment.

In recent years, the number of strokes has reduced in the U.S. However, rates have increased in young adults ages 18–45 years, accounting for 10-15% of strokes in the U.S.

A recent study led by researchers at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA, has shown young adults with a history of stroke or TIA and CUD have a 50% increased risk of recurrent stroke compared with those without CUD.

Speaking with Medical News Today, the lead author of the study Dr. Akhil Jain, explained:

“Since marijuana use is more common among younger people and is now legal in various U.S. states, we felt it was crucial to study the risk of re-stroke […] especially with the established first-time stroke risk in cannabis users. We used recreational dependent or chronic/habitual cannabis use for our study, i.e., cannabis use disorder.”

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