Tag: medical marijuana

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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New Mexico Officials Approve Medical Marijuana As A Treatment For Female Orgasm Difficulty

A New Mexico regulatory board has given preliminary approval to make female orgasm difficulty (FOD) a qualifying condition for the state’s medical marijuana program, voting 7–2 to recommend the change at a meeting on Monday.

The New Mexico Medical Cannabis Advisory Board’s vote does not immediately add FOD as a qualifying condition. A report with the board’s recommendation will next go to the secretary of health, who will review the proposal and consult with staff before either accepting, denying or modifying the recommendation.

That’s according to an email from the acting director of the New Mexico Department of Health’s Center for Medical Cannabis forwarded to Marijuana Moment by Suzanne Mulvehill, a clinical sexologist and researcher who’s helped lead the charge to add FOD as a qualifying condition in a number of states with legal cannabis.

Mulvehill told Marijuana Moment that she’s “very pleased” with the movement in New Mexico, noting that officials in Connecticut and Illinois have also taken steps to add FOD as qualifying conditions in those jurisdictions.

“FOD affects millions of women worldwide,” she added, “and there are no conventional treatments.”

Two additional states are currently considering adding FOD as a medical marijuana qualifying condition. Oregon held a virtual public meeting earlier this month and is accepting public comments through Friday. And in Arkansas, which held a public meeting about FOD last month, officials are taking comments until October 14.

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DOJ Says Allowing A Pennsylvania Prosecutor Who Uses Medical Marijuana To Possess A Gun Would Be ‘Dangerous’

In a new court filing by the U.S. Department of Justice, attorneys for the federal government argue that the nationwide ban on marijuana consumers owning firearms is constitutional and should remain in place, arguing it aligns with other restrictions on gun ownership by dangerous, mentally ill or intoxicated people.

The brief, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, is the latest in a case filed earlier this year by Warren County District Attorney Robert Greene, a registered medical marijuana patient in the state. Greene teamed up with the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) to file suit in January against the government, including U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the heads of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI.

The original suit says that while Greene “intends to lawfully purchase, possess, and utilize firearms and ammunition so that he may exercise his constitutional right to keep and bear arms for self-defense and all other lawful purposes,” he’s forbidden from doing so because of his status as a state-certified medical cannabis patient.

In DOJ’s latest filing, the government says that’s by design. Its motion asks the court to dismiss Greene’s case.

“Marijuana’s physical and mental effects make it dangerous for a person to handle firearms,” it says, “and also impair a person’s judgment, including judgement about whether to use firearms.”

It also notes that possession of even state-legal medical marijuana remains a federal crime. The government, however, has not prioritized enforcement of prohibition against state-regulated medical cannabis programs, and a federal budget rider prevents the use of funds to interfere with the state-legal programs.

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Nebraska Court Weighs Legal Challenge That Could Prevent Medical Marijuana Ballot Votes From Being Counted After Election

A Lancaster County District Court judge said Friday she intends to issue “narrowly” at the end of next week whether to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to invalidate Nebraska’s medical cannabis petitions.

Judge Susan Strong made the announcement during a 20-minute initial briefing on the lawsuit filed by John Kuehn, a veterinarian, rancher, former state senator and former member of the Nebraska State Board of Health. The lawsuit seeks to either remove the two certified marijuana measures from the November 5 ballot or prevent counting of votes and void the election results.

“Hopefully we can all work together and resolve these claims as expeditiously as possible, hopefully before the election, though I understand we don’t have to,” Strong said at the initial hearing. “I think that would be the best course.”

Under state law, challenges to ballot measures can come before or after the election at issue, but Strong and attorneys for Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) and Kuehn said they were inclined to move quickly so voters know the impact before November’s election.

Attorneys for Evnen and the campaign sponsors each asked for all or part of the lawsuit to be dismissed. The sponsors’ attorneys derided the lawsuit as the “equivalent of a recount.”

Kuehn alleges too many invalid signatures

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Georgia Pharmacy Begins Selling Medical Marijuana To Patients In Defiance Of DEA Warnings About Federal Law

Nearly a year after the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sent letters to dozens of Georgia pharmacies warning them against dispensing medical marijuana in accordance with state law, at least one pharmacy is now selling cannabis in open defiance of the federal agency.

Georgia’s medical marijuana law is the first in the nation that, at least in theory, allows registered pharmacies to dispense cannabis. That plan, however, has largely been on hold following DEA warnings last November that pharmacies licensed with the agency “may only dispense controlled substances in Schedules II-V of the Controlled Substances Act.”

But a pharmacist in Augusta is now flouting that guidance. Vic Johnson, who owns the Living Well Pharmacy, began selling medical marijuana to state-registered patients earlier this month, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) report on Thursday.

“It’s a new frontier,” he told the paper. “I really think pharmacies are an ideal outlet for dispensing medical cannabis, because if you come to my pharmacy already, we can talk about what medications you already are taking.”

He also said that many patients are already taking highly addictive drugs, “and the quality of life that can happen when they come off those medications is just incredible.”

Johnson is selling products produced by Botanical Sciences, one of the state’s two licensed producers. Prior to the DEA letters—in October of last year—at least three pharmacies had begun dispensing Botanical Sciences products, the company said in a press release at the time.

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Nationwide Legalization Of Medical Marijuana Could Save $29 Billion In Annual Health Insurance Costs, Study Finds

New research by the medical cannabis company Leafwell suggests that state-level medical marijuana legalization may significantly reduce health insurance costs. In states with legal medical cannabis, companies paid 3.4 percent less for health insurance premiums compared to where marijuana remained illegal—a savings of about $238 per employee per year.

If all states were to implement medical cannabis programs, the study says, the country could save an estimated $29 billion in health insurance costs annually.

“This report strengthens the case that investing in cannabis care isn’t just beneficial to patient care, it’s also good for business efficiency,” Leafwell Chief Medical Officer June Chin said in a statement about the new findings. “By including cannabis in insurance plans, employers can foster a more inclusive and supportive work environment, enhance employee satisfaction, and ultimately contribute to a healthier, more resilient workforce.”

The study, published this month in the journal Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, looked at data from an annual surveys of employers, analyzing a period from 2003 to 2022.

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