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Young people living in localities with operational medical cannabis dispensaries are no more likely than their counterparts to consume marijuana, according to data published in the journal Cannabis. Researchers affiliated with the University of Illinois assessed the relationship between state-licensed dispensaries and teen marijuana use in a midwestern state over a three-year period. They reported lower rates of teen cannabis use in zip codes with medical cannabis dispensaries as compared to those localities without dispensaries. Authors concluded: “This study showed the association of adolescent cannabis use and the presence of a dispensary at the zip code level, which may be…

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Republican Gov. Phil Scott has allowed medical cannabis reform legislation (HB 270) to become law absent his signature. The new law, which takes immediate effect, increases the number of cannabis plants that qualified patients may grow at home from nine (of which no more than two could be mature) to 12 (of which six may be mature). Patients are permitted to possess the total harvest of their plants. It also increases the permissible amount of THC in a single serving medical cannabis product from 50 mgs to 100 mgs. The law also expands medical cannabis access to patients with post-traumatic…

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Legislation signed earlier this year by Gov. Youngkin, HB 1846 and SB 1337, to eliminate the requirement that healthcare practitioners register with the Board of Pharmacy in order to issue written certifications for medical cannabis to patients also took effect July 1, 2023. Separate legislation, HB 2368, authorizes practitioners to add a patient’s Registered Agent directly to the written certification, eliminating the often weeks-long wait for an agent’s registration to be processed. Registered Agents who would like to receive a physical card will still have the option to request one by registering with the Board of Pharmacy.  HB 2368 also…

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An estimated one in seven Canadians report using cannabis products to recuperate from work-related physical injuries, according to data published in the journal BMJ Open.     Researchers affiliated with the University of Toronto surveyed nearly 1,200 Canadians who had received workers’ compensation for either a work-related injury or illness. Fourteen percent of respondents said that they had used cannabis explicitly to recuperate from a workplace injury. (Cannabis is legal for both medical use and adult use in Canada.)             Those electing to use cannabis typically reported experiencing greater levels of pain and sleep disruptions as compared to non-users. Most respondents…

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Post-traumatic stress patients experience symptom improvements following the use of medical cannabis products, according to observational data published in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids. A team of investigators affiliated with the University of Florida at Gainesville assessed cannabis’ efficacy in a cohort of 15 patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants in the study possessed a physician’s authorization to access medical cannabis products from state-licensed dispensaries. Study subjects were assessed at baseline and then again 30 days and 70 days later. Patients in the study typically used THC-dominant herbal cannabis. Researchers reported significant improvements in patients’ symptoms following cannabis…

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In the event of a bad psychedelic trip, you may be better off riding it through than taking additional drugs to extinguish the trip—which can actually be more dangerous. In a new study, doctors are warning about so-called “trip-killers,” or drugs used to counteract the effects of a psychedelic trip. What they found is that over half of anecdotal recommendations online call for benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, alcohol, and other remedies, but found that trip-killers are often more dangerous than the psychedelics themselves. This LSD Reddit thread, for instance, has trip-killer recommendations. Less than 2% of recommendations they found were for CBD…

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A new study published in the Journal of Endometriosis and Uterine Disorders recently examined the efficacy of CBD tampons as a method of treating severe menstrual cramps and associated pain. In “Efficacy and usability of a cannabidiol-infused tampon for the relief of primary dysmenorrhea,” researchers found evidence that CBD-infused tampons “achieved statistically significant pain reduction” and that such tampons offer “fewer side effects than anti-inflammatories, while producing a similar pain-relieving effect.” The study was published on Dec. 19 but will be published in the March 2024 issue of Journal of Endometriosis and Uterine Disorders. The study team included five researchers…

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The wave of legalization that has swept over the United States in the last decade has coincided with a swell in published research on cannabis. That is the finding unearthed by the marijuana advocacy group NORML this week.  Citing the results of a keyword search of the the National Library of Medicine/PubMed.gov website, NORML said that, for the third year in a row, “researchers worldwide published over 4,000 scientific papers specific to cannabis, its active constituents, and their effects.”  “Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in scientific inquiries about the cannabis plant — with researchers publishing…

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Looking at recent cases like that of Sha’Carri Richardson, who was barred from competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics over a failed THC test, it’s clear that cannabis use among athletes is still a somewhat taboo topic. Still, looking at the slowly changing regulations in institutions like the NBA and NFL, the sports world is steadily embracing the potential benefits that cannabis has to offer athletes in regard to recovery and chipping away at the penalties for cannabis use of years past. And it’s evident when we look beyond these large stages that the status quo is beginning to shift.…

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