How Iceland’s Planet Youth Program Curbed Teen Drinking, Drug Use

The program focuses on giving Icelandic youth “better options” than drugs and alcohol. In 1999, a study following the long-term impact of D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) concluded that the popular anti-drug program did little to prevent American youth from experimenting with drugs and alcohol. That same year, the Icelandic Centre for Social Research and Analysis (ICSRA) was […]

Hundreds of babies suffering because of mums’ drug addiction

  NEARLY 800 babies were born suffering the effects of their mother’s drug addiction in the past three years in Scotland – with experts warning the true toll is likely to be higher.   New figures show 774 babies were recorded as affected by addiction or suffering withdrawal symptoms from drugs between 2014 and 2017. […]

A Spot Of Speed Puts Spiders In A Spin

Scientists at the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) have turned their attention from the mysteries of the cosmos to a more esoteric area of research: what happens when you get a spider stoned. Their experiments have shown that common house spiders spin their webs in different ways according to the psychotropic drug […]

Rapid Response to Fentanyl Overdose is Critical

  Fentanyl overdoses share many characteristics with heroin overdoses – with some important differences, according to an addiction specialist at Boston Medical Center’s Grayken Center for Addiction. “Fentanyl is faster acting and more potent than heroin, so overdoses evolve in seconds to minutes, instead of minutes to hours, as we see with heroin overdoses,” says […]

Rise in Drug Overdose Deaths Contributes to Increase in Organ Transplants

A new study finds the rise in drug overdose deaths in the United States has contributed to an increase in organ transplants, CNN reports. Overdose death donors accounted for 1.1 percent of donors in 2000 and 13.4 percent in 2017, representing a 24-fold rise, the researchers report in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study also found many […]

Correlation Between Perceived Risk and Use

What’s the difference between Epidiolex and other CBD products?

      FDA Approved Epidiolex®, a purified form of CDB, this week.   Families whose children suffer seizures from epilepsy have asked legislators in several states to “legalize” cannabidiol (CBD), “medicinal” marijuana, and “whole-plant extracts” so they can use them to reduce their children’s seizures. The marijuana industry has been happy to accommodate, helping […]

Why anti-cancer properties in cannabis must be investigated

Cancer is a word that conjures up many images. It is a varied disease that affects many people and can leave families distraught. There are fortunately treatments for a large number of these cancers, which work by restricting tumour growth and inducing cell death. However, there are cancers which pose more of a challenge, and […]

With edible marijuana, kids are at risk.

  From edibles appealing to children to increased use among parents, youth are on the frontlines as America grapples with loosened marijuana access     In states where marijuana has been legalized, revenues for edibles have skyrocketed. Edibles are food products that contain THC, the substance in marijuana that produces psychological effects, or Cannabidiol (CBD). As […]

Women who use marijuana during pregnancy are nearly TWICE as likely to give birth to a child with autism, study suggests

Pregnant women who smoke cannabis almost double the risk of their baby being born autistic, warns a new study. In the largest ever study of its kind, researchers found that children whose mothers reported using cannabis during pregnancy were at greater risk of autism. The incidence of autism was four per 1,000 person-years among children […]

Legal Marijuana Laws Impact Youth

Researchers from Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, whose crest is pictured above, and other academic medical institutions, surveyed 2630 14- to 18-year-olds via Facebook who live in states that have legalized marijuana for medical use (MMJ states), recreational use (RMJ states), and not legalized the drug (NMJ states). MMJ and RMJ states vary in what […]

Pay to Play: Congressional Cannabis Caucus And Colleagues—More Tracking The Money

Three months ago, National Families in Action published a report, Tracking the Money that is Legalizing Marijuana and Why It Matters, that details where the money comes from to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use. Most of it was raised by three billionaires and two organizations they fund, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and […]

PubMed articles With References To Marijuana – June 2017

Items 1 – 193 of 193    (Display the 193 citations in PubMed)   1. The Living the Example Social Media Substance Use Prevention Program: A Pilot Evaluation. Evans W, Andrade E, Goldmeer S, Smith M, Snider J, Girardo G. JMIR Ment Health. 2017 Jun 27;4(2):e24. doi: 10.2196/mental.7839. PMID: 28655704 [PubMed – in process] Similar articles   […]

Another Bust in Colorado Where Pot Is Legal But Evading Taxes Is Not

The Colorado Attorney General announced another round of indictments, this time over marijuana tax evasion. Only recently the state indicted 74 individuals and facilities that were growing marijuana legally but shipping it illegally out of state. That was the largest marijuana black market bust in the state’s history. In this case, thirteen people were charged […]

Montel Williams Enters Green Rush He Helped To Create

California will launch a fully legal, commercial marijuana industry January 1, 2018. TV celebrity Montel Williams, who has advocated for medical and recreational legalization for the past two decades, is entering the business with a brand of his own called LenitivLabs.   He’s not in it for the money, he says. “A lot of people […]

Michiganders Could Keep Enough Marijuana For 880 Joints Under Proposal

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is seeking signatures to place an initiative on Michigan’s November 2018 ballot. The measure would legalize marijuana for recreational use and allow residents to possess 880 joints at a time, the largest amount of any state in the nation. Michigan News has done an admirable job of explaining […]

Medical Marijuana In Florida Creates Smoky Policy Challenge For State’s School Districts

Medical marijuana in Florida was approved by Governor Rick Scott last month and now school districts statewide are struggling with one specific requirement of the legislation. Under the law, children with certain ailments can use cannabis while at school and the districts are obligated to make it available to students as needed. While medical marijuana for […]

Government Fentanyl Warnings Have Made It More Attractive To Heroin Users

Government warnings about fentanyl hitting UK streets have inadvertently sparked a demand for the deadly opioid among drug users, a community leader has told IBTimes UK. Last month, the National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed that 60 drug deaths had been linked to fentanyl and its cousins, including the elephant tranquilizer carfentanyl, since December 2016. This followed […]

8 Distinguishing Features Of Primary Psychosis Versus Cannabis-Induced Psychosis

The authors compare the clinical features of idiopathic psychosis (eg, schizophrenia) with cannabis-induced psychosis. As cannabis consumption rises, there has been significant emerging evidence for cannabis-related risks. Here: a comparison of the clinical features of idiopathic psychosis (eg, schizophrenia) versus cannabis-induced psychosis (CIP). Scroll through the slides for 8 distinguishing features Source: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/8-distinguishing-features-primary-psychosis-versus-cannabis-induced-psychosis August 2017

US Adult Illicit Cannabis Use, Cannabis Use Disorder, And Medical Marijuana Laws

Question  Are US state medical marijuana laws one of the underlying factors for increases in risk for adult cannabis use and cannabis use disorders seen since the early 1990s? Findings  In this analysis using US national survey data collected in 1991-1992, 2001-2002, and 2012-2013 from 118 497 participants, the risk for cannabis use and cannabis use disorders increased […]

Marijuana Use Increases Risk Of Death From High Blood Pressure, Study Finds

Marijuana use increases the risk of death from high blood pressure, a new study has found. A survey published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology calculated the risk of death resulting from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular causes. In the years 2005-2006 a total of 1,213 participants were asked if they smoked marijuana. Those who answered ‘yes’ were […]