Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week, we look at an online cannabis resource for older adults, a new study on cannabis use by individuals with cancer, the assertion that cannabis use can cause schizophrenia and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“The numbers of seniors using cannabis has continued to grow at a phenomenal pace. And so has the number of seniors being admitted to ERs due to “greening out.” So we teach them about the importance of the ECS, about cannabinoids, onset times, delivery systems, and dosing. Too often our followers have ingested too much THC or have heard horror stories about their friends who have. Usually the culprit is gummies. They look so innocent, like their grandkid’s candy! But they can be chocked full of THC and can take up to two hours to have an effect. So, they take another one since they think the first one didn’t work. Then they’re off to the races!THC is really misunderstood. We break it down so that our audience can get the desired affect without getting too high. From my own experience, I need THC to stop the pain but balance it with CBD. I vape and I don’t need the high amounts of THC normally within the products sold in dispensaries. Most seniors don’t.“— Karen Lustman.
Ms. Lustman is the founder and CEO of an educational resource for older adults called Senior-High. Described as a “passionate advocate, patient, researcher and speaker focusing on cannabis and its positive effect on active adults and seniors suffering from chronic pain and all other ailments concerning those of us of a certain age,” her comments are taken from an interview conducted by the folks at the publication Leafwire.
In her interview, Ms. Lustman describes how she turned to cannabis after using pain pills, acupuncture, pain management, and even a spinal cord stimulator in an effort to deal with debilitating pain resulting from a fall. None of them gave her relief from the pain. Then she found cannabis, or rather, cannabis found her.
On its website, Senior High is described as a “woman-owned and operated educational and information-sharing resource for seniors and active adults interested in discovering the medicinal benefits of products derived from cannabis.” It also offers in-person presentations and private consultations by trained specialists.
You can learn much more by reading the entire interview with Karen Lustman in the May 8, 2023 issue of Leafwire.
www.leafwire.com/media/qa-with-senior-high/
We also encourage you to go to the Senior High website. It looks like they are providing a valuable service.
The Shape of Things to Come
There’s good news for residents of Massachusetts who want to grow their own cannabis. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) has authorized the sale of cannabis seeds and clones by adult-use and medical retailers and through licensed delivery services.
According to TG Branfalt, reporting for Ganjapraneur, when seeds or clones are sold to consumers the CCC requires that they be tracked via the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system. Seeds will be tracked in packages, while clones are tracked as immature plants. In addition, clones are also subject to pesticide screening in accordance with state regulations.
Branfalt notes that Massachusetts retailers may sell up to six clones to an individual customer per day but there is no limit on seeds.
He also makes the point that state law allows adult consumers aged 21 or older to grow up to six plants at home, or up to 12 plants in households with more than one person over 21. In addition, registered medical cannabis patients who have received a Certifying Healthcare Provider recommendation as part of the Medical Use of Marijuana Program may grow up to 12 vegetative plants, 12 flowering plants, and possess an unlimited number of seeds. They may purchase six clones per day, which, he notes, are not counted against their 60-day cannabis supply.
Said CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins, “Safety is paramount to us at the Commission. I’m proud that for the first time ever, Massachusetts residents will now be able to purchase both seeds and clones from licensed retailers and dispensaries that are closely regulated and tracked.”
He also encouraged home growers “to follow public awareness tips available through MoreAboutMJ.org.”
To learn more, we suggest reading TG Branfalt’s excellent reporting in the May 5, 2023 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
www.ganjapreneur.com/cannabis-clones-seeds-now-available-via-massachusetts-retailers/?
Cannabis and Cancer Treatment
There’s hopeful news for cancer patients and their caregivers. According to a new study, consistent cannabis use is associated with “improved cognition and reduced pain among cancer patients and people receiving chemotherapy.”
Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment, notes that consistency is key. According to Jaeger, the study, conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado, found that while the initial intoxication from cannabis can temporarily impair cognition, patients who used marijuana products from state-licensed dispensaries over a two week period actually started reporting clearer thinking.
Participants in the study also reported that they were sleeping better and experienced lower amounts of pain associated with their cancer symptoms or chemotherapy side effects.
Said researcher Angela Bryan, a cancer survivor herself, “We thought we might see some problems with cognitive function. But people actually felt like they were thinking more clearly. It was a surprise.”
Jaeger also reported that another notable feature of the study is that participants took a variety of edible cannabis products that they selected at Colorado dispensaries, including infused tinctures, baked goods, gummies and other cannabis edibles with varying cannabinoid profiles.
According to Jaeger this aspect is significant because the majority of studies that take place in the U.S. rely on either pharmaceutical-grade cannabis medicines, such as dronabinol, or standardized marijuana grown at a federally authorized source. These products tend to be low in THC and lacking in other cannabinoids.
To learn more, we urge you to read Kyle Jaeger’s article in the May 3, 2023 issue of Marijuana Moment.net. As usual, his reporting is stellar.
The study was originally published in the April 26, 2023 issue of the journal Explorations in Medicine. To read it, simply click on the link below.
www.explorationpub.com/Journals/em/Article/1001138
You can also read an article about the study by Lisa Marshall that appeared in the April 27, 2023 issue of the website Colorado.edu.
Stats of the Week
The folks at New Frontier Data have released their latest report: Cannabis Consumers in America 2023. Taken from the findings in their 2023 cannabis consumer survey, it’s designed to provide readers with insights into the demographics associated with cannabis use, product preferences of different consumer groups, purchasing habits, motivations for using cannabis and attitudes of the general public about cannabis consumption.
Here are a few of what they describe as key findings contained in the report:
• 42 percent of U.S. adults say they have used cannabis and will likely use it again.
• Among current consumers, 37 percent say they increased their cannabis consumption in the last year.
• 70 percent of current consumers say their cannabis use helps them achieve a specific objective.
• 53 percent of current consumers describe their cannabis use as both medical and recreational.
• 51 percent of self-identified medical consumers say they have replaced at least some of their prescription medications with cannabis.
To learn more about the various publications produced by New Frontier Data or to download a copy of their new report, simply click on the link that follows. They do excellent work.
info.newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-consumers-in-america-2023-part-1?
The Elephant in the Room
Much has been made lately, particularly in tabloids such as the Daily Mail and others, about studies that purport to show that using cannabis can cause schizophrenia. As is often the case, the facts seem to lie a significant distance from the headline.
For example, Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML—the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws—recently made the argument in an op-ed for Marijuana Moment that several recent studies may help to shed some much-needed light on the recent assertions by cannabis critics and provide a context for a more balanced view.
For starters, Armentano notes that cases of acute cannabis-induced psychosis are rare and individuals who experience the condition are typically either predisposed to psychosis or have a pre-existing psychiatric disorder. He cites a Canadian study of more than 23,000 medical cannabis patients. During the course of the study, only 26 subjects were hospitalized for exhibiting “disorders due to the use of cannabis.”
Armentano also points to an article that was recently published in the journal Translational Psychiatry. The article described a study by an international team of scientists that assessed cases of cannabis-associated psychotic symptoms in a population of 230,000 consumers. They determined that fewer than one-half of one percent of the participants ever had experienced symptoms requiring medical intervention—a rate, they pointed out, that was similar to symptoms associated with alcohol use—and that most of those individuals had been previously diagnosed with either bipolar disorder or psychosis.
He further buttressed his position by pointing to the results of a study recently published in an imprint of the Journal of the American Medical Association. In that study Stanford University investigators evaluated the relationship between the adoption of statewide legalization laws and rates of psychosis-related health care claims among a cohort of over 63 million privately insured individuals over four years.
Armentano states that the investigators concluded: “[W]e did not observe a statistically significant association of state cannabis policy level with overall rates of psychosis-related diagnoses or prescribed antipsychotics.”
Clearly, cannabis is not for everyone and individuals who are prone to psychiatric problems would probably be wise to abstain from using it. However, repealing the legalization of cannabis would not guarantee the mental health of individuals critics say they want to protect.
Moreover, as Armentano contends, legal, well-regulated markets are more likely to keep cannabis products away from young people and provide clear warnings to those individuals who may be prone to extreme mental health problems brought on by cannabis use—benefits that would be lost if efforts to repeal legalization are successful.
In fact, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which was published last week, found that cannabis use by teens has declined since the first state recreational legalization laws were approved by voters in 2012, and regulated retail sales began in 2014.
We know that correlation is not causation (thank you Senator Moynihan). Still, the data suggests that legalizing cannabis for adult use is not the all-purpose slippery slope critics often claim it is.
You can learn much more by reading the op-ed by Paul Armentano that appeared in the May 9, 2023 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
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.
