Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at public safety after legalizing cannabis, treating migraine headaches with cannabis, the reasons patients give for using medical cannabis and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis and Public Safety After Legalization
For many, the winter holidays involve attending social gatherings with folks they rarely see who feel free to share poorly-informed opinions about legalizing cannabis.
Often, those opinions will be tarted up in a speech that starts with, “I don’t mind that marijuana myself. I even smoked it a time or two in college. But don’t you think legalizing it will make kids use it or make for more folks driving while they’re high?”
Based on the findings of a new study, the answers to those questions appear to be no and no. Legalization does not seem to be the slippery slope that critics fear.
That’s the word from Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment on a study from Cannabis Public Policy Consulting (CPPC) that analyzed a wide range of marijuana use trends and public health outcomes in 25 states—including states where cannabis is completely prohibited, where only medical marijuana is allowed and where adult-use is legalized.
According to Jaeger, the study found that in states where marijuana is still illegal, people begin using cannabis at a younger age, consume it more frequently and drive while under the influence more often.
For instance, Jaeger notes that according to the study the average age at which a young person begins to use cannabis in illicit states is 16.7 years old, compared to 17 years old for both medical and recreational states. Now four months may not seem significant, but according to the researchers,“the difference of approximately four months earlier initiation of cannabis use in illicit states could very well represent a critical part of youth development.”
The study also found that people living in states where cannabis is still illegal reported they drove while under the influence the most, at 5.1 days per month on average. In medical states, that rate was 4.2 days per month; in adult-use states, it was 4.3 days per month.
While no days a month would be the better answer, the research seems to bolster the argument that legalization does not, by itself, pave the highway to hell or New Jersey—whichever you fear most.
The survey involved an analysis of data collected in August of 2022 from 25 states, involving 5,000 U.S. residents.
CPPC Director Mackenzie Slade called the study “groundbreaking,” saying, “For the first time, we have scientific data that shows cannabis legalization could have a positive impact on public health.”
Cannabis Public Policy Consulting staff told Marijuana Moment the organization plans to continue to run this study quarterly, with future rounds capturing data from all 50 US states.
To learn more, particularly before you attend another holiday party, we suggest reading Kyle Jaeger’s insightful and informative article in the December 19, 2022 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
Treating Migraine Headaches With Cannabis
While not based on direct clinical research, a recent journal article consisting of a literature review of various studies suggests that cannabis may be an effective way to treat migraine headaches.
The peer-reviewed article, which appeared in the journal Cureus, was based on the findings of a research team at the California Institute of Behavioral Neurosciences & Psychology. The team focused their study on nine articles that reported on the use of a variety of cannabis products to treat migraines.
According to the research team the main objective of their article was to assess the effectiveness and safety of medical marijuana for the treatment of migraine headaches. They found that all the studies they reviewed showed encouraging findings on the therapeutic effects of medicinal marijuana in migraine treatment.
In addition, across the board, the studies they reviewed reported that medical marijuana was well-tolerated by subjects with few side effects and concluded it is safe to use in migraine patients.
The outcomes reported by the studies they analyzed included a decrease in migraine headache frequency, a reduction in migraine-related nausea and vomiting, an improvement in the subject’s anxiety, sleep and mood, a reduction in migraine severity and in some cases a reduction in prescription medication use, especially opioids.
The study team concluded that more studies about the doses, frequency, and the way medical marijuana is administered and also the inclusion of other population age groups, such as adolescents and the elderly, would be beneficial and worth exploring. They also believed that clinical trials with long-term follow-up are required to learn more about the efficacy and safety profile of marijuana.
To learn more, we suggest reading the article, “Efficacy and Safety of Medical Marijuana in Migraine Headache: A Systematic Review.” It appeared in the December 17, 2022 issue of the journal Cureus.
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“Millions rely on cannabis for their physical and mental health. Though the numbers of official medical cannabis patients in a given state reliably decrease after full-fledged legalization of the plant, there remain significant numbers of consumers who keep using it for medical purposes. Too often, patient groups are kept from using health insurance or other benefits to cover or defray the cost of their medicine. For their parts, brands and retailers are challenged to find ways to meet patients’ needs despite restrictions about even discussing actual medical benefits with them, and doctors are often insufficiently informed about cannabis medicine, creating a void of information between all parties.”—Dr. Amanda Reiman (Ph.D., MSW), Chief Knowledge Officer, New Frontier Data
Dr. Reiman’s comment is taken from an article that summarized the most recent brief from New Frontier Data: “From Doctor to Dispensary: A Complete Picture of Medical Cannabis Consumers.”
The article discusses the most frequent reasons consumers give for using medical cannabis. They include:
• pain (47 percent),
• anxiety/panic attacks (22 percent),
• depression (9 percent),
• sleep disorder (9 percent),
• PTSD (7 percent),
• neurological disorder (6 percent),
• gastrointestinal disorder (3 percent) and
•cancer/tumors (3 percent).
Additional key findings from the report include the following:
• Retailers should provide education-focused information on their menus, and promote product stability when serving medical consumers.
• Insurance companies should anticipate providing for patients’ use of medical cannabis as they do for other health-related prescriptions, treatments, or therapies.
• Medical consumer behaviors, like the use of cannabis as a substitute for prescription and over the counter medications, are useful for insurance companies in evaluating long term reductions in harm.
In her discussion of the needs of medical cannabis patients Reiman also cited recent comments from Steph Sherer, founder of the medical cannabis advocacy group American for Safe Access. Said Sherer, “Medical cannabis patients are looking for consistency, availability, and affordability above all.”
To learn more, we urge you to read the article by Dr. Amanda Reiman, “Providing a Prescription for Meeting the Needs of Medical Cannabis Patients.” It appeared in the December 20, 2022 issue of Cannabis Insights, a publication of New Frontier Data.
Using Medical Cannabis to Treat MS
There may be hopeful news for those who suffer from multiple sclerosis, a condition also known as MS. A new study published in the International Journal of MS Care suggests medical cannabis can play a meaningful role as part of a treatment plan.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord. According to the experts at the Mayo Clinic, with MS, the immune system attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers and causes communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body. Eventually, the disease can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerves.
Symptoms often include—but are not limited to— numbness or weakness in one or more limbs, electric-shock sensations that occur with certain neck movements, tremors, lack of coordination or an unsteady gait. In addition, those with the condition often experience pain and sleep problems.
Recently a research team affiliated with the Dent Neurologic Institute and the University of Buffalo conducted a medical record review of 141 patients with MS who were receiving medical cannabis for symptom management. Data were collected for up to 4 follow-up appointments after the medical cannabis treatment was initiated. Outcomes monitored included changes in MS symptoms, medication changes, adverse events, and changes in cognition and mobility.
More specifically, after initiating medical cannabis treatment 72 percent of the patients said they experienced less pain and 42 percent had less spasticity, while 40 percent reported improved sleep. The researchers also found there was what they described as a “significant reduction” in the use of opioids that had been prescribed for pain management. The most common adverse reaction to the medical cannabis treatment was fatigue. This was reported by 11 percent of the patients.
The research team concluded additional studies are needed to further investigate the role of medical cannabis in the treatment of patients with MS.
To read an abstract of the article that appeared in the December 12, 2022 issue of the International Journal of MS Care, simply click on the link that follows.
Stat of the Week
This week’s magic number is $40,662,494. Demonstrating that if you sell it, they will come, that’s how much money was spent on cannabis in the State of Illinois by customers from other states in October of 2022.
And, according to John Webb, writing for the Evansville Courier Press, that wasn’t even the state’s best month. Webb notes that the peak came in July of 2022. That’s when $43.5 million worth of cannabis products was sold to non-Illinois residents. The monthly average has hovered just below $39 million.
Illinois’s monthly average for total sales is a little less than $128 million. In total, for the first 10 months of 2022, in-state and out-of-state residents coming to Illinois dispensaries have spent more than $1.2 billion on marijuana—and that’s before tax. According to the state’s website, the excise tax rate for cannabis sales is between 10 and 25 percent depending on what kind of product a person buys.
A resident of Indiana who writes for an Indiana newspaper, Webb sees Illinois’s cannabis sales to residents of states other than Illinois—particularly to folks from Indiana—as a lost opportunity for his state that, given the stance of the governor, is not likely to change in the near future—even though the governor has admitted that he smoked cannabis in college.
Perhaps he didn’t inhale.
To learn more, we suggest reading Jon Webb’s article in the December 15, 2022 issue of the Evansville Courier Post.
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.
