Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at fatalities and cannabis use, treating inflammatory arthritis with cannabis, cannabis and hiking and more. Enjoy.
Notable Numbers
Top takeaway: The DEA acknowledges that in 2025 no one died from an overdose of cannabis.
This week’s notable number is 0, as in zero, zilch, nil, nada or, if you prefer, nuthin’. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), that’s the number of individuals who died from an overdose of cannabis in 2025.
It’s official. In a statement that some may see as a white flag signaling the end of one phase of the “war on drugs,” the DEA said in a new update to its “Drugs of Abuse” publication for 2026 that “No deaths from overdose of marijuana have been reported.”
However, according to Tom Angell, writing for Marijuana Moment, in the same document the agency does caution that cannabis’s effects on perception and coordination can cause “serious impairments in learning, associative processes, and psychomotor behavior (driving abilities)” and that long-term use can lead to “physical dependence and withdrawal following discontinuation, as well as psychological addiction or dependence.”
Still, the statement is not all doom and gloom. The DEA actually acknowledges that marijuana use can lead to “merriment, happiness, and even exhilaration at high doses.”
Yeah, “merriment.” Who knew? Maybe that’s why some people use it.
Angell also points out that the new document includes an updated table of controlled substances that shows state-licensed medical cannabis now falls under Schedule III of the CSA, the status reserved for drugs with medicinal uses.
Yep, there it is in black and white. You may want to hang on to this nugget so you can school your cousin Walter when he starts to yammer on at Thanksgiving dinner about how his friend’s second cousin died from an overdose when he shot up some of that “devil’s lettuce.”
To learn more, we suggest reading Tom Angell’s article in the October 5, 2026 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
www.marijuanamoment.net/dea-confirms-no-cannabis-overdose-deaths-newsletter-october-6-2026/
Medical Cannabis Corner
Top takeaway: Medical cannabis preparations can provide effective relief for patients with inflammatory arthritis.
There may be hopeful news for those who suffer from inflammatory arthritis. According to a study by British researchers that was published in the journal Clinical Medicine Insights: Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders, the sustained use of medical cannabis preparations “provides safe and effective relief for patients with the condition.”
Inflammatory arthritis is used as an umbrella term for a collection of chronic inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and is characterized by joint pain, chronic inflammation, and systemic features.
To evaluate the effectiveness of cannabis-based medicines in treating the condition, a group of researchers affiliated with the Imperial College in London assessed the use of botanical cannabis, oil extracts, and topical ointments in the treatment of 192 patients with inflammatory arthritis-associated pain who were enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry.
After treatment with cannabis-based medicines was administered, the research team assessed changes in the condition of patients enrolled in the study at one, three, six, 12, 18, and 24 month intervals, based on patient-reported outcomes.
According to a story that appeared in the online publication News-Medical.net, investigators reported that patients experienced marked improvements in pain, sleep quality, and overall quality of life. Adverse events associated with cannabis therapy were generally mild, including fatigue and dry mouth.
Wrote the researchers in their journal article, “All pain-specific measures showed improvements at each follow-up period. They also stated that, “These results … lend support for ongoing evaluation of CBMPs and underscores the need for RCTs [randomized clinical trials] for this medication class for inflammatory arthritis-associated chronic pain.”
If you care to learn more, we suggest reading the article prepared by the staff of the cannabis advocacy group NORML that appeared in the October 6, 2026 issue of News-Medical.net.
Cannabis and Exercise
Top takeaway: Cannabis is the most popular mind-altering substance among hikers.
If someone asks you to go hiking with them, they may be talking about more than just going for a walk in the woods. Research shows that cannabis is the most popular mind-altering substance when hiking, with just over one-third of hikers reporting they have used cannabis while on the trail.
That’s the word from TG Branfalt, reporting for Ganjapreneur. Branfalt notes that the assertion about the popularity of cannabis among hikers comes from a survey conducted by the tour operator Climbing Kilimanjaro.
According to Branfalt, in all, 44 percent of the hikers surveyed said they have hiked under the influence of drugs or alcohol (23 percent).
The survey also revealed that those who hike under the influence tend to stick to easy ground, with half (51 percent) sticking to short, easy trails near home and just 5 percent using substances on steep or technical climbs. Another 19 percent of hikers admitted to doing something on the trail that they wouldn’t have tried sober.
In his article, Branfalt also notes that:
– The majority (56 percent) of hikers surveyed said they have never used any mind-altering substances on the trail.
– Millennials were the group most likely to have hiked under the influence (51 percent), followed by Gen Z (43 percent), and Gen X (37 percent).
– About half (48 percent) of hikers who use substances say they do so to take in the scenery, with 45 percent saying substance use helps them feel more connected to nature.
As always, TG Branfalt’s reporting is stellar. To learn more, we suggest reading his article in the October 15, 2026 issue Ganjapreneur.com.
ganjapreneur.com/study-cannabis-is-the-most-popular-mind-altering-substance-used-while-hiking/?
Cannabis in the News
Top takeaway: A new study that suggests cannabis use may be correlated to violent behavior. Maybe, maybe not.
Where there’s smoke, there’s not always fire. That may be the case when it comes to a study by researchers at King’s College London that’s garnering attention by claiming to link cannabis use with violent crime and behavior.
The study in question is actually a meta study consisting of a literature review of 63 studies involving more than 265,000 people that looked at both the general population and at people receiving psychiatric care.
The researchers claimed to find that people who use cannabis are more likely both to carry out violent acts and to experience violence. The review used the World Health Organization’s broad definition of violence, covering physical, sexual and psychological violence towards another person, both within relationships and outside them.
In addition, the researchers looked at both violence people reported themselves and violence that led to a criminal conviction. In cases where a study measured more than one kind of violence, they used the most serious instance. The findings are published in Psychological Medicine.
When weighing just how significant the findings of the study are, it should be noted that in an article published by the News Center of Kings College, the researchers acknowledge that the review only shows a possible association between cannabis and violence, and does not, nor can it prove that cannabis causes violence – only that cannabis use is often correlated with other factors that may also raise the risk of violence, such as other drug and alcohol use and difficult social circumstances.
Moreover, few of the studies in the review measured how much or how often people used cannabis, and critics have noted that the findings on convictions come from a small number of studies.
While a study that involves over 265,000 cases of cannabis use cannot be dismissed as nothing, the question remains is it really something, and if so, how much of a something is it?
For starters, most critics of the study can’t get over the hurdle that the assertion that cannabis use is linked to violence seems to contradict how most individuals characterize cannabis users; that they are, in general, not prone to aggressive or violent behavior.
So, who are you going to believe, the study or your “lying eyes”?
Secondly, the study does not appear to distinguish between recreational use and medical use. The latter would not be the focus of growing interest in the medical community if violence was the norm.
Clearly, while the findings cannot be dismissed out of hand, more work needs to be done before they can be considered meaningful.
To learn more, we suggest reading the article that appeared in the September 29, 2026 issue of the website of the King’s College London News Centre.
www.kcl.ac.uk/news/cannabis-use-linked-to-higher-risk-of-violence-major-review-finds
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.