Tag: medical marijuana

Nebraska Judge Rejects Officials’ Move To Amend Medical Marijuana Ballot Challenges She Has Already Dismissed

A Lancaster County District Court judge has overruled two final attempts to amend legal challenges against Nebraska’s two medical cannabis petitions.

In a five-page order Thursday morning, District Judge Susan Strong denied requests from John Kuehn (R), a former state senator and former State Board of Health member who brought the initial lawsuit, and Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) to amend their complaints.

Strong said the amendments would not affect the outcome of the lawsuit that she had already dismissed last week, and for which she had already anticipated the legal arguments.

The dismissal upheld the ballot certification of two measures from the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign to legalize and regulate the drug. Voters passed the two measures, and state constitutional officers certified those election results Monday, including Evnen and Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R), whose office defended Evnen in the Kuehn-led lawsuit.

The medical cannabis laws to legalize and regulate the drug are set to take effect by December 12.

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Nebraska AG Prepares To Ask Supreme Court To Overturn Voter-Approved Medical Marijuana Measures

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office filed a second “amended cross-claim” Friday on behalf of Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) in a lawsuit against two successful medical cannabis measures.

The brief formally adds allegations of circulator fraud and widespread malfeasance to Evnen’s complaint. However, Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong anticipated those arguments already last Tuesday when she dismissed the case and ruled in favor of the ballot sponsors behind Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana.

The AG’s Office has not formally filed an appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court, but Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) told the Nebraska Examiner on Monday that his office was “taking advantage” of court rules that allow a party to formally amend a cross-claim, even after a verdict, to conform to the evidence presented at trial.

“It’s just a post-trial motion,” Hilgers said Monday. “We want to make sure our case is fully prepared for an appeal.”

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Nebraska Judge Dismisses Legal Challenges To Voter-Approved Medical Marijuana Measures

A Lancaster County District Court judge has dismissed major legal challenges against Nebraska’s two medical cannabis petitions, although the ruling is likely to be appealed.

District Judge Susan Strong, in a 57-page order Tuesday afternoon, said the “case was about numbers.” However, the lawsuit brought by John Kuehn, a former Republican state senator and former State Board of Health member, and aided by Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) and the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office fell “well short” of invalidating enough petition signatures secured for ballot access by this summer, Strong concluded.

The Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign had two measures on the ballot, one to legalize medical cannabis and the other to regulate it. The campaign needed 86,499 valid signatures on each petition.

When Evnen certified the measures for the November ballot, he said they both exceeded that number by almost 3,500.

Strong ruled Tuesday that the “presumption of validity” was lost for 711 signatures on the legalization petition and 826 on the regulatory petition.

“In a record of this size, it is likely, perhaps inevitable, that the Court has made some mathematical errors,” Strong wrote. “It is also possible that the Court missed a few petitions that should lose their presumption of validity under this Court’s reasoning.”

Strong cautioned that the judgment wasn’t based on the inclusion or exclusion of a few petitions and that, either way, Evnen and Kuehn “would still fall short” of challenged signatures.

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FDA Approves Long-Awaited Clinical Trial Of Smoked Marijuana To Treat PTSD In Veterans

After years of delays, researchers are set to move forward on a landmark clinical trial meant to evaluate the efficacy of smoked medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military veterans. The study is being funded with tax revenue from legal cannabis sales in Michigan.

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, announced this week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval for Phase 2 of the research, what MAPS described in a press release as “a randomized, placebo-controlled study of 320 Veterans suffering from moderate to severe PTSD who have previously used cannabis.”

The group said the study “is designed to investigate the inhalation of high THC dried cannabis flower, versus placebo cannabis, with the daily dose being self-titrated by participants.” It’s meant to reflect consumption patterns already happening across the country and study “the ‘real-world’ use of inhaled cannabis to understand its potential benefits and risks in treating PTSD.”

The project is years in the making, MAPS said, noting that it encountered numerous issues in clearing the research with FDA that only recently were resolved.

“After 3 years of negotiations with the FDA, this decision opens the door to future research into cannabis as a medical treatment, offering hope to millions,” the organization said.

“These data are critical to inform patients, medical providers, and adult-use consumers when considering cannabis in treatment plans for the management of PTSD, pain, and other serious health conditions,” the group’s press release said, “yet regulatory obstacles have historically made it difficult or impossible to conduct meaningful research on the safety and effectiveness of cannabis products typically consumed in regulated markets.”

MAPS said that over the years, it responded to five partial clinical hold letters from FDA that halted the study’s progress.

“On August 23, 2024, MAPS responded to the FDA’s fifth clinical hold letter by submitting a Formal Dispute Resolution Request (FDRR) to resolve the continued scientific and regulatory disagreement with the Division on four key issues,” according to the organization: “1) the proposed THC dose of the cannabis flower product, 2) smoking as a delivery method, 3) vaping as a delivery method, and 4) the enrollment of cannabis naïve participants.”

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Medical Marijuana Improves Chronic Pain And Mental Health Symptoms While Reducing Prescription Drug Use, Study Shows

Results of a new yearlong study of prescribed medical marijuana for patients with chronic pain and mental health issues observed an association between cannabis use and symptom improvement, with most side effects limited to dry mouth and sleepiness. At least some of the benefits appeared to fade as the 12-month study period went on, however.

The report, published in the Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, evaluated the effects of medical marijuana on 96 patients over the course of the yearlong observational study, with measurements of pain, depression, anxiety and sleep problems taken at three, six and 12 months.

“We found that the use of medical cannabis was associated with reduced pain during the first 6 months and improved mental well-being over 12 months,” wrote authors, from the University of Melbourne in Australia. “Patients reported not only less pain but also experienced reduced interference from pain in their daily functions. Furthermore, they reported decreased use of pain medications and a large proportion felt that their pain symptoms had significantly improved, as reflected in their reported changes in the severity of pain.”

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Cannabis Treatment Reduces Chronic Nerve Pain With ‘Minimal To No Side Effects,’ New Scientific Review Finds

A newly published review of research on marijuana and chronic nerve pain concludes that treatment with cannabinoids offers “significant relief from chronic pain” with “minimal to no side effects”—potentially providing patients a “life-changing alternative” to conventional pharmaceuticals.

“The positive effects of cannabinoids in pain management are clear and their merit in the treatment thereof is evident,” says the research, published last month in the journal Cureus. It adds that “the fact that cannabinoids are natural garners it support over traditional synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs.”

Authors considered thousands of research papers for the review, ultimately including in their analysis five placebo-controlled randomized control studies published between 2000 and 2024. They found that treatment with cannabinoids offered markedly more pain relief than did placebo.

“Compared to placebo, cannabinoids provided significant relief from chronic pain (33% vs 15%) as measured by the visual analog scale,” the paper says. “The transdermal application of CBD led to a more pronounced reduction in sharp pain, according to the neuropathic pain scale. Minimal to no side effects were recorded, further highlighting the potential benefits of cannabinoids.”

Authors, from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Medical College, in Mauritius, noted that while there’s still “insufficient evidence available on their long-term adverse effects and drug interactions, due to their ambiguous legal status and heightened social taboos globally,” the results indicate that cannabinoids nevertheless offer a paradigm-changing alternative to pharmaceuticals.

“The potential benefit of cannabinoids is that they are naturally derived drugs that have already been shown to have the potential to effectively decrease chronic pain with minimal side effects as compared to the standard drugs being used,” the review concludes. “The ability of cannabinoids to provide pain relief with minimal side effects and concurrently be a naturally derived product may potentially be a life-changing alternative that the pharmaceutical market is in dire need of.”

The research looked specifically at neuropathic pain, caused by damage to or dysfunction of the nervous system and often associated with conditions such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS, shingles, multiple sclerosis and even side-effects from certain pharmaceutical drugs or radiation therapy. Treatment of such pain “is a complex endeavor,” the paper notes, “which often requires specialist care and intensive drug therapy.”

“Cannabis-derived drugs in their most effective formulation and dosage can be a major breakthrough in the treatment of chronic pain,” authors continue. “It is thus obvious that a greater emphasis should be put on medical cannabis as a treatment option through larger scale clinical trials.”

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Votes On Arkansas Medical Marijuana Expansion Measure Won’t Be Counted, State Supreme Court Rules

Arkansas voters will get to decide on a medical marijuana expansion initiative at the ballot next month—but those votes will no longer count following a new state Supreme Court ruling.

Prohibitionists who challenged the cannabis measure from Arkansans for Patient Access (APA) successfully convinced the court that the ballot title was affirmatively misleading, and justices ruled on Monday that votes will not be processed after Election Day.

The state’s highest court said it was siding the anti-marijuana group Protect Arkansas Kids (PAK), agreeing that the measure’s title is misleading because it fails to adequately explain that—beyond expanding the state’s medical marijuana program—it would also more broadly legalize possession of cannabis if a federal policy change is made and would also restrict the legislature from revising the voter-approved law if enacted.

“For these reasons, we hold that the proposed amendment is misleading,” Justice Shawn Womack wrote in the majoity opinion. “Accordingly, we grant the Intervenors’ request for relief and order that the Secretary be enjoined from canvassing or certifying any ballots cast for the proposed amendment at the November 5, 2024, general election.”

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New Study: Cannabis Use Tied To Higher Physical Activity, Dispelling Myth of Lazy Stoner

A just released new study on Cannabis use and physical activity dispels myt of lazy stoners. A new study shows that contrary to lazy stoner stereotypes, legal medical marijuana “promotes greater physical activity” in people with chronic medical conditions and that “legal recreational cannabis promotes (even more so) greater physical activity in those not experiencing chronic medical conditions.”

Per the study, activity increased from 73.16% in 2016 to 75.72% in 2022 (3.5% increase) and current cannabis use increased from 7.48% in 2016 to 14.71% in 2022 (96.7% increase). Current cannabis use was 6.5% higher in areas of legalized recreational cannabis (vs. not legal) and 0.7% higher in areas of legalized medical cannabis (vs. not legal). For the combined years, the OR measuring the association between cannabis use and physical activity was 1.24 (95% CI 1.10–1.41), after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, employment status, education, smoking status, weight classification, legal status, and chronic medical condition. The adjusted OR was 1.47 (95% CI 1.34–1.62) in areas with legalized recreational and medical cannabis (vs. illegal) and 1.05 (95% CI 0.98–1.12) in areas with legalized medical cannabis only (vs. illegal). Having a medical condition was significantly associated with lower prevalence of physical activity in the adjusted models (overall adjusted OR = 0.79, 95% CI 0.73–0.85). However, this significantly lower odds ratio was insignificant for current cannabis users.

An online survey of 605 current adult cannabis users found that 81.7% endorsed using cannabis simultaneously with exercise (YorkWilliams et al. 2019). Those who used cannabis concurrently with exercise were more likely to be younger (mean age 36.3 [SD = 14.9] vs. 43.1 [SD = 18.0]) and male. After adjusting for age and sex, those who used cannabis concurrently with exercise engaged in more minutes of aerobic and anaerobic exercise per week than those who did not. A majority also endorsed using cannabis before or after exercise, indicating that it enhanced enjoyment and recovery from exercise. Approximately half of the participants said that it increased their motivation to exercise.

With legalization of cannabis increasing in recent decades, there is greater potential for people to combine cannabis with physical activity. In 2016, cannabis use was legal for recreational and medical use in 17% of the U.S. states and territories and for medical use only in 43% of the area. In 2022, corresponding values were 41% and 36%. Hence, cannabis was legal at some level in 60% of the areas in 2016 and 77% of the areas in 2022. Consequently, the prevalence of cannabis use in adults increased from 7.48% in 2016 to 14.71% in 2022. Further, during 2016–2022 the prevalence of cannabis use was 9% higher in areas where medical cannabis only was legal and 81% higher in areas where recreational cannabis was legal (vs. not legal) (Merrill 2024). Of interest is whether the prevalence of being physically active is greater in areas with legalized cannabis for recreational and medical (vs. illegal) and medical only (vs. illegal).

Having a chronic medical condition such as arthritis may limit physical activity because of pain and other possible problems. People with arthritis may be concerned that physical activity might worsen their pain or joint damage, or they may not know what activities are safe (Wilcox et al. 2006). However, if cannabis use is perceived to help lower arthritis pain and other potential problems such as inflammation, it may correspond with increased physical activity among these patients. Indeed, recent research has found that CBD treatment can reduce pain and inflammation-causing fibroblasts in rheumatoid arthritis (Lowin et al. 2020; Frane et al. 2022). Hence, of interest is whether the association between having a chronic medical condition and physical activity is moderated by current cannabis use.

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Medical Marijuana Availability Improves Mental Health In Older People, Research Finds

Medical marijuana being legally available “improved self-reported mental health among people aged 65 years and older,” according to a new study.

Among adults overall, “medical cannabis availability was not associated with self-reported poor mental health,” it adds. “Collectively, these results suggest medical cannabis availability has limited mental health effects on the population at large, with considerable mental health benefits for older adults.”

For people 65 and older, authors noted that living within 30 minutes of a dispensary “decreased the probability having a poor mental health day in the past month by about 10 percent,” which they point out was “a 3.5 percentage point decrease from an original probability of roughly 36 percent.”

“What may explain our finding that medical cannabis availability improves the self-reported mental health of people aged 65 and above? Likely pain relief,” the research brief from authors at the libertarian Cato Institute says. “Cannabis is a good treatment for chronic pain caused by nerve disease (neuropathy)—the most common justification for medical cannabis and a common chronic condition among older adults.”

The study used geographic data to” estimate medical cannabis dispensary availability’s effects on self-reported mental health in New York state from 2011 through 2021 using a two-stage difference-in-differences approach to minimize bias introduced from the staggered opening of dispensaries,” the paper says.

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