Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at cannabis consumers and walking, access to cannabis dispensaries nationwide, treating anxiety with CBD and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis Consumers and Exercise
It may finally be time for the myth of the sedentary stoner to take a hike—literally. That’s because a new study indicates that individuals who use cannabis take more walks, on average, compared to non-users and e-cigarette users.
So says Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment. According to Jaeger, the study was conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas and Ohio University. They used data on 2,591 adults who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health from 2016-2018.
In an article that appeared in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports , the researchers wrote, “People who use marijuana take more walks on average compared to non-users and e-cigarette users.”
The research team also concluded that while cannabis use is not significantly related to taking part in a particular type of physical activity, they believe their findings, “challenge the stereotype that marijuana and e-cigarette users are less active than their non-using counterparts.”
Jaeger also noted that when it comes to the question of why marijuana consumers seem to walk more often than non-users, the study authors theorized that this, “may be due to some adults using cannabis to increase their motivation for and enjoyment of exercise or the concentration of marijuana users in urban areas.”
The authors also speculated that, “People who live in large American cities—which tend to be in states where medical and recreational marijuana are legal—also tend to use public transport and walk more.”
If you want to learn more, we encourage you to read the article by Kyle Jaeger that appeared in the March 5, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
To read an abstract of the study, click on the following link.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221133552400083
Employment in the Cannabis Sector
Here’s news for mature consumers considering a second career. A company that makes rolling papers is looking to pay someone $70,420 a year to smoke cannabis and write about it on social media. (And yes, they found a way to work 420 into the salary. We see what they did there.)
According to Debra Borchardt reporting for The Green Market Report, the company, called Custom Cones USA , specializes in pre-rolled cones, tubes, blunts, and other innovative pre-roll products.
In order to publicize the company’s new direct-to-consumer brand—DaySavers—the company is looking to hire someone to “smoke test” the latest cannabis products, be part of high profile cannabis industry events, and share those experiences with the world.
To that end, Borchardt says the company wants content creators, writers, videographers, and social media gurus to apply for the job, which would require some form of videography, photography, blog writing, or other related activities.
Said Harrison Bard, the company’s co-founder and CEO, “We are thrilled to be launching our Ultimate Stoner Dream Job campaign in the hopes that we will find a dedicated and one-of-a-kind content creator and social media manager to help us build engaging content on our social media platforms. If you’re passionate about cannabis and have any kind of creative talent – this may be the job for you. Many people talk about doing what they love, but few actually have the chance to make it a reality.”
Borchardt notes that the company said applicants who aren’t hired for the full-time job may have a chance to be selected for similar part-time jobs.
To learn more, we suggest reading the article by Debra Borchart in the March 4, 2024 issue of The Green Market Report.com.
www.greenmarketreport.com/get-paid-70000-to-smoke-marijuana-as-a-job/
To apply for the position, click on the following link before April 20, 2024: daysavers.com/ultimate-stoner-dream-job/
Treating Anxiety With CBD
A recent study found that cannabis products high in the non intoxicating compound CBD do a better job of quelling anxiety than THC-dominant products—and without the potential side effects.
Given that one in five U.S. adults suffers from an anxiety disorder—and prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications are on the rise—this finding might be welcome news for many.
In addition, adults rank anxiety among the top three medical reasons (along with sleep and pain) for turning to cannabis for relief.
So says Lisa Marshall, writing in the online publication, CU Boulder Today. According to Marshall, researchers at Colorado University at Boulder recruited 300 people with anxiety: 42 were not cannabis users; 258 had tried it at some point.
The larger group was assigned to use one of three flower products: a THC-dominant product (24 percent THC and 1 percent CBD); a CBD-dominant product (1 percent THC, 24 percent CBD); or one with 12 percent CBD and 12 percent THC.
Marshall noted that over four weeks, participants could use the cannabis products as much and as frequently as they wanted to. During the study, researchers drove a mobile laboratory to each participant’s home and tested them prior to and directly after they smoked cannabis in their home. On average, the study participants used the designated products three times per week.
Marshall writes that at the end of the study period, all four groups reported decreased anxiety. However, the cannabis groups saw greater reductions in perceived anxiety than the non-cannabis group, and those using CBD-dominant products showed the most improvement of all.
Said senior author Cinnamon Bidwell, associate professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and the Institute of Cognitive Science, “Our study suggests that CBD products may be able to relieve anxiety in the moment for adults who use them, and possibly longer-term, in a way that is meaningful and doesn’t necessarily produce the same risks or harms of THC or prescription medications. We need more data before we can make conclusive recommendations, but this is promising news.”
To learn more about the study, we suggest reading the article by Lisa Marshal that appeared in the February 27, 2024 issue of CU Boulder Today.com.
www.colorado.edu/today/2024/02/27/cbd-shown-ease-anxiety-without-risks-can-come-th
Access to Legal Cannabis
Most Americans now live in a state where marijuana is legal – and most have at least one dispensary in their county. This is despite the fact that marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.
And if you had Oklahoma on your bingo card as the state with the most marijuana dispensaries per capita, you can count yourself a winner.
These are just a few of the key findings of a new Pew Research Center analysis.
According to Athena Chapekis and Sono Shah, writing for the Pew Research Center, the analysis also revealed:
- 54 percent of Americans live in a state where the recreational use of marijuana is legal – just a dozen years after Colorado and Washington became the first states to allow the drug for recreational purposes.
- 74 percent of Americans live in a state where marijuana is legal for either recreational or medical use. California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996.
- There are nearly 15,000 cannabis dispensaries in the United States. Dispensaries (businesses that sell cannabis products) are common on the West Coast and Northeast, but also in interior states like Michigan, Oklahoma and Colorado.
- 79 percent of Americans live in a county with at least one cannabis dispensary.
- California has far more dispensaries than any state: 3,659 at the time of this analysis, more than double the amount in the second-highest ranking state. A quarter of all marijuana dispensaries in the U.S. are in California, and nearly all Californians (99.5 percent) have a dispensary in their county. Los Angeles County alone has more dispensaries (1,481) than any state other than California itself.
- Oklahoma has the most marijuana dispensaries per capita of any state: 36 dispensaries for every 100,000 residents.
It also appears from the analysis that location can facilitate access to a legal dispensary, even if an individual resides in a state where cannabis is not legal.
In their article about the report, Chapekis and Shah noted that overall, one in every five dispensaries in the U.S. is located within 20 miles of a state border. And 29 percent of these border dispensaries adjoin a neighboring state with less permissive cannabis laws.
For example, they make the point that Indiana, Kansas and Texas all have restrictive marijuana laws but are bordered by multiple states that have legalized the drug for recreational or medical purposes. In fact, a person residing in one of these three states can find more than 100 dispensaries within 20 miles of the state’s borders.
You can learn much more by reading the article by Athena Chapekis and Sono Shah published by the Pew Research Center on February 29, 2024. Simply click on the link below.
Cannabis and Relief from Migraine Headaches
There is hopeful news for those who suffer from migraine headaches. A study by researchers at the Center for Pain Medicine at the San Diego Health System, in San Diego California, suggests vaporized cannabis may help in managing the pain associated with migraines.
In the study, ninety-two participants were enrolled and 247 migraine attacks were treated. The researchers found that a medication that combined THC and CBD was superior to a placebo at achieving pain relief, pain freedom and freedom from the migraine’s most bothersome symptoms (MBS), such as nausea and an adverse reaction to sound and light, at 2 hours after treatment, as well as sustained pain freedom at 24 hours and sustained MBS freedom at 24 and 48 hours.
Based on their findings, the research team concluded that acute migraine treatment with a medication that consisted of 6 percent THC and 11 percent CBD was superior to treatment with a placebo at 2 hours post-treatment, with sustained benefits at 24 and 48 hours.
The research team cautioned that their findings should be considered new medical research that has yet to be evaluated or undergone a peer review and so at this point, it should not be used to guide clinical practice.
Still, it does offer some direction for further research.
To read an abstract of the study, simply click on the following link.
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.02.16.24302843v1
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.
