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For once, Elton John is right – cannabis is deadening to the soul
Cigarettes retain a kind of aesthetic glamour; their use is not at odds with beauty, comfort, decadence and good conversation. Pot-smokers, instead, give off a polluting stink that lowers the tone of whatever environment one is in, makes conversation a thousand times more inane, and seems to celebrate the urge to do less, or nothing, smugly. Cannabis is deadening, however it is consumed.
Age-dependent association of cannabis use with risk of psychotic disorder | Psychological Medicine | Cambridge Core
Compared to no cannabis use, cannabis use was significantly associated with psychotic disorders during adolescence (aHR = 11.2; 95% CI 4.6–27.3), but not during young adulthood (aHR = 1.3; 95% CI 0.6–2.6). When we restricted the outcome to hospitalizations and ED visits only, the strength of association increased markedly during adolescence (aHR = 26.7; 95% CI 7.7–92.8) but did not change meaningfully during young adulthood (aHR = 1.8; 95% CI 0.6–5.4).
Cannabis use in teens linked to risk of depression in young adults: Cannabis use among adolescents is found to be associated with increased risk of depression and anxiety in adulthood -- ScienceDaily
'Regular use during adolescence is associated with lower achievement at school, addiction, psychosis and neuropsychological decline, increased risk of motor vehicle crashes, as well as the respiratory problems that are associated with smoking.'
The active ingredient in cannabis,THC, mediates most of psychoactive and mood-related effects of cannabis and also has addictive properties. Preclinical studies in laboratory animals reported an association between pubertal exposure to cannabinoids and adult-onset depressive symptoms. It is thought that cannabis may alter the physiological neurodevelopment (frontal cortex and limbic system) of adolescent brains.
Pot withdrawal eased for dependent users | YaleNews
Withdrawal symptoms are marked by craving for marijuana, irritability, anger, depression, insomnia, and decrease in appetite and weight. In 2015, about 4 million people in the United States met the diagnostic criteria for a cannabis use disorder, and almost 150,000 voluntarily sought treatment for their cannabis use.
According to recent national data, approximately one-third of all current cannabis users meet diagnostic criteria for CUD.
The link between cannabis use and psychotic-like experiences is largely the result of genetic factors
Karcher and her colleagues found that cannabis use was positively associated with psychotic-like experiences, even after controlling for a number of demographic variables and other substance use measures. But genetic factors accounted for 69.2% to 84.1% of the association.
“The study indicates that the relationship between psychotic-like experiences and marijuana use is largely the result of shared genetics,” she explained to PsyPost.
Cannabis Pain Relief Without the High - Neuroscience News
Cannabis indica and sativa are the two main cannabis strains that produce the pharmacological principles known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Dr. Gabriella Gobbi’s team demonstrated that CBD does not act on the CB1 cannabinoid receptors like THC but through the mechanism that binds specific receptors involved in anxiety (serotonin 5-HT1A) and pain (vanilloid TRPV1). Researchers were able to extrapolate the exact dosage of CBD displaying analgesic and antianxiety properties without the risk of addiction and euphoria classically produced by the THC.
“We found in animal models of chronic pain that low doses of CBD administered for seven days alleviate both pain and anxiety, two symptoms often associated in neuropathic or chronic pain,” says first author of the study Danilo De Gregorio, a post-doctoral fellow at McGill University in Dr. Gobbi’s laboratory.
Inside Marijuana Anonymous, the group for people addicted to weed – VICE News
Michael described it as a silent addiction. “No one sees you, you’re not out robbing people. You’re not beating people up, you’re not getting into fights,” he said. “So for the rest of society, you’re not really a problem. You’re just a problem to yourself because you’re not doing anything with your life.”
“It’s like being kicked to death by a bunny.”
One of the reasons people might hold the view that cannabis is safer is because the withdrawal syndrome is kind of non-specific and could easily be attributed to something else, said Juurlink.
Differences between combined, isolated use of cannabis, nicotine on brain networks -- ScienceDaily
MRI scans were used to evaluate resting state functions in 12 different regions of the brain among four groups of participants: 28 nicotine users, 53 cannabis users, 26 nicotine and cannabis users, and 30 non-users in a control group. These scans revealed that the control group displayed greater connectivity in almost all of the networks compared to the nicotine and cannabis groups, while the combined nicotine plus cannabis group had greater connectivity than the only-nicotine and only-cannabis groups. Notably, this study did not demonstrate a correlation between substance use severity and functional connectivity.
Can You Get Addicted to Pot? - The Atlantic
Public-health experts worry about the increasingly potent options available, and the striking number of constant users. “Cannabis is potentially a real public-health problem,” said Mark A. R. Kleiman, a professor of public policy at New York University. “It wasn’t obvious to me 25 years ago, when 9 percent of self-reported cannabis users over the last month reported daily or near-daily use. I always was prepared to say, ‘No, it’s not a very abusable drug. Nine percent of anybody will do something stupid.’ But that number is now [something like] 40 percent.”
Cannabis link to relieving intestinal inflammation explained -- ScienceDaily
The researchers discovered that gut inflammation is regulated by two important processes, which are constantly in flux and responding to changing conditions in the intestinal environment. The first process, identified in previous scientific research, promotes an aggressive immune response in the gut that destroys dangerous pathogens, but which can also damage the lining of the intestine when immune cells attack indiscriminately.
The second pathway, first described in this paper, turns off the inflammation response via special molecules transported across the epithelial cells lining the gut by the same process already known to remove toxins from these cells into the intestine cavity. Crucially, this response requires a naturally-produced molecule called an endocannabinoid, which is very similar to cannabinoid molecules found in cannabis.
If the endocannabinoid isn't present, inflammation isn't kept in balance and it can run unchecked, as the body's immune cells attack the intestinal lining.
Coffee affects cannabis and steroid systems -- ScienceDaily
Blood metabolites of the endocannabinoid system decreased with coffee consumption, particularly with eight cups per day, the study found.
The endocannabinoid metabolic pathway is an important regulator of our stress response, Cornelis said, and some endocannabinoids decrease in the presence of chronic stress.
"The increased coffee consumption over the two-month span of the trial may have created enough stress to trigger a decrease in metabolites in this system," she said. "It could be our bodies' adaptation to try to get stress levels back to equilibrium."
The endocannabinoid system also regulates a wide range of functions: cognition, blood pressure, immunity, addiction, sleep, appetite, energy and glucose metabolism.
Understanding the Relationship Between Amphetamines and Psychosis | SpringerLink
Most people with psychosis, who use stimulants, also use cannabis, and cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug among first-episode schizophrenia cases [40, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50]. A recent review of stimulant-use disorders in people with psychosis found that cannabis use was the variable that most strongly correlated with stimulant use [51•]. Cannabis and methamphetamine have been suggested as the two most important drugs involved in the pathogenesis of psychosis and schizophrenia [34]. As the effect of cannabis, to a certain extent, counters that of amphetamines, users often take it to end amphetamine binges. Studies on psychosis in users of amphetamines seldom report on concurrent cannabis use. Given that cannabis often accompanies the use of amphetamines, it is uncertain to what extent the effect of cannabis might have influenced the evidence on the association between amphetamines and psychosis.
Cannabis Use and Hypomania in Young People: A Prospective Analysis | Schizophrenia Bulletin | Oxford Academic
Data were available on 3370 participants. Cannabis use at least 2–3 times weekly was associated with later hypomania (OR = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.49–3.28) after adjustment. There was a dose–response relationship (any use vs weekly). Cannabis use mediated the association of both childhood sexual abuse and hypomania, and male gender and hypomania. The cannabis use-hypomania link was not mediated by depression or psychotic symptoms.
8% of adolescents show psychotic symptoms? (Pot moves you from 3% to 10% to get 8% global?)
To do their study, the research team first confirmed results from both the United Kingdom and Netherlands showing the presence of a small group of individuals (in Montreal, 8%) among the general population of adolescents who report recurrent psychotic-like experiences. Second, the researchers explored how marijuana use between 13 and 16 years of age increases the likelihood of belonging to the 8%. Finally, they examined whether the relationship between increasing use of marijuana and increasing psychotic-like experiences can be explained by emerging symptoms of anxiety or depression, or by the effects of substance use on developing cognitive abilities.
Long lasting effects of chronic heavy cannabis abuse. - PubMed - NCBI
A total of 33.3% (n = 16) of the total examined cannabis users were currently imprisoned. The years of abuse ranged from 1 to 35 years and the median daily dose was 5.84.4 gr and 4.84.0 gr for prisoners (n = 16) and non prisoners (n = 32), respectively. A total of 39.6% of the users experienced hallucinations (mostly auditory), 54.2% experienced delusions (mostly ideas of reference and persecution), 85.4% had organic brain dysfunction in a test addressing visual-motor functioning and visual perception skills, and all users (100%) were found to have organic brain dysfunction in a test of visual memory immediate recall. The cannabinoid metabolite levels in the hair samples were consistent with the reported history of substance abuse and total grams of consumption for the participants below 35 years old (p < .001). Statistically elevated cannabinoids levels were observed in users with auditory hallucinations compared to users without any hallucinations (p = .019).
So-called 'synthetic marijuana' linked to serious health problems
SCBs are often sold as safe alternatives to marijuana that, because of their chemical structures, will not be discovered through standard drug screenings. This feature makes them popular among groups who want to elude detection, such as adolescents and military personnel. SCBs are also more potent than ?9-THC; "these are highly efficacious drugs; they tend to activate the CB1 receptor to a greater degree than we can ever get to with THC from marijuana," says William E. Fantegrossi, a behavioral pharmacologist at UAMS. As a result, some users turn to them to achieve a more intense high.
A range of both acute and long-term adverse effects of SCB use are reported in clinical case studies, including seizures and convulsions, kidney injury, cardiotoxicity, strokes, anxiety, and psychosis in susceptible individuals, as well as tolerance, withdrawal, and dependence. Twenty deaths have also been linked to SCB use.
Cannabis increases the noise in your brain
"At doses roughly equivalent to half or a single joint, ∆9-THC produced psychosis-like effects and increased neural noise in humans," explained senior author Dr. Deepak Cyril D'Souza, a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.
"The dose-dependent and strong positive relationship between these two findings suggest that the psychosis-like effects of cannabis may be related to neural noise which disrupts the brain's normal information processing," added first author Dr. Jose Cortes-Briones, a Postdoctoral Associate in Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.
Teen marijuana use not linked to later depression, psychotic symptoms or other health problems
Marijuana use has undergone intense scrutiny as several states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, prompting the researchers to examine whether teen marijuana use has long-term health consequences. Based on some prior studies, they expected to find a link between teen marijuana use and the later development of psychotic symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, etc.), cancer, asthma or respiratory problems, but they found none. The study also found no link between teen marijuana use and lifetime depression, anxiety, allergies, headaches or high blood pressure. This study is one of just a few studies on the long-term health effects of teen marijuana use that have tracked hundreds of participants for more than two decades of their lives, Bechtold said
Ultra-high
During a typical week at his home in Steamboat Springs, Colo., Collins runs approximately 150 miles and consumes marijuana four or five times. He doesn’t smoke the plant; instead he eats marijuana-laced food, inhales it as water vapor and rubs a marijuana-infused balm onto his legs. Collins is no back-of-the-pack stoner. In 2014, his first year as a full-time professional runner, he won five ultramarathons. His third-place finish at the Fat Dog 120, a well-known 120-mile race in British Columbia, was the top American result. Collins says he doesn’t ingest the plant during competitions, though he says he has never been tested. He does train with the drug, on occasion. He says the marijuana balm numbs his leg muscles, and small doses of the plant keep his mind occupied during longer runs, he says. Collins says the miles and hours seem to tick off faster when he is running high. After a race, Collins eats marijuana candies or cookies to lower his heart rate and relax his muscles. “You’re running for 17 to 20 hours straight, and when you stop, sometimes your legs and your brain don’t just stop,” Collins said. “Sometimes [pot] is the only way I can fall asleep after racing.”
Scientists Have Figured Out Why Pot Causes the Munchies - Bloomberg Business
The findings are the first to show how marijuana may work in the brain to cause the munchies, Horvath said. The results may provide a way to help cancer patients who lose their appetite during treatment, he said.
