Summer holidays and parties that feature crowds, loud music and fireworks can be stressful events for pets—dogs in particular. As a result, many mature cannabis consumers who rely on CBDs to help manage their own stress and anxiety consider medicating their dogs with CBD products created for pets.
Danielle Gonzalez, who interviewed two experts on the topic for the Huffington Post, reports there appears to be a substantial amount of anecdotal information but little formal research on whether or not CBDs can benefit dogs.
When she posed the question to Dr. Adam Christman, an award-winning veterinarian from New Jersey and a board member of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, he acknowledged the anecdotal accounts and also referenced a 2017 study at Cornell University that found when CBD oil was given twice daily to dogs with osteoarthritis it helped increase their comfort and activity.
However, Christman cautioned that potential interactions between CBDs and more traditional drugs do constitute something of a ‘“gray zone” that can be a cause for concern.
Another expert, Dr. Ibrahim Shokry, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine with over 30 years of veterinarian experience, says there are certain pet health concerns—including inflammation, nausea, and anxiety—that can be addressed with CBDs. He also believes the substances’ sedating and calming effects may help the animals cope with the anxiety caused by fireworks.
However, he too acknowledged controlled clinical studies are needed in dogs and cats to establish efficacy and safety. He also raised issues that are familiar to consumers that purchase CBD products for their own use. Like products designed for human consumption, pet products should be purchased from a reputable source and used in the correct dose.
To learn more, visit Gonzalez’s article in the June 28, 2019 issue of HuffPost.
Cannabis Trends
Many believe the next development in cannabis and cannabis products will not take place in a growing field but in a laboratory. There are experts who contend the benefits of synthetic cannabinoids are numerous, particularly given the strict regulation of the cannabis industry.
For example, according to an article aimed at investors that appeared in CFN Media, naturally-derived cannabinoids are not nearly as consistent as synthetic pharmaceuticals and many cultivators have struggled with pesticide and heavy metal contamination. These issues are easily transferred into extracts and other products where they can become dealbreakers for pharmaceutical regulators.
Conversely, cannabinoids created in a lab could approach 100 percent purity. Plus, such a process would also eliminate the need for large cultivation facilities, security personnel, extraction equipment and other elements of the growing process that are currently required to produce cannabinoids.
The article highlighted two companies that are working on producing synthetic cannabinoids. One, called Cardiol Therapeutics Inc., is attempting to chemically-synthesize cannabinoids by using physical and chemical manipulations involving one or more reactions. Cardiol recently announced plans for an international clinical trial of the effectiveness of its pharmaceutical CBD product in the treatment of acute myocarditis. The company plans to introduce its 100 percent pharmaceutical CBD products to the Canadian market later this year.
Another company, called Willow Biosciences, Inc., is developing a process that uses yeast, enzymes, or other living organisms that can act as biosynthetic “factories” capable of creating cannabinoids. Willow Biosciences believes that these new production methods based on biosynthesis, could produce purer cannabinoids that could be mass-produced at a much lower price and on a much shorter timeframe than conventional cannabis cultivation and extraction methods.
To learn more, visit the article “Synthetic Cannabinoids: The Harbinger of Cannabis Pharmaceuticals” in the June 27 issue of CFN Media.
Legislative and Policy Trends
Recent developments at the state level to expand both medical and recreational marijuana programs are more than a “pipe dream.” So says Paul Armento writing in The Hill. He argues that public and political support for reform has never been greater and points out that nearly one in four Americans reside in a jurisdiction where the adult use of cannabis is legal and 33 states regulate medical marijuana access by statute. He also notes that no state has ever repealed a marijuana legalization law, and two-thirds of adults endorse attempts to make the plant legal, according to the latest Gallup Poll.
Another development underscores the growing attempts at the federal level to normalize marijuana policy. Jeff Smith, writing for Marijuana Business Daily, reports that a key U.S. House subcommittee will hold a hearing on July 10 about federal cannabis reform. Such a hearing is considered a pivotal step in potentially advancing legislation designed to protect state-legal marijuana businesses.
Called “Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform,” it is believed to be the first congressional hearing in history to examine cannabis in the context of ending the federal government’s prohibition of the plant.
The op-ed by Armento—Deputy Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws—appears in the June, 28,2019 issue of The Hill.
Jeff Smith’s reporting on the committee hearing can be found in the July 2, 2019 issue of Marijuana Business Daily.
A New Approach to Measuring Cannabis Use
The adage of “waste not, want not,” could be applied to one of the latest efforts to determine the level of marijuana use in a community. According to an AP article that appeared in the June 21, 2019 issue of the New York Post, a federally funded study has confirmed that marijuana use went up in Washington state after its first legal pot stores opened in 2014. Scientists reached this conclusion by analyzing raw sewage.
Researchers were looking for a substance produced when the body metabolizes THC, the main ingredient in marijuana that gets you high. The substance, called THC-COOH, is excreted mostly in people’s urine.
The research entailed driving to two sewage treatment plants that serve the 200,000 people of Tacoma, a city whose drug-use trends tend to mirror those of Seattle. The scientists would pick up a cooler full of frozen wastewater samples, thaw them and analyze them using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. “It’s stinky,” said lead author Dan Burgard, a chemist at the University of Puget Sound. “But we’ve worked with urine, we’ve worked with wastewater, and we’ve worked with port-a-potties. It’s not as bad as port-a-potties.”
According to the article, wastewater sampling has been used for years in Europe and Australia to examine drug usage trends but is fairly unusual in the US.
Senior Celebrity Spotlight
Country music icon and cannabis advocate Willie Nelson wants to make it easier for consumers to enjoy a little something extra when they pour their morning cup of coffee.
Nelson has introduced a CBD-infused coffee as part of his new line of CBD products called Willie’s Remedy. It is an organic, whole bean coffee that contains 5 milligrams of cannabidiol per 8-ounce cup.
“It’s two of my favorites, together in the perfect combination,” Nelson said of his new addition. He added, “Like coffee, cannabis is a plant that works for me.”
According to Niko Mann—writing for the online publication Leafbuyer—along with the CBD products that are part of Willie’s Remedy, Wilson also has Willie’s Reserve, a line of cannabis products that included marijuana flowers, pre-rolls, vaporizers, and edibles. Nelson has partnered with his wife Annie Nelson on the cannabis-infused edibles called Annie’s Edibles. The line of edibles includes cannabis-infused candies and chocolates and is sold along with Nelson’s other pot products in states with legal weed, such as Colorado. Nelson’s coffee and other products are available on his website, www.williesremedy.com.
More information is available in Mann’s article in the February 5, 2019 article of Leafbuyer.
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can contact them at seniorcannabisdigest@gmail.com or by calling 347-528-8753.