Abstract A growing body of research has reported on the potential opioid-sparing effects of cannabis and cannabinoids, but less is known about specific mechanisms. The present research examines cannabis-related posts in two large online communities on the Reddit platform (“subreddits”) to compare mentions of naturalistic cannabis use by persons self-identifying as actively using opioids versus persons in recovery. We extracted all posts mentioning cannabis-related keywords (e.g., “weed”, “cannabis”, “marijuana”) from December 2015 through August 2019 from an opioid use subreddit and an opioid recovery subreddit. To investigate how cannabis is discussed at-scale, we identified and compared the most frequent phrases in cannabis-related posts in...

Simple Summary The legalization of cannabis in 2018 in Canada has generated a heated public debate. The subject is complex, controversial, and completely opposite currents of thought clash mainly regarding its recreational use. The therapeutic efficacy of cannabis is very limited and still needs to be confirmed or refuted. However, our recent work has shown that at low doses, cannabinoids (Δ9-THC and Δ8-THC), which are the main constituents of cannabis, are beneficial against oral cancer. In this current study, we showed that a mixture of cannabinoids (CM) can induce oral toxicity in cells by damaging the DNA and activating the mechanisms of autophagy and...

Abstract Background Preclinical and human studies suggest that adolescent cannabis use may be associated with worse cognitive outcomes than adult cannabis use. We investigated the associations between chronic cannabis use and cognitive function in adolescent and adult cannabis users and controls. We hypothesised user-status would be negatively associated with cognitive function and this relationship would be stronger in adolescents than adults. Methods As part of the ‘CannTeen’ project, this cross-sectional study assessed cognitive performance in adolescent cannabis users (n = 76; 16–17-year-olds), adolescent controls (n = 63), adult cannabis users (n = 71; 26–29-year-olds) and adult controls (n = 64). Users used cannabis 1–7 days/week. Adolescent and adult cannabis users were matched...

ABSTRACT Cannabis use in the United States is increasing, with highest consumption among men attheir peak reproductive years. We previously demonstrated widespread changes in spermDNA methylation with cannabis exposure in humans and rats, including genes important inneurodevelopment. Here, we use anin vitrohuman spermatogenesis model to recapitulatechronic cannabis use and assess DNA methylation at imprinted and autism spectrum dis-order (ASD) candidate genes in spermatogonial stem cell (SSC)- and spermatid-like cells.Methylation at maternally imprinted genesSGCEandGRB10was significantly altered in SSC-and spermatid-like cells, respectively, whilePEG3was significantly differentially methylatedin spermatid-like cells. Two of ten randomly selected ASD candidate genes,HCN1andNR4A2,had significantly altered methylation with cannabis exposure in SSC-like cells. Theseresults...

Abstract Introduction There is limited research on effective treatment of Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), the most extreme version of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP). This paper examines current patterns of use and self-reported effectiveness of cannabis/cannabis-based products (CBP) to treat HG. Materials/Methods The study employed a 21-question survey to gather information on demographics, antiemetic prescription use, and experience with cannabis/CBPs among individuals who experienced extreme nausea and vomiting or HG during their pregnancy. Age-adjusted unconditional logistic regression was used to compare odds of symptom relief and weight gain between respondents who used prescription antiemetics and those who used cannabis. Results Of the 550 survey respondents, 84% experienced...

Abstract: Several lines of evidence suggest that older adults (aged 65+) sharply increased their cannabis use over the last decade, highlighting a need to understand the effects of cannabis in this age group. Pre-clinical models suggest that cannabinoids affect the brain and cognition in an age-dependent fashion, having generally beneficial effects on older animals and deleterious effects on younger ones. However, there is little research on how cannabis affects the brains of older adults or how older adults differ from younger adults who use cannabis. Resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) measures provide sensitive metrics of age-related cognitive decline. Here we compared rsFC in older...

Abstract Background Male factor contributes to up to 50% of cases of couples experiencing infertility. Cannabis is one of the most commonly used recreational drugs, and its effects on the reproductive system have been largely debated in the literature. Objectives The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of recreational cannabis use on total T (tT) levels, gonadal status, and sperm parameters in a cohort of primary infertile non-Finnish, white-European men. Materials and methods Data of 2074 white-European men visited for primary couple's infertility were analyzed. Lifestyle factors and cannabis use were investigated in all participants. Semen analyses were based on the...

Abstract Despite the significant societal and personal burden of cannabis use, the impact of long-term use and Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) on white matter microstructure is still unclear. Previous studies show inconsistent findings, in part due to heterogeneity in methodology, variable severity of cannabis use, and potential confounding effects of other mental health issues and substance use. The goal of this diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study was to compare whole-brain white matter microstructure between 39 near daily cannabis users and 28 controls closely matched on age, sex, alcohol use, cigarette use and mental health. Within the group of cannabis users, associations between white matter...

Abstract Heavy cannabis use (HCU) is frequently associated with a plethora of cognitive, psychopathological and sensorimotor phenomena. Although HCU is frequent, specific patterns of abnormal brain structure and function underlying HCU in individuals presenting without cannabis-use disorder or other current and life-time major mental disorders are unclear at present. This multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study examined resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) and structural MRI (sMRI) data from 24 persons with HCU and 16 controls. Parallel independent component analysis (p-ICA) was used to examine covarying components among grey matter volume (GMV) maps computed from sMRI and intrinsic neural activity (INA), as derived from amplitude of...

Abstract Previous investigators have found no clear relationship between specific blood concentrations of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9-THC) and impairment, and thus no scientific justification for use of legal “per se” ∆9-THC blood concentration limits. Analyzing blood from 30 subjects showed ∆9-THC concentrations that exceeded 5 ng/mL in 16 of the 30 subjects following a 12-h period of abstinence in the absence of any impairment. In blood and exhaled breath samples collected from a group of 34 subjects at baseline prior to smoking, increasing breath ∆9-THC levels were correlated with increasing blood levels (P < 0.0001) in the absence of impairment, suggesting that single measurements of ∆9-THC in breath, as...