Abstract Background Cancer patients experience multiple symptoms throughout their illness, and some report benefit from the use of cannabis. There are concerns that many patients are accessing products inappropriate for their situation and potentially putting themselves at risk. In the present study, we aimed to capture the prevalence of cannabis use among cancer patients at BC Cancer before recreational legalization in Canada and to identify the reasons that patients take cannabis, the various routes of administration they use, and the reasons that prior users stopped. Methods Patients were eligible if, on the selected study day (15 August 2018), they were scheduled for an appointment...

Key Points Question  Has the frequency of cannabis use among pregnant women in the year before and during pregnancy increased in recent years? Findings  In this serial cross-sectional study of 367 403 pregnancies among women in Kaiser Permanente Northern California who were universally screened for self-reported cannabis use as part of standard prenatal care, annual relative rates of daily, weekly, and monthly cannabis use in the year before pregnancy and during pregnancy increased from 2009 to 2017. Relative rates of self-reported daily cannabis use in the year before and during pregnancy increased fastest. Meaning  Results of this study demonstrate that frequency of cannabis use in the year before...

Abstract Background Cannabinoids have dose-related antinociceptive effects in animals. This clinical study aimed to investigate whether a single oral dose of cannabis plant extract (Cannador; Institute for Clinical Research, IKF, Berlin, Germany) could provide pain relief with minimal side effects for postoperative pain. Methods Patients (aged 18-75 yr) were recruited and consented before surgery if patient-controlled analgesia was planned for provision of postoperative pain relief. Each patient received a single dose of 5, 10, or 15 mg Cannador if he or she had at least moderate pain after stopping patient-controlled analgesia. Starting with 5 mg, dose escalation was based on the number of patients...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Abstract: Aim: To evaluate oral environmental changes in cannabis users. Material and Methods: The MEDLINE and Cochrane Central register of controlled trails (CENTRAL) were searched up to April 2007 to identify appropriate studies. Results: Independent screening of 982 titles and abstracts (MEDLINE-Pubmed) and (Cochrane) papers resulted in seven eligible publications. Conclusion: Based on the limited data, it seems justified to conclude that with increasing prevalence of cannabis use, oral health care providers should be aware of cannabis-associated oral side effects, such as xerostemia, leukoedema and an increased prevalence and density of Candida albicans.

Abstract The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) report that no sound scientific studies support the medicinal use of cannabis. Despite this lack of scientific validation, many patients routinely use ”medical marijuana,” and in many cases this use is for pain related to nerve injury. We conducted a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study evaluating the analgesic efficacy of smoking cannabis for neuropathic pain. Thirty-eight patients with central and peripheral neuropathic pain underwent a standardized procedure for smoking either high-dose (7%), low-dose (3.5%), or placebo cannabis. In addition to the primary...

  Abstract Chronic neuropathic pain, the most frequent condition affecting the peripheral nervous system, remains underdiagnosed and difficult to treat. Inhaled cannabis may alleviate chronic neuropathic pain. Our objective was to synthesize the evidence on the use of inhaled cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain. We performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis of individual patient data. We registered our protocol with PROSPERO CRD42011001182. We searched in Cochrane Central, PubMed, EMBASE, and AMED. We considered all randomized controlled trials investigating chronic painful neuropathy and comparing inhaled cannabis with placebo. We pooled treatment effects following a hierarchical random-effects Bayesian responder model for the population-averaged subject-specific effect. Our evidence synthesis of individual patient data from 178...

Cannabis use increased among pregnant women in the United States from 2002 to 2014.1 However, changes in cannabis use and frequency by trimester over time and national prevalence of medical cannabis use during pregnancy are unknown. Data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were examined to address these knowledge gaps.

As the use of cannabis (marijuana) for medical purposes has expanded, a variety of edible products for oral consumption has been developed. An estimated 16% to 26% of patients using medical cannabis consume edible products. Even though oral consumption lacks the harmful by-products of smoking, difficult dose titration can result in overdosing or underdosing, highlighting the importance of accurate product labeling. Regulation and quality assurance for edible product cannabinoid content and labeling are generally lacking. We investigated the label accuracy of edible cannabis products.

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract The possible medicinal use of cannabinoids for chronic diseases emphasizes the need to understand the long-term effects of these compounds on the central nervous system. We provide a quantitative synthesis of empirical research pertaining to the non-acute (residual) effects of cannabis on the neurocognitive performance of adult human subjects. Out of 1,014 studies retrieved using a thorough search strategy, only 11 studies met essential a priori inclusion criteria, providing data for a total of 623 cannabis users and 409 non- or minimal users. Neuropsychological results were grouped into 8 ability domains, and effect sizes were calculated by...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Purpose of Review The purpose of the study was to examine the published evidence on the cardiovascular risk related to the use of cannabis-based products by performing a systematic review of recent literature. Recent Findings The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that cannabis use represents a risky behavior as it may lead to many adverse effects, and in particular, cardiovascular effects. Summary A systematic review of articles published between January 1, 2011 and May 31, 2016 was performed in agreement with the PRISMA statement. Articles presenting data on humans exposed to cannabis-based products and suffering...