ABSTRACT Objectives Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) have shown promising preclinical activity in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, clinical trials have not demonstrated effects on inflammation. This study aims to analyze changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and adverse events in IBD patients prescribed CBMPs. Methods A case series from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry was performed. Primary outcomes included changes from baseline in the Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale (SQS), and EQ-5D-5L Index score at 1 and 3 months. Statistical significance was defined using p < 0.050. Results Seventy-six patients with Crohn’s disease (n = 51; 67.11%) and...

Abstract Chronic neuropathic pain is a debilitating pain syndrome caused by damage to the nervous system that is poorly served by current medications. Given these problems, clinical studies have pursued extracts of the plant Cannabis sativa as alternative treatments for this condition. The vast majority of these studies have examined cannabinoids which contain the psychoactive constituent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). While there have been some positive findings, meta-analyses of this clinical work indicates that this effectiveness is limited and hampered by side-effects. This review focuses on how recent preclinical studies have predicted the clinical limitations of THC-containing cannabis extracts, and importantly, point to how they might...

Please use this link to access this publication: https://academic.oup.com/ibdjournal/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ibd/izad151/7242562 Abstract Background Cannabis use is common in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Recent studies demonstrated that use of cannabis may relieve symptoms; however, it is still unclear how safe cannabis and its derivatives are for IBD patients. We performed this study to evaluate the impact of cannabis use on several key clinical outcomes in IBD. Methods We performed a retrospective study using the TriNetX Diamond Network. Cannabis use and noncannabis use subcohorts were identified for 3 patient groups: (1) IBD, (2) Crohn’s disease (CD), and (3) ulcerative colitis (UC). Baseline differences between subcohorts for each group were...

Abstract Objective To systematically assess credibility and certainty of associations between cannabis, cannabinoids, and cannabis based medicines and human health, from observational studies and randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Design Umbrella review. Data sources PubMed, PsychInfo, Embase, up to 9 February 2022. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Systematic reviews with meta-analyses of observational studies and RCTs that have reported on the efficacy and safety of cannabis, cannabinoids, or cannabis based medicines were included. Credibility was graded according to convincing, highly suggestive, suggestive, weak, or not significant (observational evidence), and by GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations) (RCTs). Quality was assessed with AMSTAR 2 (A Measurement Tool to...

Please use this link to access this publication: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(23)00268-7/fulltext Summary Background Cannabis use disorder is associated with considerable comorbidity and impairment in functioning, and prevalence is increasing among adults with chronic pain. We aimed to assess the effect of introduction of medical cannabis laws (MCL) and recreational cannabis laws (RCL) on the increase in cannabis use disorder among patients in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Methods Data from patients with one or more primary care, emergency, or mental health visit to the VHA in 2005–19 were analysed using 15 repeated cross-sectional VHA electronic health record datasets (ie, one dataset per year). Patients in hospice...

Abstract As countries adopt more permissive cannabis policies, it is increasingly important to identify strategies that can reduce the harmful effects of cannabis use. This study aimed to determine if increasing the CBD content of cannabis can reduce its harmful effects. Forty-six healthy, infrequent cannabis users participated in a double-blind, within-subject, randomised trial of cannabis preparations varying in CBD content. There was an initial baseline visit followed by four drug administration visits, in which participants inhaled vaporised cannabis containing 10 mg THC and either 0 mg (0:1 CBD:THC), 10 mg (1:1), 20 mg (2:1), or 30 mg (3:1) CBD, in a randomised, counter-balanced order. The primary outcome was change...

Please use this link to access this publication: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02185-x Abstract A major public health concern of cannabis legalization is that it may result in an increase in psychotic disorders. We examined changes in emergency department (ED) visits for cannabis-induced psychosis following the legalization and subsequent commercialization (removal of restrictions on retail stores and product types) of non-medical cannabis in Ontario, Canada (population of 14.3 million). We used health administrative data containing the cause of all ED visits to examine changes over three periods; 1) pre-legalization (January 2014–September 2018); 2) legalization with restrictions (October 2018 – February 2020); and 3) commercialization (March 2020 – September 2021)....

Please use this link to access this publication: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02148-2 Abstract Leveraging ~10 years of prospective longitudinal data on 704 participants, we examined the effects of adolescent versus young adult cannabis initiation on MRI-assessed cortical thickness development and behavior. Data were obtained from the IMAGEN study conducted across eight European sites. We identified IMAGEN participants who reported being cannabis-naïve at baseline and had data available at baseline, 5-year, and 9-year follow-up visits. Cannabis use was assessed with the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs. T1-weighted MR images were processed through the CIVET pipeline. Cannabis initiation occurring during adolescence (14–19 years) and young adulthood (19–22...

Abstract Background The goal of this study was to characterize cannabis use among patients with breast cancer, including their reasons for and timing of use, their sources of cannabis information and products, their satisfaction with the information found, their perceptions of its safety, and their dialogue about cannabis with their physicians. Methods United States–based members of the Breastcancer.org and Healthline.com communities with a self-reported diagnosis of breast cancer within 5 years (age ≥ 18 years) were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey. After informed consent was obtained, nonidentifiable data were collected and analyzed. Results Of all participants (n = 612), 42% (n...