Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at the benefits reported by older individuals who use cannabis, a pro baseball team selling a THC seltzer, cannabis and pain management and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis and Older Individuals
A new study published in the journal Drugs and Aging reported that cannabis-based products may provide multiple therapeutic benefits for older individuals, including health, well-being, sleep and mood.
According to Ben Adlin, who reported on the study for Marijuana Moment, the research team also observed “sizable reductions in pain severity and pain interference among older aged patients [reporting] chronic pain as their primary condition.
The five-person research team from the UK-based organization Drug Science and Imperial College London’s Centre for Neuropsychopharmacology said the study is meant to address a general lack of of high quality research around cannabis and older adults and what they describe as “a common methodological practice of excluding those aged over 65 years from clinical trials” at a time when older patients are increasingly turning to medical marijuana for relief.
The authors stated in the paper that, “International evidence that older individuals may be the fastest-growing increase [sic] in the use of medical marijuana, coupled with their frequent exclusion from controlled trials, indicates a growing need for real-world evidence to assess the effectiveness and safety of these drugs for older individuals.”
The researchers looked at data from T21, a “large observational study of individuals seeking prescribed cannabis for a range of primary conditions in the UK” that was launched in 2020.
Adlin noted that patient outcomes in the study were measured by self-reported measures of quality of life, general health, mood and sleep. Results showed “consistent improvements in each of the four well-being measures between entry to treatment and the 3-month follow up.”
In his article, Adlin also makes the point that researchers found that older aged individuals who continue on cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) report considerable improvement in health and well-being when prescribed CBMPs. While the extent of improvement in quality of life and mood was less for older individuals than for those aged under 65 years, the researchers held “it was still substantial and, together with improvements in general health and sleep, suggests that older aged individuals may derive multiple health benefits from CBMPs.”
To learn more about the study, we suggest reading Ben Adlin’s article in the June 20, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
The Shape of Things to Come
An Oregon-based baseball team is set to become the first pro sports team in the U.S. to sell THC-infused beverages at their games.
That’s the word from TG Branfalt, reporting for Ganjapreneur.com. According to Branfalt, the Portland Pickles, a team in the summer West Coast League, has partnered with a cannabis beverage company called Cycling Frog to offer the hemp-derived THC beverages at its home games.
Cycling Frog Light Seltzer will be available at the Pickles’ Walker Stadium starting this month. The Light Seltzer contains 2 milligrams of THC per serving.
Ross Campbell, vice president of business development, said the Pickles “have a responsibility in the sports industry to take leaps and set precedent of innovative partnerships.”
Said Matt Palomares, vice president of brand marketing for Cycling Frog, “At Cycling Frog, we believe cannabis consumption should be normalized, accessible, and fun! What could be more normal than going to a baseball game and cheering for your local team? Making THC seltzers available at Pickles games is a huge step and we look forward to sparking a broader conversation via this partnership.”
Yep, nothing like having a cold one while watching America’s pastime down at the old ball yard. In the words of Marcus Tullius Cicero, a light-hitting shortstop who once played for the Roman Senators, “O tempora, o mores.”
To learn more, we urge you to read TG Branfalt’s article in the June 19th, 2024 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
www.ganjapreneur.com/portland-pickles-baseball-team-is-first-to-offer-thc-beverages-at-games/?
Cannabis Stats of the Week
This week’s magic number is 25 percent, as in one quarter. According to a new survey from the cannabis company NuggMD, that’s the percentage of consumers who say they use cannabis for pain management.
Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment, noted that the survey asked more than 6,500 marijuana consumers about why they use it, in addition to their preferences and habits around consumption. The survey also asked about the flavor profiles and effects consumers preferred and time of consumption.
While 25 percent of respondents said they used cannabis for pain management, 23 percent said they used it to manage anxiety, 18 percent said they used it to reduce stress, manage depression (12 percent) and treat insomnia (seven percent). Thirteen percent of respondents said they consumed cannabis for recreation.
In his article, Jaeger also points out that the survey findings offered some insights into the types of flavors and aromas cannabis consumers prefer. For example, a plurality (27 percent) said they liked strains with a “fruity” flavor. That was followed by “sweet” (19 percent), “earthy” (18 percent), “citrus” (18 percent), “diesel” (10 percent), “vanilla” (six percent) and “spicy” (two percent).
Yeah, we said the same thing. Diesel?
When it comes to the effects or experience they looked for when using cannabis, Jaeger notes that 30 percent of respondents said they want to feel “relaxed” and “euphoric” (24 percent). Fifteen percent said they seek an “energetic” effect, and 13 percent want to feel “uplifted.” Another 10 percent said they prefer a “creative” effect, and just eight percent said they want to feel “sleepy.”
Said Deb Tharp, head of legal and policy research at NuggMD, “The data suggests that many millions of U.S. adults are using cannabis for health and wellness reasons, even when they do not have a medical cannabis recommendation.” This is consistent with the findings of a research effort conducted by Dr. Lillian Gelberg at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA that we reported on in a recent issue.
To learn more about this and other survey efforts sponsored by NuggMD, we urge you to read Kyle Jaeger’s excellent reporting in the June 11, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net. As always, his work is clear, concise and informative.
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“Last summer, New Mexico state special agents inspecting a farm found thousands more cannabis plants than state laws allow. Then on subsequent visits, they made another unexpected discovery: dozens of underfed, shell-shocked Chinese workers.
The workers said they had been trafficked to the farm in Torrance County, N.M., were prevented from leaving and never got paid.
“They looked weathered,” says Lynn Sanchez, director of a New Mexico social services nonprofit who was called in after the raid. “They were very scared, very freaked out.”
They are part of a new pipeline of migrants leaving China and making unauthorized border crossings into the United States via Mexico, and many are taking jobs at hundreds of cannabis farms springing up across the U.S.”— Emily Feng
Emily Feng is an international correspondent for NPR covering China, Taiwan and beyond. Her description of what the authorities found at a New Mexico grow operation is taken from an article she recently penned for NPR that looks at what might be called the “darker side” of the cannabis industry.
Specifically, she investigated a cluster of farms, or cannabis “grow” operations, in New Mexico. These are businesses that employ and are managed and funded largely by Chinese people. The workers and investors have come to the U.S. seeking opportunities in a flourishing cannabis market after the coronavirus pandemic led to a global economic crisis. But some of the businesses have run afoul of the law, even as states such as New Mexico have legalized marijuana.
In her article—”Inside the Chinese-funded and staffed marijuana farms springing up across the U.S.”— Feng acknowledges that investigations by nonprofit news outlet ProPublica have found links between Chinese diplomats, Chinese Communist Party-affiliated organizations, local Chinese criminal syndicates and some marijuana operations in the United States.
However, Feng is clear that in the operations reported on in her story, NPR found no signs of Chinese state or Asian organized crime involvement. The businesses did attract small-scale, individual investors from China who were eager to invest abroad.
Still, her reporting offers a chilling look at a side of the cannabis industry that takes a toll on the workers involved. We urge you to read it, if only to get a greater insight into an aspect of the industry that is far removed from topics such as strains, terpenes and THC.
To learn more, simply click on the following link:
www.npr.org/2024/06/24/1238497863/chinese-marijuana-farms-new-mexico
Cannabis and Covid
A new study suggests there may be a link between cannabis use and an increased risk of severe illness related to COVID-19. However, a closer look at the study indicates that link may be tenuous, at best.
According to Graham Abbott, reporting for Ganjapreneur,, the study, which was conducted by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and published in JAMA Network Open, analyzed the medical records of 72,501 patients treated for COVID-19 at health clinics in Missouri and Illinois.
According to the study’s senior author Li-Shiun Chen, MD, DSc—a psychiatrist with a professional interest in smoking cessation—self-reported cannabis users were 80 percent more likely to require hospitalization for severe COVID-19 symptoms, and cannabis users were 27 percent more likely to require intensive care.
While it’s never wise to dismiss bad news, studies such as this bring to mind our old friends, correlation and causation. While there may be a relationship between using cannabis and severe cases of Covid, this study doesn’t tell you what the mechanism is that triggers the risk.
More specifically, it lumps all cannabis users into one large pool and does not distinguish between methods of consumption, nor does it address the possible ways the chemistry involved with cannabis use may facilitate a severe case of Covid.
In fact, Abbott notes that Chen’s findings are contradicted by two other Covid studies published last year, each one conducted by specialists in the cannabis field:
- One study published in the peer-reviewed CHEST Journal that found cannabis consumers who contracted COVID-19 saw reduced mortality and better outcomes compared to non-consumers.
- Another study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research that found active cannabis consumers fared better against COVID-19 than non-consumers.
For Dr. Chen’s findings to be useful she needs to be able to connect the dots. For example, are the cases of Covid identified by her team linked to to methods of consumption (smoking flower compared to edibles)? Or did they examine possible the possible chemical mechanisms involved with cannabis consumption that might cause the conditions she and her team have identified? Did they attempt to incorporate more granular data such as age and underlying health issues?
Failure to connect the dots is just an example of chasing headlines by counting cases.
You can learn more by reading Graham Abbott’s article in the June 24, 2024 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
www.ganjapreneur.com/study-cannabis-use-linked-to-severe-covid-19-cases/?
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
