Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at Donald Trump’s position on cannabis, cannabis concerns before and after surgery, cannabis, aging and cognition and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis and Presidential Politics
Make of this what you will, but there is a report that before announcing his support for the marijuana legalization initiative on Florida’s ballot, former President Donald Trump met with the CEO of a major cannabis company, as well as with a GOP state senator who is in favor of the legalization of recreational cannabis.
According to Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment, before making his announcement of his support for legalization, Trump had meetings with Florida Sen. Joe Gruters (R) and Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers, according to the lawmaker and several other industry sources who confirmed the discussions to Marijuana Moment.
Said Gruters, “President Trump is certainly trying to make inroads with the younger demographics, where I think a lot of these voters—certainly undecided ones—where this can make a big difference. And I think that certainly had a role.”
Jaeger notes that Trump said at a press conference last month that he’s starting to “agree a lot more” that people should not be criminalized over marijuana given that it’s “being legalized all over the country”—adding that he will “fairly soon” reveal his position.
Wrote Trump in a post on Truth Social, “In Florida, like so many other States that have already given their approval, personal amounts of marijuana will be legalized for adults with Amendment 3. Whether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the Voters, so it should be done correctly.”
He added, “We do not need to ruin lives & waste Taxpayer Dollars arresting adults with personal amounts of it on them, and no one should grieve a loved one because they died from fentanyl laced marijuana.”
Somebody should cue up that quote from Charles Dudley Warner about how “politics makes strange bedfellows.”
You can learn much more by reading the article by Kyle Jaeger in the September 3, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
Cannabis and Surgery
Patients who use cannabis may require special attention regarding preoperative counseling and workup, intraoperative anesthesia, postoperative pain management, nausea, wound healing, and drug-drug interactions.
So writes Mark M. Mims, MD and others in an article published by JAMA Network. JAMA Network publishes JAMA and the Specialty Journals of the American Medical Association, covering various fields of medicine and health. In this case the specialty is Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.
Mims and his co-authors make the point that as use of cannabis continues to increase among the patient population, otolaryngologists will find an increasing need to remain up to date on how cannabis use contributes to patient care.
For example, care with anesthesia must be observed due to increased rates of myocardial ischemia (reduced blood flow to the heart), higher tolerance to standard doses of anesthesia, and prolonged sedation.
Mims also notes that wound healing after surgery may be improved through the use of topical cannabinoids. In addition, significant drug-drug interactions can exist when individuals use cannabis, most notably, cannabis may interfere with several common anticoagulant medications, which is why care should be exercised when managing medications for people who use cannabis.
Mims and his co-authors are affiliated with the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City and the University of Oklahoma Medical School, Oklahoma City.
The article was published online in the August 22, 2024 issue of JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surgery. To read an abstract of the article, click on the link that follows.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/2822893
Cannabis Consumers and Healthcare
Adult-aged Pennsylvanians perceive products containing CBD and THC to be safer than alcohol and there is considerable underreporting of cannabinoid use to health care providers (HCPs), and therefore, significant implications for patient safety.
These are two key takeaways from a web survey of adult-aged Pennsylvanians conducted by the Penn State Harrisburg Center for Survey Research (CSR) between March 6 and April 2, 2024.
The survey findings appeared in an article by Paul T. Kocis of the Department of Pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA which was published in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
The Lion Poll, as it was called, asked adult-aged Pennsylvanians their opinions about cannabis in order to better understand cannabinoid awareness, reporting of such use to HCPs, and perceptions regarding safety.
According to CSR, 1,045 individuals responded to the survey, 51.2 percent were female; 83.0 percent were white, non-Hispanic; and 48.6 percent and 27.5 percent were within the 35–64-year and 18–34-year age ranges, respectively.
Only adults who opted to participate in a paid web survey panel were included in the sampling frame.
Of the respondents, 52.1 percent and 53.9 percent told their HCPs they took CBD or products containing THC, respectively. Alcohol was perceived by the large proportion of respondents as unsafe (47.3 percent), followed by products containing THC (25.2 percent), anxiety/depression medications (21.7 percent), CBD (16.1 percent), and over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications (8.1 percent).
The survey findings also revealed that reasons for not disclosing cannabinoid use vary, but the most common reasons are the stigma and bias associated with cannabinoid use along with the fear of adverse consequences.
The poll findings also indicated that due to the often vague public health guidance, HCPs are at times hesitant, uncertain, or even unable to discuss with their patient effectively about their cannabinoid use. At times, the HCP is not prepared to discuss cannabinoid topics due to a lack of general cannabinoid knowledge, or their perspective may differ with that of their patients.
Also, in the absence of evidence-based guidelines, the survey found that a HCP may tend to generally categorize cannabinoid use as either “harmful or helpful” or as a “risk versus benefit.”
If you care to learn more, we suggest reading an abstract of the survey that appeared in Volume 7, Issue 1 of the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Simply click on the link that follows.
https://karger.com/mca/article/7/1/119/909790/Cannabinoid-Awareness-Reporting-Use-to-Health-Care
Consumer Spotlight
New market research indicates that convenience really is king in the cannabis industry. The latest example shows that pre-rolled joints have evolved from a niche offering to a staple on retail shelves and are emerging as one of the fastest-growing segments of the cannabis industry.
So writes Margaret Jackson, reporting for MJBizDaily. She notes that between June 2023 and June 2024, pre-rolls accounted for more than $4.1 billion in sales and sold over 394 million units during that time frame, the study shows. Pre-rolls experienced the biggest increase in sales revenue among all categories, jumping 11.89 percent.
Pre-rolls are now the third-biggest category behind flower and vape pens, which both saw modest gains of less than 3.5 percent, according to the study.
The study was conducted by Renton, Washington-based pre-roll packaging and manufacturing company Custom Cones USA and Seattle-headquartered cannabis industry analytics firm Headset.
Harrison Bard, co-founder and CEO of Custom Cones USA and DaySavers told Jackson, “Quality has continued to increase, and prices continue to drop.”
Adam Coates, chief revenue officer of Calgary, Alberta-based Decibel Cannabis Co., told Jackson consumers are looking for “instant gratification.”
Said Coates, “Convenience formats are starting to take hold.” He believes that’s why you’re seeing the growth of pre-rolls, but you’re also seeing it in other categories like all-in-one vapes. He also contends that because of their convenience, pre-rolls also are more appealing to new consumers who haven’t used marijuana in the past but are open to trying it.
Decibel Cannabis Co.is the maker of Canada’s No. 1-selling pre-roll brand, General Admission.
In addition to convenience, the latest generation of pre-rolls also responds to two other consumer concerns: price and potency.
Custom Cones USA’s Bard said consumer preferences vary, although most are looking for the most potent pre-rolls they can get. “Potency is not the end-all-be-all,” Bard said. “It’s one of many factors to consider.”
Freshness, terpene content and which cannabinoids are in the product are also important, Bard said, especially for people who have anxiety.
Other consumers, Jackson notes, consider price above all else, and that’s where companies such as Michigan-based Dragonfly shine.
“As states open up and prices come down, good cannabis becomes more accessible,” said Ching Ho, founder of Dragonfly, which says it supplies 90 percent of Michigan’s wholesale pre-roll market.
Said Ho,“We offer a high-value product, and we’re among the cheapest in the market. Most consumers want the best combination of price and THC.” Non-infused Dragonfly pre-rolls sell for $1, while the company gets $3 per infused joint.
Ho said the company can afford to sell its pre-rolls at low prices because it produces its own marijuana.
Margaret Jackson does an excellent job of untangling all of the threads in this complex story. To learn more, we suggest reading her article in the September 3, 2024 issue of MJBizDaily.com.
https://mjbizdaily.com/pre-rolls-spark-fastest-growth-category-in-cannabis-industry/
Cannabis, Aging and Cognition
We usually don’t include cannabis studies that involve mice or cells in a petri dish because it can take a while to apply their findings to real life. However, in this case we are making an exception because the study has received a lot of digital ink.
We are talking about a report that scientists from the University Hospital Bonn and the University of Bonn have said they have evidence that low doses of THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, could reverse brain aging. Published in the journal ACS Pharmacology & Translation Science, the study, which was done in collaboration with the Hebrew University, explores the impact THC has on cognitive rejuvenation in aging mice.
That’s the report from Patricio Liddle, in an article for Benzinga. Liddle contends that what makes the study particularly interesting is its detailed examination of how THC modulates brain and body functions differently over time.
Initially, writes Liddle, THC boosted brain metabolism and synaptic protein levels, indicative of heightened cognitive processes. At a later point, it shifted towards reducing metabolic activities in the body akin to the effects seen with caloric restriction or intensive exercise, known for their anti-aging benefits.
Said Andras Bilkei-Gorzo, a lead researcher at the Institute of Molecular Psychiatry at UKB, “We concluded that long-term THC treatment initially has a cognition-enhancing effect by increasing energy and synaptic protein production in the brain, followed by an anti-aging effect by decreasing mTOR activity and metabolic processes in the periphery.”
Liddle makes the point that studies, such as those published in 2022 by the University of Colorado Boulder have shown similar cognitive improvements, with older adults experiencing enhanced brain connectivity and reduced brain inflammation from cannabis use.
You can learn more by reading Patricio Liddle’s excellent article in the August 23, 2024 issue of Benzinga.com.
https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/24/08/40536603/can-thc-turn-back-the-clock-cannab
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.
