Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a new study of the effectiveness of using different strains of cannabis to treat pain and insomnia, cannabinoids that may be used as an alternative to CBD, research on how long THC can stay in your bloodstream and more. Enjoy.
Medical Matters
When it comes to treating various medical conditions with cannabis, the strain of the cannabis used and the size of the dose can affect the therapeutic outcome.
That’s the thinking behind a new study designed to examine the effectiveness of medical cannabis on pain, sleep, anxiety and depression in a group of patients who are authorized to use validated medical cannabis products.
What makes this study different from previous ones is that it will examine the effects specific strains of cannabis and dosing levels have on therapeutic outcomes for each patient enrolled in the study. Participants in the trial will be able to select their preferred method of cannabis delivery and their experiences will be monitored over a six-month period.
According to Dr. Hance Clarke, the Medical Director of the Pain Research Unit at Toronto General Hospital and director of the study, subtle changes in the composition of a strain of cannabis may have significant clinical effects. He contends that with so many strains to choose from, these small changes complicate patients’ ability to get the most from their treatment and the ability of researchers to study long-term effectiveness and safety of medical cannabis in general, and specific strains in particular.
Clarke contends the current real-world study addresses these challenges by providing patients with defined medical cannabis strains and products, allowing them to maintain their treatment if desired or alter its composition in order to identify dosing regimens that work for them.
Said Clarke, “As a medically complex patient, you want to ensure that the product you consume today is the product that you will acquire three to four months from now and this certainly has not been the case.” He went on to say he hoped the study would “help create a sense of reliability and safety for my patients, given they must spend their hard-earned dollars on these products.”
Dr. Clarke’s comments appeared in the article “Exploring Real World Applications of Cannabis” which appeared in the September 18, 2020 edition of Medical Cannabis News, a publication of HealthEuropa.EU.
www.healtheuropa.eu/exploring-real-world-applications-of-cannabis/102842/
Stats of the Week
According to a new poll the majority of Americans support legalizing cannabis at the federal level and that support is bipartisan.
Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment, writes that a new poll by Data for Progress and the Justice Collaborative Institute found that 59 percent of Americans support the passage of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act.
The legislation would federally deschedule cannabis and promote social equity. The vote on the Act has been postponed until after the November election.
The poll also revealed that support for the Act crossed party lines with 53 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of Democrats polled favoring its passage.
Another key finding of the poll was that 67 percent of voters said the federal government should respect the rights of states to set their own marijuana policies. That support was also bipartisan, with 63 percent of Republicans and 73 percent of Democrats agreeing with that position.
If you want to learn more we encourage you to read Kyle Jaeger’s excellent reporting in the September 18, 2020 issue of Marijuana Moment.
Spotlight on Spending
When it comes to spending their hard-earned cash it seems pretty clear Americans don’t scrimp when buying marijuana.
According to Claire Hansen, writing for U.S. News.com back in July of 2020, a study by Marijuana Business Daily found that in 2019 Americans spent between $10.6 billion and $13 billion on legal cannabis. As the headline on Hansen’s article put it, that’s more than they spent on toothpaste, hard seltzer and sleep aids.
However, that figure, as sizeable as it is, just scratches the surface of the total amount of money consumers spend on cannabis. According to Bruce Barcott, writing for Leafly, a study by New Frontier Data estimates consumers will spend as much as $60 billion a year on illicit cannabis in 2020. That represents about 71 percent of all cannabis sales. Texas leads the way when it comes to purchasing cannabis illegally, accounting for about seven percent of illicit sales. That, Barcott says, translates to roughly $4.2 billion, or more than three times the size of Colorado’s legal market.
Barcott also points out that the legal cannabis market currently supports over 243,000 full-time jobs in the U.S. He contends capturing the illicit market would add more than 600,000 full-time jobs to the national economy.
You can learn more by reading Bruce Barcott’s article in the September 16, 2020 issue of Leafly and Claire Hensen’s reporting in the July, 14, 2020 issue of U.S.News.com.
Alternatives to CBD
If your eyes start to glaze over when you see yet another article on the potential benefits of CBD or hear of another product that has added CBD as an ingredient, take heart.
There’s a chance you may soon be hearing less about CBD. However, that’s because you may soon be hearing more about other cannabinoids that are said to be even more effective and efficient when used to treat conditions that have been shown to be responsive to CBD.
For instance, Amanda Siebert, in an article for Forbes, describes a Colorado-based firm called Somnus that specializes in sleep aids containing the cannabinoid cannabinol or CBN.
In an interview with Siebert, the company’s chief operating officer Guillaume Plante extolled the virtues of CBN which he described as THC “but without the heavy psychoactive effects.” Plante went on to explain that the compound is generated by the breakdown of the THC molecule, leading to effects that he says are relaxing but not intoxicating.
Another company, called Biomedican, is using a patented method and a strain of yeast called yarrowia lipolytica to grow a variety of cannabinoids, including THCV which has been shown to have appetite reduction effects and may also help with managing Parkinson’s Disease.
If you want to learn more we urge you to read Amanda Siebert’s detailed and insightful article in the September 17, 2020 issue of Forbes.
THC Testing and the Law
The question of how to determine if a person’s ability to drive a vehicle is impaired after using cannabis has long been complicated by what some say is a lack of reliable and useful tests for the presence of THC in a driver’s blood stream. A new study which appeared in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal shows just how complex that question can be.
According to Addison Herron-Wheeler, reporting for High Times, the study, conducted by researchers affiliated with the University of British Columbia, showed that cannabis can be detected by a blood test for a long time after it was used and well after its effects have worn off. They contend this shows that cannabis blood tests are not a fair way to tell if someone has just used cannabis or their ability to drive is impaired.
Said the researchers, “The studies in our review consistently demonstrate that positive blood THC levels, even levels over 2ng/ml, do not necessarily indicate recent cannabis use in frequent cannabis users.” They also found regular cannabis users may also have persistent elevation of THC even after a period of abstinence.
Herron-Wheeler writes this research could be significant for jurisdictions that have zero-tolerance traffic policies that assume if a driver has even trace levels of THC, they are impaired and should not be driving, and can therefore be arrested and charged with intoxicated driving.
She added that since THC can be in the system even days after smoking, there needs to be a more definitive test to determine whether people are driving high.
Addison Herron-Wheeler’s excellent job of untangling a thorny issue appears in the September 14, 2020 Issue of High Times.
hightimes.com/news/study-reveals-thc-stays-blood-extended-periods-after-use/
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. They can be reached at joe.kohut@gmail.com or at 347-528-8753.
