Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we take a look at continued problems in labeling CBD products, the need for cannabis consumer education, German insurance companies reimbursing patients who purchase medical cannabis, the possibility medical cannabis may one day be used to treat dementia and more. Enjoy.
CBD Spotlight
We know we have addressed the issue of CBD labeling before, but it bears repeating. The CBD product you buy at the corner store, you know, the stuff that’s stacked between the condoms and the beef jerky, may not actually contain what it says it does.
So if your neighbor—you know, the grumpy one—tried it for his inflamed knee back in March and is still waiting for it to take effect, part of the reason may be the product he used contained little or no CBD at all.
That’s the word from Ben Hartman writing for Cannigma. Hartman reports that a study published in the Journal of Dietary Supplements found many CBD products include no cannabidiol (CBD) or less than their labels indicate. Hartman contends findings such as this, and one suspects others, highlight the need for greater regulation of the industry.
After purchasing 25 CBD products at different retailers and analyzing their contents, the study found a number of the products had no CBD “while others contained significantly more than label claims.” Others were adulterated with potentially dangerous synthetic cannabinoids, which pose “a serious risk for adverse health effects,” according to the researchers.
The bottom line is if you are going to use CBD to address a medical problem, treat it like you would any other medicine. At a minimum, do your homework, consult with a knowledgeable pharmacist, talk to your doctor or if you live in a state where CBD products are available at an adult use dispensary, talk with the “budtender” behind the counter.
You can learn more about the study and its implications in Ben Hartman’s article in the June 20, 2020 issue of Cannigma.
cannigma.com/products/whats-in-your-cbd-inaccurate-labels-are-widespread-study-finds/
Cannabis Education
Despite changes in state laws that govern medical and recreational cannabis and the recent proliferation of both medical and adult use dispensaries, consumers still don’t know much about what they are buying—legally. It seems the information on which consumers base their decision to purchase a product still hasn’t progressed much from the “dark ages” when folks would simply rely on their cousin Mort’s opinion of a product.
So says Brendan Bures writing in The Fresh Toast. He cites the research conducted by a company called Oasis Intelligence. A recent study by the firm found the majority of legal consumers still lack foundational knowledge about marijuana’s effects, risks, and benefits. Moreover, researchers contend the number one resource customers use when seeking out information about cannabis and potential products is their friends. In fact, the study found 43 percent of people rely on their social circles to keep them informed. One may suspect this is not necessarily the best way to get accurate and useful information.
Laura Albers, the co-founder of Oasis Intelligence, told Bures that when it comes to the average consumer, her company sees a need for consumer education that is not about the more advanced topics that the industry may find interesting, such as terpenes, minor cannabinoids gaining popularity or even the endocannabinoid system. Rather, Albers contends there is a need for basic consumer education—Cannabis 101.
Put another way, just because you can buy it legally doesn’t mean you know what you are doing.
To learn more, you can read Brendan Bures’s article in the June 17, 2020 issue of The Fresh Toast.
Quote of the Week
“Judging a cannabis strain on its THC content is not unlike judging a film based on the lead actor. The THC number isn’t going to be an indicator of the performance.”—Chris Roberts writing in the June 16, 2020 issue of Forbes.
Roberts’s article describes a study by researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Institute of Cognitive Science that documented the experiences of 121 cannabis users. The bottom line is while consumers tend to shop for products with a high THC content, THC alone is not necessarily an indicator of a quality product that will deliver the desired effect.
Stats of the Week
While we tend to focus on cannabis issues of interest to mature consumers in the U.S., every once in a while we take a look at how other countries deal with cannabis use, medical cannabis in particular.
To that end, here is a nugget we gleaned from a recent issue of Marijuana Business Daily. According to the German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband), in the first quarter of 2020, total reimbursement of cannabis and marijuana-related medicines by German insurance companies reached 38.9 million euros, roughly $43.7 million.
No, you read that right, German insurance companies reimburse patients for medical cannabis products. Plus, that dollar figure is 6 percent higher than it was in the final quarter of 2019 and 58 percent higher than the first quarter of 2019.
To learn more, you can read Alfredo Pascual’s detailed article in the June 19, 2020 issue of Marijuana Business Daily.
mjbizdaily.com/insurance-covered-reimbursements-for-medical-cannabis-sets-record-in-germany/?
Managing Pain With Hemp Oil
There may be hopeful news for those who suffer from chronic neuropathic pain. Researchers at the University of New Mexico recently released the findings of a study that offers what they described as “positive long-term results related to the expanded use of hemp oil to treat chronic neuropathic pain. The study was published in the scientific journal Life.
According to Kate-Madonna Hindes, in an article that appeared in The GrowthOp and The Fresh Toast, the biggest takeaway from the study may be that the increased effectiveness of hemp oil for managing pain may represent an opportunity to move away from dependence on the pharmacological use of opioids and opioid-derivatives.
For more information you can visit Kate-Madonna Hindes‘s reporting in the June 18, 2020 issue of The GrowthOp.
www.thegrowthop.com/wellness/hemp-oil-can-help-treat-chronic-neuropathic-pain-study
Cannabis and Dementia
Medical Cannabis may one day be a common treatment for those suffering from Alzheimers and dementia. So says Israeli researcher Dedi Meiri. According to Abbie Rosner, writing for Forbes, Meiri is best known for his work matching specific components of cannabis to affect different types of cancer.
However, when asked by Rosner which areas of medicine showed the most promise when it came using medical marijuana as a method of treatment, he said there is a large and growing body of anecdotal accounts of the effectiveness of cannabis for treating the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The shortcomings and actual life-threatening dangers associated with standard and frequently prescribed pharmaceutical treatments for these conditions makes cannabis a particularly compelling option – especially considering its solid safety profile.
He also told Rosner that he thought medical cannabis could help improve the quality of life of Alzheimer’s patients and their families. Said Meiri, “People with Alzheimer’s often suffer from bursts of anger and sleep disorders. So on that scale cannabis is very useful…”
As we have stated in the past, we are big fans of Abbie Rosner’s work and her penetrating and insightful reporting on Meiri’s work and proposed research is no exception. You can learn more by reading Abbie Rosner’s article in the June 18, 2020 issue of Forbes.
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can contact them at joe.kohut@gmail.com or at 347-528-8753.
