Abstract Background Cannabis was legalised for medical purposes in 2016. Uptake was initially slow, but since 2019 there has been a large increase in the number of Australians who have been prescribed cannabis for medical reasons. Yet a significant number of consumers continue to treat their medical conditions via illicitly-sourced cannabis. Little is known about how these two groups of medical cannabis consumers differ. Methods The anonymous Cannabis-As-Medicine Survey 2022–2023 (CAMS-22) was available for completion online from December 2022 to April 2023 to adult Australians who had used cannabis to treat a medical condition in the previous year. Recruitment occurred through social media, consumer...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Background Previous research has suggested that the use of cannabis-based medicinal products is increasing most rapidly among older aged individuals (65+ years). Despite this, little is known about the characteristics of older people using cannabis-based medicinal products and their effectiveness. Objectives We aimed to document the characteristics, outcomes and prescribing patterns of individuals aged 65+ years receiving prescribed cannabis compared to younger individuals receiving prescribed cannabis. Methods Data from T21, an observational study of patients seeking treatment with medicinal cannabinoids, including self-report ratings of quality of life (assessed via the EQ-5D-5L), general health (assessed via...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Issues. To conduct a comprehensive search of the peer-reviewed literature to assess risk of cannabis-related mortality. Approach. Systematic peer-reviewed literature searches were conducted in Medline, EMBASE and PsycINFO to identify data on mortality associated with cannabis use. Search strings for cannabis and mortality were used. Searches were limited to human subjects and the publication timeframe of January 1990 to January 2008. Reference lists of review articles and of specific studies deemed important by colleagues were searched to identify additional studies. A list of the selected articles was emailed to experts in the field asking for comment on completeness. Key Findings. There is insufficient evidence,...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Background: There are minimal data regarding the safety and efficacy of cannabis used as an anti-cancer agent or for symptom management in pediatric oncology. We aimed to characterize the prevalence and factors associated with the use of cannabis for the treatment of cancer and management of cancer-related symptoms in children during or after cancer treatment. Methods: An anonymous 40 question paper survey was offered to patients/caregivers of children with cancer attending a pediatric oncology clinic in a provincially mandated cancer agency between October 2019 and March 2020. Results: There were 64 respondents included in the analysis. Fourteen participants...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Cannabis is one of the most used drugs of abuse. It affects the brain reward system in animals, and has proven rewarding and addictive potential in humans. We used functional MRI to measure brain activity during reward anticipation in a monetary reward task. Long-term cannabis users were compared to healthy controls. An additional control group consisting of nicotine users was included. Cannabis users showed attenuated brain activity during reward anticipation in the nucleus accumbens compared to non-smoking controls, but not compared to smoking controls. Cannabis users showed decreased reward anticipation activity in the caudate nucleus, compared to both...

Abstract As previous work has highlighted the significance of the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) genes with respect to cannabis dependence (CD), this study sought to characterize the neural mechanisms that underlie these genetic effects. To this end, we collected DNA samples and fMRI data using a cue-elicited craving paradigm in thirty-seven 3-day-abstinent regular marijuana users. The participants were grouped according to their genotype on two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) earlier associated with CD phenotypes: rs2023239 in CNR1 and rs324420 in FAAH. Between-group comparisons showed that carriers of the CNR1 rs2023239 G allele had significantly greater activity in reward-related areas of the brain, such as the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), inferior frontal...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract In animal studies, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been found to affect brain morphology, particularly within areas rich in cannabinoid receptors (e.g., hippocampus, cerebral cortex). While cannabis remains the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, there has been limited work investigating its effects on human brain tissue. In this paper, we conducted a systematic review of existing structural magnetic resonance imaging studies to examine whether cannabis use is associated with significant changes in brain anatomy. We identified only 13 structural neuroimaging studies, which were diverse in terms of sample characteristics (e.g., age of participants, duration and frequency...

Abstract Objective Cannabis is associated with psychotic outcomes in numerous studies, an effect that is commonly attributed to Δ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9-THC). An increasing number of authors identify cannabidiol, another component of the cannabis plant, as an antipsychotic agent. The objective of the current study is to investigate the role of cannabidiol content in the association between cannabis use and psychiatric symptoms in a large non-clinical population of cannabis users. Methods In a web-based cross-sectional study we obtained detailed information about cannabis use and subclinical psychiatric experiences using the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE). Different types of cannabis (i.e. marijuana, hashish etc.) have distinctive...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Background As access to cannabis has increased, there has been a rise in a condition called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). This study estimates annual prevalence of suspected CHS at emergency department visits (ED) over an 11-year period in Northern California. Methods This retrospective observational cohort study used electronic health records from Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Two CHS case definitions were used to construct two cohorts of adults (18+) with ≥1 CHS visits from 2009 to 2019. The primary definition used a narrow definition based on past studies (CHS group 1) and an exploratory definition allowed...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Background and Objective Given that 29 U.S. states now have laws allowing medical marijuana use, this study examined mental and physical health correlates of medical versus nonmedical marijuana use among three age groups of adults (18–29, 30–49, and 50+). Methods Data came from the 2012–2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (N = 36,309 respondents aged 18+). Logistic regression models were used to examine age group differences in associations of substance use and mental disorders and health conditions with medical versus nonmedical marijuana use. Results Of all respondents, 9.74% (N = 3,784) reported past-year marijuana use. Of...