Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week you’ll find evidence of cannabis use in ancient Israel, studies on using cannabis to treat anxiety and fibromyalgia, a penetrating look at the CBD craze and more. Enjoy.
Historic Roots Of Cannabis Use
So it seems marijuana use didn’t start with The Beatles, Cheech and Chong, the hippies, the beatniks or your cousin Walter after all. The New York Times, The Times of Israel, Science News, High Times and other publications have all weighed in on a study that indicates remains from an Iron Age shrine in Israel contained remnants of what may be the world’s earliest known instance of burning cannabis plants in a ritual ceremony.
According to staff writers for The Times of Israel, Israeli researchers examining residue found on an altar from a Biblical-era shrine in southern Israel have found it contained a mixture of cannabis and animal dung. They contend the cannabis was likely intended to “stimulate ecstasy” in ceremonies conducted by Israelite worshipers. Researchers also said the find constitutes the earliest known use of marijuana in the region.
Researchers said clumps of organic material were found in hollows on two altars that stood at the entrance to the heart of a shrine at Tel Arad, a “fortress mound” from the Kingdom of Judah that was excavated by Israeli architects between 1962 and 1967.
The findings were reported by Eran Arie of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and others in “Tel Aviv,” the academic journal of Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology.
According to the study, “Arad provides the earliest evidence for the use of cannabis in the Ancient Near East. Hallucinogenic substances are known from various neighboring cultures, but this is the first known evidence ” of a hallucinogenic substance found in the Kingdom of Judah.
Just for the record, no one is saying the finding is evidence that cannabis use during this period accounts for many of the more fantastic events recorded in the Bible, particularly in “the Old Testament.” As far as the cannabis being mixed with animal dung, well, feel free to draw your own conclusions.
To learn more, you can read the staff reporting in the May 28, 2020 edition of The Times of Israel and Bruce Bower’s article in the May 28 edition of ScienceNews.
www.timesofisrael.com/1st-high-ancient-israelites-at-biblical-shrine-used-cannabis-to-spark-ecstasy/
www.sciencenews.org/article/bible-era-israel-shrine-earliest-ritual-use-marijuana
Cannabis and Anxiety
Some strains of cannabis, particularly those that are high in CBD, may offer some relief to those experiencing different forms of anxiety.
So says Alana Armstrong, reporting for The Fresh Toast. According to Armstrong, research suggests that cannabis, when administered as-needed, can provide relief from several anxiety disorders, including generalized and social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and depression. It might even help with a fear of public speaking.
She cites a 2018 study conducted by Washington State University researchers which was published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. The study assessed how varying levels of cannabinoids (chemicals found in marijuana) affected people’s moods and feelings of well-being. The team found that a single puff of cannabis high in cannabidiol (CBD) and low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), was enough to reduce depression symptoms. After two puffs, patients felt less anxious, and after ten they were less stressed.
What seems to be key here is the ratio of CBD to THC. In fact, Armstrong contends that the notion that cannabis use can heighten anxiety is probably linked to cannabis that contained a higher level of THC.
In her article Armstrong also writes that a new report from Strainprint—an app that lets users track the effectiveness of specific strains of cannabis on different medical conditions—indicates that anxiety is now one of the top symptoms, along with pain and arthritis, attracting citizens 50 and over to cannabis as a treatment.
You can learn more by reading Alana Armstrong’s article in the May 24, 2020 edition of The Fresh Toast.
Stats of the Week
Henry Khederian, writing for Benzinga, reports that a new study by the Pew Foundation found that 67 percent of Americans polled say they are in favor of legalizing marijuana in the United States—even though the majority of those queried said they haven’t used cannabis, either medically or recreationally.
This increase of support for legalization marks a significant change of opinion over the last twenty years. A poll by Pew in 2000 found that at that time just 37 percent of Americans favored legalization.
The other interesting stat of the week comes from the analysts at Cowen, an investment bank. In a recent study reported in the New York Times the analysts estimated that the U.S. CBD industry will be worth $16 billion by 2025.
www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/sunday-review/coronavirus-cbd-oil.html
Cannabis and Fibromyalgia Treatment
Another study from Israel seems to support the position that medical marijuana can help patients manage the pain of fibromyalgia.
In an abstract published in the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Biotechnology Information, researchers George Habib and Uriel Levinger reported treating over one hundred patients who had fibromyalgia—a syndrome that affects the soft tissue and causes constant dull pain that lasts for months, sleep disorders, stiffness and muscle tenderness—with medical cannabis. It’s said that more than three million cases of fibromyalgia are reported in the U.S. each year.
The researchers said that they treated the subjects with daily doses of medical cannabis that averaged less than a gram. The cannabis was provided by a company called Tikan Olum and consisted of a strain called Alaska for daytime use and a strain called Erez for use at night. The main method of consumption was smoking although some participants used a vaporizer while a very few used a form of cannabis oil.
The researchers concluded medical cannabis can be an effective treatment for fibromyalgia with nearly 80 percent of the participants reporting an improvement in sleep and pain management—two critical areas of treatment for the condition.
The medical cannabis treatment also enabled nearly half of the patients to discontinue any treatment for fibromyalgia and all participants recommended medical cannabis treatment for their loved ones in the event they developed severe fibromyalgia. In an interesting side note, just over half of the individuals in the study said that after the treatment they were spending more leisure time outdoors.
You can learn more by reading the abstract, Characteristics of Medical Cannabis Usage Among Patients With Fibromyalgia. It was published in May of 2020 in PubMed.gov.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32431124/?dopt=Abstract
The Growing Popularity of CBD
If it seems you are finding CBD—a non-psychoactive element found in cannabis—everywhere and in everything from sports drinks and smoothies to capsules and topical ointments, you are right. CBD has taken the marketplace by storm and is being promoted by sports figures and celebrities alike, mostly for the anti-inflammation and calming effects attributed to its use.
And, if you are wondering how we got here, pretty much overnight, we encourage you to read Amanda Chicago Lewis’s stunning piece of reporting in The New York Times Sunday Review.
Her article, “A Hidden Origin Story of the CBD Craze,” tells a complicated story that has all the elements of a thriller, complete with compelling characters on both sides of the law, corporate intrigue, attempts at government regulation and control, political deals, medical breakthroughs and more.
Lewis takes great pains to describe in detail just how difficult it was to breed specific strains of cannabis that were high in CBD content. She also shines a light on the personal sacrifices made by individuals who believed in the medical benefits that could be derived from CBD, well before CBD-infused products could be found as easily as finding a Starbucks.
If you have an interest in both the past and the likely future of CBD products we urge you to read Amanda Chicago Lewis’s masterful piece of writing. It appears in the May 23, 2020 issue of The New York Times Review.
www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/sunday-review/coronavirus-cbd-oil.html
Celebrity Spotlight
It appears another celebrity is bringing a line of CBD products to the marketplace. Erica Smith, reporting for The Cut, writes that actress Kristen Bell has partnered with a maker of hemp-derived CBD-infused luxury products, such as good-mood elixirs, ingestible face oil, and chill balm. Working with Lord Jones, this coming fall Bell will introduce a CBD skin-care line called Happy Dance.
According to Smith, the line will feature the quality CBD Lord Jones is known for, but at a more affordable price point and in simpler, “easy-to-use formulations.” It’s said the line will consist of “everyday pick-me-ups” designed to be used daily.
To learn more, you can read Erica Smith’s article in the May 19, 2020 issue of The Cut or visit the company’s developing website at www.doahappydance.com/.
www.thecut.com/2020/05/kristen-bell-cbd-skin-care-happy-dance.html
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com or at 347-528-8753.
