Overall, “the public health burden of cannabis use is probably modest compared with that of alcohol, tobacco, and other illicit drugs,” Australian researchers reported in the Oct. 17 issue of The Lancet.
Wayne Hall, PhD, of the University of Queensland in Herston, Australia, and Louisa Degenhardt, PhD, of the University of New South Wales in Sydney, reviewed nearly 100 studies covering acute as well as chronic effects of marijuana, including reports of the prevalence of marijuana use around the world.
Globally, they wrote, about 3.9% of the world’s population used marijuana in 2006, according to United Nations statistics.
Well it opens nicely by noting that cannabis is safer and that almost 1 out of 25 people worldwide use cannabis. It gets a bit dicey from there:
They spent more time detailing the psychomotor impairments associated with the marijuana high. “Some experimental studies have shown diminished driving performance in response to emergency situations,” Hall and Degenhardt said, findings also corroborated in epidemiological studies.
For example, one study of car crash victims found that they were more likely to have tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of marijuana, in their blood compared with age- and sex-matched controls.
Another study determined that motorists killed in wrecks were 2.5 times as likely to have been responsible for the accident when they had THC in their blood.
These are meaningless points when you recognize that:
Marijuana is the third-most used drug after alcohol and tobacco, so it is not surprising you’d find it in car crash victims;
Marijuana is detectable in the blood long after most other drugs, including alcohol, are not; and
Recent studies show that people can test positive for THC in the blood up to a week after ceasing their use of cannabis.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
David in San Diego: “I cannot grow inside however, I can grow on my balcony. My balcony is un covered and has full sun for half of the day. It is never darkâŠcity lights do not allow me to have a night cycle. So…is an auto flowering strain my only option????”
Jens in Montana: “I am really interested in using LED’s over the HPS systems, is this a good idea? I know the cost for a good LED setup is expensive right now, but I figure with the lower energy consumption and less heat, it would be worth it.”
Matt in Oklahoma: “I just bought a homebox portable growhouse online. My question is on lighting. Various websites have different philosophies when it comes to proper lighting procedures during the plant development phases. From what I can tell, they seem to agree on that you use a CFL during the veg stage, then you switch to a HPS lighting system right before it flowers. However, I am only growing two plants, only one at a time (use dried flowers while the other plant is growing cycle). What will be the proper wattage setup for a small grow during the various phases?”
Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 1:58 pm | By: Radical Russ
OK, so it’s a whole two months since we brought this study to your attention on the Stash, but whenever the British press prints something good about cannabis, it’s news to us.
(The Sentinel) A STUDY by North Staffordshire academics has rejected a link between smoking cannabis and an increase in mental illness.
The research found there were no rises in cases of schizophrenia or psychoses diagnosed in the UK over nine years, during which the use of the drug had grown substantially.
From their base at the Harplands Psychiatric Hospital in Hartshill, the four experts reviewed the notes of hundreds of thousands of patients at 183 GP practices throughout the country to look for any changing rate in cases of schizophrenia.
The work had been set up to see if earlier forecasts from other experts had been borne out, that the mental disorder would soar through the growing popularity of cannabis.
[Researchers concluded,] “The casual models linking cannabis with schizophrenia and other psychoses are… not supported by our study.”Hartshill-based Dilys Wood, national co-ordinator of the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, said that so far the report had been published in medical journals and would have a far-reaching reaction if it surfaced more widely.
She added: “I believe that if it had found a causal link between cannabis and schizophrenia it would have been all over the press.
“The public needs to know the truth about drugs; not more Government-led propaganda.”
And Alliance press officer Don Barnard said: “It is hard to believe the then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith did not know of this very important research when deciding to upgrade cannabis to Class B.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 2:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
One of my common one-liners in response to the claim across the pond that smoking the dreaded “skunk” will lead to psychosis and schizophrenia is to sarcastically say, “Yes, that’s why there was such a spike in schizophrenia around 1979 in the US… oh, no, wait, there wasn’t; schizophrenia remains a relatively stable phenomenon that affects less than 1% of the population worldwide.”
Looks like some scientists in the United Kingdom decided to look for just such a correlation:
A recent systematic review concluded that cannabis use increases risk of psychotic outcomes independently of confounding and transient intoxication effects. Furthermore, a model of the association between cannabis use and schizophrenia indicated that the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia would increase from 1990 onwards.
The model is based on three factors:
a) increased relative risk of psychotic outcomes for frequent cannabis users compared to those who have never used cannabis between 1.8 and 3.1,
b) a substantial rise in UK cannabis use from the mid-1970s and
c) elevated risk of 20 years from first use of cannabis.
This paper investigates whether this has occurred in the UK by examining trends in the annual prevalence and incidence of schizophrenia and psychoses, as measured by diagnosed cases from 1996 to 2005. Retrospective analysis of the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) was conducted for 183 practices in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The study cohort comprised almost 600,000 patients each year, representing approximately 2.3% of the UK population aged 16 to 44.
Between 1996 and 2005 the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia and psychoses were either stable or declining. Explanations other than a genuine stability or decline were considered, but appeared less plausible. In conclusion, this study did not find any evidence of increasing schizophrenia or psychoses in the general population from 1996 to 2005.
It’s bull, of course. Â 1970s cannabis was every bit as strong as what you’ll find today. Â Those who were consuming cannabis regularly – the ones you’d expect to “go schizo” – were always finding or growing the good stuff. Â This “Woodstock Weed” idea of low-THC joints is what the casual smoker with no connections would smoke, and not very often.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Friday, June 26th, 2009 at 9:20 am | By: Radical Russ
First they said marijuana would cause brain damage. Turns out that it actually may protect brains and stimulate nerve growth in the brain.
Next they said marijuana would cause cancer. Turns out that it actually may have anti-tumoral properties that help halt cancer.
Nowadays they like to say that smoking pot increases your risk for schizophrenia. Any bets on where I’m headed with this?…
(NORML) Orangeburg, NY: Daily administration of oral synthetic THC significantly improves symptoms of schizophrenia, according to the findings of an open-label case series published this month in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology.
Investigators at the Rockland Psychiatric Center in Orangeburg, New York, and the New York University School of Medicine, administered 2.5 to 5 mg doses of oral THC (dronabinol) for a period of eight weeks to six patients diagnosed with chronic, refractory schizophrenia. All of the patients enrolled in the study had reported previously using cannabis to mitigate their condition.
“Four of the 6 patients improved to a clinically significant extent (after taking dronabinol),” researchers reported. “Three of the six patients had a robust response, with modest to marked reductions in core psychotic symptoms. Patients 1 and 2 showed improvement within several weeks of beginning the medication, whereas patient 3 required 8 weeks to reach significant improvement. In addition, robust improvement in overall functioning was also observed, with patients 1 to 3 changing from being gravely ill to being functioning individuals able to be discharged. Patient 4 had more limited improvement in that he was calmer, cooperative, and less aggressive but had persistence of his core psychosis. Nevertheless, his overall functioning was significantly improved. … There were no clinically adverse effects.”
Investigators concluded, “These results … open a possible new role for cannabinoids in the treatment of schizophrenia.”
Previous studies assessing the use of marijuana in patients with schizophrenia have produced mixed results. A 2007 German study reported improved cognition in patients who used cannabis, and a 2008 Australian study found that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia report experiencing subjective relief from pot. Critics of medical cannabis use have argued that heavy marijuana use may exacerbate psychosis in patients with mental illness. However, the largest trial ever conducted comparing cannabis using and non-using schizophrenic patients reported no statistically significant “differences in syptomatology between schizophrenic patients who were or were not cannabis users” after controlling for patients’ age, sex, and ethnicity.
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 1:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
I have an acquaintence here in Portland who claims knowledge of “addictionology”. Â When I have mentioned that marijuana use causes dependence in a few, not addiction, he’s quick to correct me by saying that marijuana use causes the release of dopamine in the brain, just like any other addictive drug, and that is how we can consider marijuana to be physically addictive. Â I’ve always believed that correction to be faulty, but lacked the knowledge of brain functioning to offer a strong rebuttal.
Now it looks like I have a new study to back me up:
Background: Cannabis use in early adolescence may be a risk factor for development of schizophrenia. In animals, Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) increases the rate of dopamine neuronal firing and release in the striatum. Thus cannabis use may increase dopamine release in the human striatum leading to vulnerability to psychosis
Aims: To investigate whether THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, can produce dopamine release in the human striatum.
Methods: 13 healthy volunteers, with previous cannabis experience, underwent two [11C]-raclopride positron emission tomography (PET) scans to indirectly measure striatal dopamine levels following either 10mg THC or placebo.
Results: Although THC markedly increased psychosis-like symptoms on the Psychotomimetic States Inventory (PSI), there was no significant effect of THC on [11C]-raclopride binding
Conclusion: In the largest study of its kind so far, we have shown that recreational cannabis users do not release significant amounts of dopamine from an oral THC dose equivalent to a standard cannabis cigarette. This result challenges current models of striatal dopamine release as the mechanism mediating cannabis as risk factor for schizophrenia.
In the biggest study of its kind, scientists looking in detail at brain samples donated by people with the condition have identified 49 genes that work differently in the brains of schizophrenia patients compared to controls.
Many of these genes are involved in controlling cell-to-cell signalling in the brain. The study, which was carried out by researchers at Imperial College London and GlaxoSmithKline, supports the theory that abnormalities in the way in which cells ‘talk’ to each other are involved in the disease.
This discovery could go a long way to disproving that marijuana is the cause of schizophrenia, since the root cause would be genetic. This also casts doubt on dopamine as the culprit since the genes responsible appeared normal.
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 at 12:20 pm | By: MrSpof
Seriously, if this is the very best the anti-legalization folks can come up with, I should start packing my bags for my move to the Golden State. It should come as no surprise the author was a senior drug policy adviser in the Clinton and Bush administrations. I inserted a couple of notes in following snip:
It is almost universally accepted in the medical community that marijuana use is linked with mental illness (WRONG). Since the appearance of the British Medical Journal’s famous 2002 headline, “Marijuana and psychiatric illness: the link grows stronger,” the research showing marijuana’s link with illnesses like psychosis and schizophrenia has become frighteningly commonplace (FAIL). In fact, researchers from Kings College in London have shown that eliminating marijuana use would decrease the incidence of schizophrenia in the American population by more than 8 percent (NO). That means that marijuana use is responsible for the schizophrenia suffered by more than 19,000 Americans. Other research has shown the drug’s connection to lung damage, as well as to head, neck and testicular cancers (OH COME ON).
It took me three minutes at NORML typing the terms I refuted above in the Search box and inserting the links in the snipped paragraph. I’m starting to get to get the feeling the anti-reform folks just aren’t trying anymore. Â [Or maybe they just don't know how to use 'the Google' on the 'intertubes'. Â --"R"R]
SneakerPimp: i wanna here about the imminent MiniSpof sounds like time for some
SneakerPimp: im estatic and excited for NSL today.
SneakerPimp: mountain time wake n bake
SneakerPimp: oh yea also wake n bake
SneakerPimp: its central im high as a kite everybody
SneakerPimp: ill grab that WUD
WakeUpDead: @Russ, I dont think that wireless is going to work out for the show, it was choppy and studdered just like last week. Hardline may be the only way. Puff [...]
WakeUpDead: A MINI Spof, Lock up your Weed, in 18 years that is. Really Man congrats! Greatest days of my life when my kids were born, hell yeh, great news [...]
BenJaMin: Late night Stash!!!
SneakerPimp: heres a bong rip for spof
RevRayGreen: errr test over....
RevRayGreen: on hold..
RevRayGreen: @RR I'll try and lob a call to you.....
SneakerPimp: where is the first field of cannabis gonna be?
SneakerPimp: !
Radical Russ: Breaking News: MrSpof's wife's water just broke! A MiniSpof is imminent!
SneakerPimp: oh russ its not my fault that i dont understand choppy word:stoned:
SneakerPimp: @Mrspof congratulations tell us all about it tommrow
Radical Russ: OK, test over. Sorry. Only needed a half hour. Be back tomorrow afternoon.
slash5city: don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west
thaistik: Local Crime Stoppers notice.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Pot shop burglars sought
Crime Stoppers is looking for information on the suspects who police say burglarized a medical marijuana dispensary and stole cash, drugs [...]
American Medical Association Calls For Scientific Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status; Dutch Marijuana Use Lower Than European Average, Study Says […]
"Truth In Trials Act" Reintroduced In Congress; Maine: Voters Approve Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Measure; Colorado: Breckenridge Voters Overwhelmingly Decide To End Pot Penalties. […]
Some of the nationâs top athletes discuss why today's pros are turning to cannabis â and away from alcohol and painkillers â off the field, and question why pro sports leagues are continuing to sanction those who do. Moderator: Steve Bloom, Author, Pot Culture; editor, celebstoner.com * Toby Grear, MMA fighter * Sean Neumann, Documentary Filmm […]
Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
Health Risks of Marijuana Still Not Nailed Down… really?
A new article on MedPage today claims that we still don’t fully understand the health risks of cannabis use:
sounds like time for some 
mountain time wake n bake 
don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west 
Fresh Stash V RSS Feed
Loading ...
, or can...
