Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Purpose of Review The use of cannabis for the treatment of migraine has become an area of interest with the legalization of medical cannabis in the USA. Understanding the mechanisms of cannabinoids, available studies, and best clinical recommendations is crucial for headache providers to best serve patients. Recent Findings Patients utilizing medical cannabis for migraine have reported improvement in migraine profile and common comorbidities. Reduction in prescription medication is also common, especially opioids. Side effects exist, with the majority being mild. Not enough data is available for specific dose recommendations, but THC and CBD appear...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Background: Cannabis is one of the most used drugs worldwide. There is no gold standard treatment for cannabis use disorder (CUD). Motivational interviewing (MI) has shown efficacy in some substance use disorders. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to assess the effectiveness of MI in CUD. Methods: Randomized controlled trials or open-label studies published until September 2019 from 3 different databases (Pubmed, Scopus, and PsycINFO) were included, following the PRISMA guidelines and a predetermined set of criteria for article selection. Meta-analyses were conducted. The end point was determined as month 3, and 4 outcomes were analysed (abstinence rates,...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Policy changes have resulted in dramatic increases in access to cannabis for medical purposes. Veterans are disproportionately affected by conditions for which medical cannabis is often pursued, making an evidence-based perspective on risks versus benefits of high priority. The current review sought to examine the state of the evidence on the correlates and consequences of cannabis use among veterans. Using a comprehensive search strategy, 501 articles were identified and 86 studies met criteria for inclusion. The literature was predominated by cross-sectional studies (67%) of male veterans (71.4%–100% male) from the United States (93.0%). Three overarching themes emerged, comprising cannabis associations with other substance...

Abstract College students have experienced significant disruptions related to COVID-19, and limited international data suggest they may be at elevated risk for mental health symptom increases related to COVID. Given their potentially elevated risk, our aim was to evaluate differences from pre-college closures to post-closure in mental health symptoms, alcohol, and cannabis use. Participants (N = 4749) were from seven U.S. public universities/colleges. They were 70.1 % female and 48.5 % white, non-Hispanic/Latino, with 48.1 % in their first college/university year. 30-day retrospective assessments of alcohol and cannabis use, and past 2-week retrospective assessments of anxiety, depression, anger, and insomnia were captured at the time of the survey. We examined differences between...

Abstract Observational studies have linked cannabis use to an array of negative outcomes, including psychiatric symptoms, cognitive impairment, and educational and occupational underachievement. These associations are particularly strong when cannabis use occurs in adolescence. Nevertheless, causality remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was thus to examine associations between prospectively assessed adolescent cannabis use and young-adult outcomes (psychiatric, cognitive, and socioeconomic) in three longitudinal studies of twins (n = 3,762). Twins reporting greater cumulative cannabis use in adolescence reported higher levels of psychopathology as well as poorer socioeconomic outcomes in young adulthood. However, cannabis use remained associated only with socioeconomic outcomes (i.e., educational attainment,...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Cohort studies and meta-analyses have documented a robust association between cannabis use, heavy use, and misuse with future risk of schizophrenia. Despite adjusting for covariates, including current psychotic symptoms, other psychopathology, and social integration, the ability of these models to determine the degree to which cannabis causes schizophrenia is limited and dependent on their ability to capture all relevant confounders. When evaluating efforts to reduce cannabis use as a means of preventing schizophrenia, the proportion of this association that is causal is critical.

Abstract Background Research on cannabis use among those with a history of cancer is limited. Methods Prevalence of past-year cannabis use among individuals with and without a cancer history and predictors of use within these 2 groups were determined using data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study, a nationally representative, longitudinal survey conducted in the United States (waves 1-4; 2013-2018). Discrete time survival analyses were used to estimate baseline (wave 1) predictors (physical health status, mental health status, pain, and demographic variables) on past-year engagement with cannabis within individuals who reported a cancer diagnosis at wave 1 (n = 1022) and...

Abstract Medical cannabis (MC) describes the usually inhaled or ingested use of a cannabis plant or cannabis extract for medicinal purposes. The action of whole cannabis plants is extremely complex because their large number of active compounds not only bind to a plethora of different receptors but also interact with each other both synergistically and otherwise. Renewed interest in the medicinal properties of cannabis has led to increasing research into the practical uses of cannabis derivatives, and it has been found that the endocannabinoid system (particularly CB2 receptor activation) is a possible target for the treatment of inflammatory and the autoimmune diseases related to...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Background and Aims While epidemiological studies support a role for heavy, high-potency cannabis use on first-episode psychosis, genetic models of causation suggest reverse causal effects of schizophrenia on cannabis use liability. We estimated the genetic relationship between cannabis use disorder (CUD) and schizophrenia (SCZ) and tested whether liability for CUD is causally associated with increased liability to SCZ while adjusting for tobacco smoking. Design This study used summary statistics from published genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We used genomic structural equation modeling, latent causal variable analysis, and multivariable Mendelian randomization to examine genetic relationships between CUD,...

Please use this link to access this publication. ABSTRACT Aims To estimate associations between both current- and prior-year medical cannabis dispensary densities and hospitalizations for cannabis use disorder in California, USA between 2013 and 2016. Design Spatial analysis of ZIP code-level hospitalization discharge data using Bayesian Poisson hierarchical space–time models over 4 years. Setting and cases California, USA from 2013 to 2016 (6832 space–time ZIP code units). Measurements We assessed associations of annual hospitalizations for cannabis use disorder [assignment of a primary or secondary code for cannabis abuse and/or dependence using ICD-9-CM or ICD-10-CM (outcome)] with the total number of medical cannabis dispensaries per square...