Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at employing AI to grow cannabis at home, using cannabis to reduce the agitation associated with Alzheimer’s Disease, treating chronic pain with cannabis and more. Enjoy.
The Shape of Things to Come
If you want to grow cannabis at home but fear the process is too complicated, take heart. A new device is said to blend convenience and aesthetics with cutting-edge AI in a way that can transform the experience of growing cannabis indoors and allow a consumer to grow two to three ounces of premium cannabis flower every 90 days .
Called the Annaboto, the device relies on hydroponics, a soilless method of growing plants where roots are immersed directly in nutrient-rich water. Many who have used hydroponics believe the method offers numerous advantages, particularly in a controlled environment.
According to Kristina Etter, who reviewed the device for the publication Cannabistech, in the Annaboto system sensors continuously monitor the water’s nutrient levels, ensuring optimal conditions at all times. This eliminates the guesswork and potential for human error plaguing traditional hydroponic setups. Additionally, hydroponics accelerates growth rates and reduces pest problems, as there is no soil for bugs to infest.
Etter notes that the use of AI in the Annaboto system helps to take the guesswork out of cannabis cultivation. Central to this system is a sophisticated AI vision module that mimics the expertise of experienced botanists.
Carl Palme, the designer who created the Annaboto, explains that the AI, which he refers to as the “Robotanist™,” uses a camera to observe the plants continuously, assessing their health and needs just as a human expert would. This system allows the AI to adjust nutrient delivery, lighting, and environmental conditions in real time, ensuring that each plant receives personalized care.
Plus, in her article Etter notes that Annaboto’s AI is linked to a network of Annaboto systems worldwide and can learn from those systems. This means that if an Annaboto in Amsterdam discovers a more efficient way to grow a particular strain, that knowledge is shared across all Annabotos, benefitting every user.
In addition to incorporating custom COB (chip-on-board) LEDs that provide the necessary light spectrum for plant growth while offering a warm, aesthetically pleasing glow suitable for living spaces, Annaboto’s AI also controls a powerful, central fan system and specialized filters designed specifically for cannabis. The company says this ensures that the air is continuously cleaned, making the system suitable for use in any room of the house—including the living room.
If you want to learn more we strongly suggest reading Krintina Etter’s clear and detailed reporting in the May 24, 2024 issue of Cannabistech.com.
https://cannabistech.com/articles/annaboto-new-home-grow-tech/
If you care to visit the Annaboto website, click on the following link:
Cannabis News and Notes
There’s hopeful news for individuals struggling with Alzheimer’s Disease and for those who care for them. A study by researchers affiliated with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine, shows that a pill form of the drug Dronabinol, an FDA-approved synthetic version of marijuana’s main ingredient, THC, reduces agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s by an average of 30 percent.
Researchers say the synthetic form of cannabis may eventually help to reduce the cost of care and contribute to an improved quality of life for those afflicted with the condition.
Results of the eight-year clinical trial were presented at the International Psychogeriatric Association conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sept. 26, 2024. The study was described in an article that appeared in Newswise, a publication of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Said Paul Rosenberg, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and co-principal investigator for this study, “These new findings represent eight years of work dedicated to people who have Alzheimer’s as well as their caregivers. Agitation is one of the most distressing symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia, and we are pleased to make positive strides forward in treatment of these patients.”
Brent Forester, M.D., psychiatrist-in-chief and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center and co-principal investigator on the study added, “It is the agitation, not the memory loss, that often drives individuals with dementia to the emergency department and long-term-care facilities. Dronabinol has the potential to both reduce health care costs and make an important, positive impact on caregivers’ mental and physical health.”
Dronabinol is a synthetic form of THC. The drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985 to treat loss of appetite in patients with HIV/AIDS, and is currently prescribed to treat nausea and vomiting in those undergoing cancer chemotherapy.
In the new study, researchers recruited 75 patients with severe Alzheimer’s agitation across five clinical sites, including 35 admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital between March 2017 and May 2024. To qualify, patients had to have a formal clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and show at least one major symptom of agitation for at least two weeks. Prior to treatment, patients were tested for agitation using the Pittsburgh Agitation Scale (PAS) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Agitation/Aggression subscale (NPI-C).
The PAS scores agitation from 0 to 4, with 4 being the most agitated. The NPI-C provides a brief assessment of neuropsychiatric symptoms including delusions, hallucinations, anxiety/depression and other factors. Baseline scores were acquired from caregivers at the onset of the trial.
Participants were then randomly selected to get either 5 milligrams of Dronabinol in pill form or a placebo in pill form twice daily for three weeks, and then retested using the PAS and NPI-C.
Results from the Dronabinol group show an average PAS starting value of 9.68 and an end value of 7.26 after three weeks, a 30 percent decrease compared to the scores in the placebo group which did not change. Additionally, Dronabinol was well tolerated by patients compared to current treatments for agitation.
To learn more about the study, click on the following link:
Spotlight on Research
It appears Snoop Dogg isn’t the only one who will pay someone to roll joints. Ben Adlin, reporting for Marijuana Moment, writes that the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is looking for contractors capable of rolling joints—lots and lots of joints—for federally approved research purposes.
According to Adlin, officials are looking for providers who can manufacture cannabis joints in bulk as well as prepare, “preferably by hand-rolling, a small batch of marijuana cigarettes within a range of specified delta-9-THC, or cannabidiol (CBD), or both” as required by NIDA.
In his article, Adlin makes the point that THC and CBD levels in the sample orders are significantly lower than what they are in most commercially available products in state-legal cannabis markets.
For example, NIDA is requesting potential contractors to provide products with “low” THC levels ranging from 1.0 percent to 2.5 percent and “high” levels ranging from 3.5 percent to 5 percent THC. By comparison, many adult-use products legally available have total THC levels of 20 percent or more.
To learn more, including additional activities NIDA will request a contractor to perform, we suggest reading the article by Ben Adlin that appeared in the October 3, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/the-feds-are-hiring-a-contractor-to-roll-hundreds-of-thousands-of-marijuana-cigarettes-for-research/?
Notable Numbers
This week’s notable numbers are 71 percent and 51 percent. According to a new federally funded study from the American Medical Association (AMA), 71 percent of chronic pain patients and 59 percent of physicians are in favor of nationally legalizing medical cannabis.
So says Kyle Jaeger, writing for Marijuana Moment.net. Jaeger notes the AMA also reports that 64 percent of chronic pain patients and 51 percent of physicians are in favor of having insurance companies cover medical marijuana costs.
The researchers at Rutgers tapped two separate survey groups for the study data: One group contained adults with noncancer pain lasting six months or more. The other group consisted of primary care providers and various specialty physicians.
Jaeger makes the point that personal experience played a significant role in shaping attitudes for both groups. People who had used cannabis for chronic pain reported the highest levels of support for expanding access. Physicians who hadn’t recommended cannabis for chronic pain management reported the lowest levels of support.
Said Elizabeth Stone, the lead author of the study at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, “Overall, people with chronic pain were more supportive of the policies that would expand access to medical cannabis, and providers were more supportive of the policies that would restrict access to medical cannabis.”
Another key finding from the study is that about 70 percent of respondents—patients and physicians—said they feel medical schools should require training on cannabis treatment for non-cancer pain.
Said Stone, “I think it points to the need for future guidance around cannabis use and efficacy. Is it something they should be recommending? If so, are there different considerations for types of products or modes of use or concentration?”
In his article, Jaeger also mentioned another study, published by the American Medical Association in 2023, that found that the use of medical marijuana was associated with “significant improvements” in quality of life for people with chronic conditions like pain and insomnia—and those effects were “largely sustained” over time.
To learn more, we encourage you to read Kyle Jaeger’s reporting in the October 3, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/most-pain-patients-and-doctors-support-legalizing-medical-marijuana-and-having-insurance-companies-cover-the-cost-ama-study-shows/?
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.
