Abstract Marijuana and hashish, from the plant Cannabis sativa L, are the illicit drugs most frequently used worldwide. Cannabis is well known for its recreational effects being popular among adolescents and young adults and is often perceived as harmless. Cannabis, however, impairs working and short-term memory and is associated with decline in academic functioning, impaired driving skills, cognitive impairment, and progression to other illicit substance use. Cannabis use has also been linked to a propensity for developing psychotic events while neuroimaging studies indicated brain volume changes in heavy and chronic users. Cannabis effects are ascribed to its major psychoactive constituent delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) acting...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Introduction: Human studies about the impact of cannabis use on both healthy kidneys as well as kidney function in patients with kidney disease are lacking. To shed more light on this understudied topic, we reevaluated a previous clinical study. The sample of this study was exclusively suited for investigating effects of recreational long-term cannabis use on humans under real-life conditions. Methods: This special sample had sought and was undergoing inpatient detox-treatment. It was characterized by a lone and considerable cannabis-dependence without any other relevant active comorbidity (except of a concurrent nicotine-dependence). In the present post hoc analysis, we are...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Investigating the acute effects of cannabinoids consumption on circulating levels of endocannabinoids. Introduction Cannabis remains the most commonly used drug of abuse worldwide and the legalization in several states caused a drastic change in the variety of products available on the market. Over the past few years, several studies reported that the average concentration of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) drastically increased as well as the availability of products containing different combinations of THC and other cannabinoids, mainly cannabidiol (CBD). However, little is known about the acute effects of THC and/or CBD on the lipidome and more specifically the endocannabinoid system. The aim of the present study...

Context: The management of behavioral symptoms and rigidity in patients with dementia constitutes a significant challenge. Short-term studies suggest an interest in the use of medical cannabis, but long-term data are lacking. Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility and long-term safety of administering tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol (THC/CBD) treatment as an additional drug to a poly medicated population with severe dementia, evaluate clinical improvements, and collect information on the pharmacokinetics of cannabinoids and possible drug–drug interactions. Methods: A prospective observational study of patients with severe dementia living in a long-term care home to whom the physicians had prescribed a medical cannabis treatment. Data were collected...

Abstract Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug worldwide. Evidence indicated negative impact for cannabis on the brain. Animal research and in vitro studies using delta-9-THC (THC) or cannabis extracts with high THC content provided evidence for a detrimental effect on neuronal integrity with DNA damage, cell shrinkage, atrophy and apoptosis. The mechanisms by which herbal cannabis affects brain structure and function are not clear but impaired mitochondrial functioning, reduced glucose availability and inhibition of brain energetic metabolism by cannabis have been shown. Clinical studies investigating the effects of cannabis in humans found raised serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines in chronic cannabis users....

ABSTRACT Background and Objective: Medical cannabis is becoming an acceptable treatment modality in medicine, especially for pain relief. Concurrently, cannabis use is becoming more prevalent worldwide, a public demand-driven trend despite the lack of established scientific basis. This observational open-label study sought to investigate the effectiveness of cannabis therapy for alleviating low back pain symptoms. Methods: Two types of cannabis treatment modalities were sequentially administered to chronic low back pain patients. After an initial 1-month washout period (WO1), the first modality was cannabidiol (CBD)-rich sublingual extract treatment administered for 10 months. Following another washout period, the second modality, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-rich smoked inflorescence (whole dried...

please use this link to access publication Abstract Purpose This study explored whether symptom relief differs by sex in patients with cancer receiving medical cannabis (MC) therapy. Methods This is an analysis of data collected from patients with cancer enrolled in the Quebec Cannabis Registry. MC was initiated for the therapeutic management of cancer symptoms. Patients completed the revised Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS-r) questionnaire at baseline and 3-month follow-up. We examined the interaction between sex and time on each ESAS-r symptom and the interaction between time and tetrahydrocannabinol:cannabidiol (THC:CBD) ratios for each sex on total symptom burden. Results The analysis included 358 patients...

Please use this link to access publication Abstract Currently, there is a renewed interest in treatments with medical cannabis and cannabinoids. Based on an increasing number of publications over the last decades that permitted new insights into mechanisms, efficacy and safety of cannabinoids, the use of cannabinergic medications is authorised in an increasing number of European and non-European countries. The alleviation of chronic, painful conditions is, since thousands of years, one of the primary reasons for the use of cannabis. Depending on the country, a wide range of medicinal cannabis preparations are available:ranging from defined cultivars of medical cannabis, mainly varying in their THC:CBD...

Please use this link to access publication Abstract Objective: Trait anger has been shown to be predictive of emotion-focused coping and alcohol use. Yet, the connection between cannabis use and trait anger remains poorly characterized. The present study sought to investigate the relationship between cannabis use and self-reported trait anger in youth seeking substance use treatment. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on youth (n=168) aged 14–26 presenting for an initial evaluation at an outpatient substance use treatment program. Patients self-reported trait anger score (TAS) and lifetime, recent, and Diagnostic and Statistics Manual-5th Edition diagnostic status of cannabis use were assessed. Clinician-coded psychiatric and substance...

Abstract The existing literature largely focuses on health risks and other pharmacodynamics of using cannabis, with fewer investigations of other normative psychological effects from consumption among otherwise healthy people. We measured several basic constructs of social psychology corresponding to the concept of prosociality among 146 healthy young adults between 18 and 25 years (M = 18.9, SD = 1.4) with varying detectable levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in their urine, controlling for participant’s sex, age, ethnicity, and childhood socio-economic status. Compared to THC-free individuals, cannabis users scored higher than non-users on validated measures of Prosocial Behaviors (d = .34, p = .04), the Empathy Quotient (d = .36, p < .01), Moral Harmlessness (d = .76, p < .01) and Moral Fairness (d = .49, p < .01), but exhibited a...