WeedLife News Network
Patients in Ohio’s medical marijuana program say the information they find on legal marijuana dispensaries, cannabis products and prices come not from the state government or marijuana industry, but from a series of third-party websites run mostly by out-of-state companies.
Sites such as WeedMaps, Leafly and IHeartJane boast directories of places to buy medicinal cannabis. They aren’t all the same; Leafly, for example, offers reviews of specific products and strains of marijuana. IHeartJane lets users search for reviews of specific brands and patients can filter dispensaries to find those owned by veterans or members of minority groups. But all of the sites provide a clearinghouse for information on marijuana products.
The cannabis-focused media site OhioCannabis.com includes a list of Ohio dispensaries along with news and other information about the industry. The site also includes a directory of doctors who write marijuana recommendations and a ratings system for dispensaries.
“That's what I've done since the beginning is be a resource for patients,” OhioCannabis.com founder Johnny Lutz said.
The sites “serve a purpose since dispensary menus often do not provide details like THC/CBD content,” Mary Jane Borden, co-founder of the cannabis advocacy organization Ohio Rights Group, said in an email.
As time goes on, alternative plant medicine, such as cannabis, are slowly changing the way pain management is viewed and executed.
Did you know that in 2019, chronic pain impacted one-third of the U.S. population? This number continues to rise, and so does the consumption of various substances to help manage and/or combat pain.
Currently, different NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), acetaminophen, and opioids are used the most often for the treatment of pain. However, there’s no guarantee that these drugs will be fully effective in eliminating pain nor is there a guarantee that these drugs won’t cause any adverse side effects.
Nowadays, cannabis and its many cannabinoids are being pursued more because of their medicinal and therapeutic properties.Overall, though, alternative plant medicine is becoming a part of thousands of people’s routines and lifestyles for numerous reasons. Here are a few main reasons why.
Understanding Types of Pain and How to Treat It Properly
Oftentimes, when someone experiences pain, their primary mission is to eliminate it and use or consume a product to achieve relief. Before treating pain though, it’s important to understand the characteristics of the pain itself, the severity of it, and the nature of it. For example, is the pain acute or chronic? Is it neuropathic or inflammatory pain? Is the pain caused by an injury, illness, ailment, or a new medication? After understanding the type of pain, finding an appropriate treatment method is the next step.
Australia’s Neurotech International Limited (ASX: NTI) has reported final results of in-vitro studies indicate its DOLCE/NTI cannabis strains exhibit potent anti-inflammatory activity.
Neurotech acquired an exclusive worldwide license to utilise proprietary cannabis strains from Dolce Cann Global, which it hopes could potentially be used to treat neurological disorders including autism, epilepsy and ADHD.
Neurotech’s analysis of 80 cannabis samples from the Dolce Cann Global revealed varying amounts of cannabinoids including CBDV, CBDA, CBGA, CBG, CBD, THCV, CBN, THC, d8-THC, CBC and THCA – some of the many cannabinoids found in cannabis. CBDA was found to be present in particularly high levels.
The company has been undertaking a series of in-vitro* studies to assess the neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and neuro-modulatory activities of the strains. Neurotech says the final results indicate DOLCE/NTI strains examined have shown to significantly improve neuronal cell health, cell viability and have the potent ability to reduce inflammation.
“Preclinical studies suggest that these strains exhibit potent and unique properties when compared to CBD alone and warrant the further assessment of these strains in phase 1 clinical trials,” said Assoc. Prof. Fahey.
It's been a few months since Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation, the state's first legal medical marijuana producer and dispensary, expanded with more Texas pick-up locations, including Plano, San Antonio, and Houston in addition to its Austin flagship.
But many still may be unsure of what the company provides or how to start the process to get medical cannabis in Texas. Turns out, all it takes to find relief for more than 146 conditions is filling out a simple form.
Their team will then work with your current physician or match you with a doctor registered to prescribe medical marijuana under the Texas Compassionate Use Program. They can refer you to doctors that offer either in-person and virtual appointments.
Follow this step-by-step guide to learn more about this powerful treatment option that could help treat a variety of symptoms frequently associated with autism, ALS, terminal cancer, MS, and more.
Step 1: Fill out the form
You don't need to come to TOCC with your own prescription — let them help you find the right doctor by connecting you with their network of physicians, all of whom are registered to prescribe medical cannabis and are overseen by a medical advisory board. If you have a current physician that's interested in prescribing, they can help walk them through the simple process of getting registered.
The U.K.’s Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is cautioning people who CBD products, reporting that individuals who suffered harmful side effects following consumption ballooned to 56 in 2019 from just four in 2017.
According to the Daily Mail, the agency cites individuals between the ages of 50 and 59 as reporting a big chunk of the “adverse drug reactions”, numbering 28 since 2007.
The article does not specify the specific types of adverse reactions, but WebMD notes that reported side effects of using CBD have included dry mouth, low blood pressure, lightheadedness and drowsiness. Though less common, signs of liver injury have also been reported in some patients, the information adds.
Although a study last year in Case Reports in Ophthalmological Medicine has raised plenty of questions, researchers explored an incident involving a 56-year-old woman in the U.S. who died after experiencing drug-induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome after consuming a commercial CBD product that had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“The use of a commercial CBD product should be cautioned due to potential for a series of drug reactions to the cannabis product and the risk for reaction to other unregulated other pharmacological components,” study authors wrote.
Many non-contagious ailments cause millions of deaths worldwide. Unfortunately, tobacco addiction stands among the top triggers of such diseases. Each year, over seven million people die of tobacco-related complications. In the US alone, more than 40 million adults have a nicotine addiction. Worse yet, tobacco addiction therapies don’t seem to be efficient, for the most part.
Smoking cessation drugs don’t bring assured results in the long run. But there is a promising solution to this problem. CBD (cannabidiol) is an active ingredient derived from the hemp plant and widely used for medical purposes today. So can it cope with tobacco addiction? How to quit smoking cigarettes with the help of CBD oil? Read further to find all this out.
Is CBD Addictive?
As most of us know, smoking marijuana leads to addiction. Is CBD addictive then? In reality, it’s not. Cannabidiol belongs to non-toxic cannabis ingredients and doesn’t alter your brain function. Therefore, you can’t develop a CBD addiction. Additionally, cannabidiol can alleviate the psychoactive effects of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the main active ingredient of recreational marijuana.
How CBD Helps You Quit Smoking
1. CBD Battles Tobacco Withdrawal Symptoms
Nicotine is as addictive as hard drugs like cocaine. That’s why it’s so hard to quit smoking. Once you try to cease this deadly habit, you will face an almost impenetrable barrier of withdrawal symptoms. It’s not just the urge for another cigarette. Tobacco withdrawal develops within several days and involves headaches, increased appetite and irritability, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and depression.
The worst part is that you may feel this nightmare for weeks. If it was easy to withstand this period, smoking would not become a global concern.
3Fifteen Primo Cannabis, a medical marijuana dispensary, opened its doors in Columbia Tuesday.
It's Columbia's first marijuana shop to begin selling to licensed patients legally.
Located at 4003 Ponderosa Street, the state-inspected and licensed operation is owned and operated by Columbia residents.
3Fifteen Primo Cannabis staff.
3Fifteen Primo Cannabis show room.
Think about the days when you’re feeling blue.
The world is grey and rainy; there is another terrible piece of news on TV, you feel anxious, sad, your whole body is aching…
Plus, you have so much work to do.
Even your pet looks worried.
We all have those days.
Medical marijuana sales in Arkansas have hit a significant milestone a little more than a year after the first dispensaries in the state began serving customers.
Local news outlets in the Natural State reported that medical cannabis sales in Arkansas have officially eclipsed $200 million, with patients purchasing more than 15 tons of product.
The exact figures, according to local television stations KATV and 5NEWS: $200.7 million and 30,648 pounds of medical marijuana.
MMJ in AR
Voters in Arkansas approved a measure legalizing medical marijuana in 2016, but the first dispensary didn’t open until May of 2019. The law’s rollout faced impediments from state lawmakers and jurists in the nearly three years before the voters approved it at the ballot box and patients were able to be served, and has continued to face resistance.
Lawmakers passed a measure last year, a month before sales began, significantly restricting the advertising of medical marijuana products. And in February, a county judge in Arkansas issued a freeze on the state’s ability to issue more licenses for dispensaries.
Medicinal cannabis could offer patients significant relief from intractable epilepsy, but cost and access barriers remain, a review has found.
Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) can offer patients significant relief from intractable epilepsy, according to evidence from a small number of patients.
In a review of 10 cases of severe childhood-onset epilepsy, Imperial’s Prof. David Nutt and Rayyan Zafar looked at the impact of combined CBD and THC-based products on the frequency of epileptic seizures.
They found carers reported a 97% reduction in monthly frequency of seizures when patients received whole plant extract cannabis treatments – not currently licenced in the UK – showing a clear benefit among this group. However, despite the clinical benefit, they cite the significant cost for their use and difficulty in accessing the treatments in the UK.
Zafar, a PhD candidate in the Department of Brain Sciences, said: “Patients and their families deserve better, so we implore policy makers, regulators and public health bodies to prioritise the health of these individuals and help them to access in the NHS medicines which are making a dramatic improvement to their lives.”
Post-traumatic stress patients who consume state-authorized cannabis products exhibit reduced symptoms over time as compared to nonusers, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
Commenting on the findings, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “Veterans are far more likely to self-report using cannabis than are those in the general population, and many veterans attest that cannabis is effective for the self-management of their PTS symptoms. These findings substantiate their claims.”
A team of investigators affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, John Hopkins University, and the University of Colorado School of Medicine compared PTS symptoms in cannabis-using patients relative to non-users over a one-year period. Cannabis consuming participants primary accessed THC-dominant flowers from state-authorized retailers.
Researchers reported: “Participants who used primarily THC-dominant cannabis reported a greater reduction in PTSD symptom severity over time compared to controls. Cannabis users also showed a greater than two-fold rate of remission from their PTSD diagnosis (defined by no longer meeting criteria for a PTSD diagnosis on the CAPS-5) compared to controls by the 1-year follow-up assessment.”
The medical marijuana industry in Arkansas is booming, according to reports.
Medical marijuana sales in Arkansas have hit a significant milestone a little more than a year after the first dispensaries in the state began serving customers.
Local news outlets in the Natural State reported that medical cannabis sales in Arkansas have officially eclipsed $200 million, with patients purchasing more than 15 tons of product.
The exact figures, according to local television stations KATV and 5NEWS: $200.7 million and 30,648 pounds of medical marijuana.
MMJ in AR
Voters in Arkansas approved a measure legalizing medical marijuana in 2016, but the first dispensary didn’t open until May of 2019. The law’s rollout faced impediments from state lawmakers and jurists in the nearly three years before the voters approved it at the ballot box and patients were able to be served, and has continued to face resistance.
Cancer is cruel.
If you or someone that you know was ever diagnosed with cancer, then you are well aware of how terrible it is.
Receiving a diagnosis that you or a loved one has cancer is something that is absolutely heartbreaking.
It is estimated that roughly 17 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2018 worldwide.
Unfortunately, that number is expected to increase to 27.5 million by 2040.
The average cannabis user living in states where marijuana is legal has the luxury of stepping inside his or her friendly neighborhood dispensary for access to a variety of pot products, like edible candies, pills, topicals, concentrates and even beverages. These processed variations of the cannabis plant are designed for those consumers who don’t necessarily want to smoke to achieve the desired effect. But when it comes to which method of consumption is best for patients suffering from chronic pain, a new study suggests that loading a bowl full of flower is still the most effective path to getting back to good.
Researchers at the University of New Mexico determined that people trying to manage pain through the use of cannabis are simply better off smoking bud than relying on other forms of the herb. The findings, which were published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine, indicate that “whole cannabis flower was associated with greater pain relief than were other types of products.” The researchers go on to say that “higher tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels were the strongest predictors of analgesia and side effects prevalence across the five pain categories.”
These results are especially interesting considering that cannabidiol (CBD), the non-intoxicating compound of the cannabis plant, is now being praised as a rockstar at taming pain. Even the folks pushing the hemp-derived version of this medicine, which is much weaker than the oils made from marijuana, swear that this sometimes truck stop novelty is the key to living pain-free. However, researchers beg to differ. They have concluded that the presence of THC, which produces the stoned effects we all know and love, is also essential if the user expects any discernible pain-relief results.
“Cannabis flower with moderate to high levels of (THC) is an effective mid-level analgesic,” the study reads.
But it just isn’t the existence of THC that makes smoking marijuana the best approach to pain management.
University of Sydney’s Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics is continuing its call for Australians to get involved in the Cannabis As Medicine Survey (CAMS) 2020 survey.
Similar surveys of Australians who have used cannabis for medical purposes within the previous 12 months were conducted in 2016 and 2018, and this latest survey aims to see how things have changed since the last CAMS.
The survey questions include requests for information on conditions medical cannabis is being used to treat or manage, access and administration, benefits or problems experienced and personal views on cannabis availability.
The survey, which can be found here takes around 20 minutes to complete. The survey is anonymous and confidential – participants are allocated a user ID code and responses cannot be matched to personal and/or identifying data.
On a related note, the results from CAMS 18, conducted between September 2018 and March 2019 with 1388 Australians, found just 2.7 per cent were accessing legal products. However, there are many more approvals now registered under Australia’s Special Access Scheme, so the researchers are hoping to see greater participation from Australians accessing medicines legally this time around.
Millions of people across the globe suffer from depression, with little relief from conventional medicine and big pharma. Many are turning to cannabis to treat their condition and regain a sense of normalcy in their lives.
Depression affects nearly 16 million people in the United States alone. Although the emotional reasons will be different for each person, from a chemical standpoint, the root cause of depression is an endocannabinoid deficiency that effects the 5-HT1A receptors and causes low levels of serotonin. Low levels of serotonin also cause the limbic system to shrink.
The limbic system controls various emotions including fear, pleasure, hunger, anger, and sex drive. This is the reason why people who suffer from depression often describe the feeling as “flat” or just “blah”, because it simply sadness they are feeling, but a general disinterest in things that once made them happy and loss of enjoyment in life.
To add to the distress, pharmaceutical medications have a reputation for not always being effective, and in some cases, causing more harm than good. What is the role of cannabis in the treatment of depression? Is it the silver lining therapy that many people are yearning for?
What is Depression?
Depression is an incredibly complex mood disorder that ranges in severity and type. Several forms of depression exist such as major depression, dysthymia, bipolar disorder, and seasonal. Regardless of the type, depression can have a major impact on a person’s quality of life and ability to complete day-to-day tasks. Some sufferers of depression lose the ability to feel joy or pleasure at all – and all these feelings last for an extended period of time.
The World Health Organization estimates that around 350 million are living with depression worldwide It affects people of all ages and races, and those of differing socio-economic status. Although symptoms vary widely from person to person, in general, symptoms include feelings of hopelessness, lethargy, low self-esteem, guild, shame, and anxiety.
Patients who smoke cannabis and are receiving treatment for their voices report that they believe there have been both immediate and long-term negative effects on their voices.
The preliminary findings of a survey of 42 adult patients at Philadelphia Ear, Nose and Throat Associates — whose services include preventive and professional voice care — found that 42 per cent of cannabis users believe marijuana “produced immediate changes to the voice,” according to PsyPost, a psychology and neuroscience news website.
Published in the Journal of Voice, the pilot involves patients who have consumed cannabis via smoking, vaping, eating and using CBD oil.
With regard to tobacco, the study notes, 88 per cent of respondents had never used it, about 9.5 per cent were former users and approximately 2.4 per cent were current users. Three-quarters of the patients reported having tried some form of cannabis during their lifetimes, with about 21.4 per cent being at least monthly smokers and around 39.3 per cent being yearly smokers.
FILE: The Phantom Of The Opera is there, inside your mind. / Photo: Matthew Murphy/Ottawa Citizen
According to a new study, women are more likely than men to switch to cannabis rather than pharmaceuticals to treat pain and other issues. The findings are even more remarkable, considering women also reported getting less support from physicians to try medical cannabis.
Researchers from DePaul University and John Hopkins University worked on the study, publishing their findings in the Journal of Women’s Health.
The study involved data from a survey of medical cannabis patients that asked them about their experiences using weed to treat various conditions. Part of the study focused on asking patients specifically about the impact of using medical cannabis on their pharmaceutical prescriptions.
According to survey data, women appeared more likely than men to use medical cannabis for symptoms that included pain, anxiety, inflammation, and nausea. They also were more likely to increase their use of cannabis once they qualified for medical cannabis in their state and decrease their use of pharmaceuticals.
Less support from doctors
While women reported less use of pharmaceuticals after trying cannabis for pain and other symptoms, they also reported less support from physicians.
Nine months following the launch of legal medical cannabis sales in Utah, regulators and industry leaders are hailing the early success of the state’s program and looking forward to 2021 for continued growth. Voters in Utah approved the medical use of cannabis with the passage of a ballot initiative known as Proposition 2 in November 2018.
But the measure soon came under attack by state legislators, who attempted to tighten restrictions on the law with a replacement bill that caused an uproar from medical cannabis advocates. A measure that was termed a compromise bill by lawmakers was passed in December 2018, although it saw legal challenges and multiple changes in subsequent legislative sessions.
Sales of medical cannabis products finally began at licensed dispensaries, or pharmacies as they are called in Utah, on March 2 of this year, and statewide sales already exceed $2 million monthly. The number of registered patients has risen quickly, surpassing 10,000 in September, six months sooner than regulators expected the tally to reach that milestone.
“It’s been going. It’s been going well, as with all new programs and people starting and really pushing to get up and going like they did early on — and now (producers) are starting to find their traction to be able to keep moving forward,” Cody James, manager of the Utah Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp and Medical Cannabis Program, said at the time.
“I don’t think that anybody had an idea as to the number of patients that Utah was going to see this early,” James added. “I think we’re exceeding all of the studies that we had on the number of patients.”
If you’re someone who is suffering from chronic pelvic pain, there’s a decent chance you might have success in treating your symptoms with cannabis.
That’s the takeaway from a new study called Use of Cannabis for Self-Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain. The study, via researchers from the Mayo Clinic and published last month in the Journal of Women’s Health, found that 23 percent of patients who participated in the research reported using cannabis to soothe their symptoms.
“The majority used [cannabis] at least once per week…Most users…reported improvement in symptoms, including pain, cramping, muscle spasms, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, libido, and irritability,” the authors of the study wrote. “Over one-third (35%) stated that cannabis use decreased the number of phone calls or messages sent to their provider, and 39% reported decreased number of clinical visits.”
The researchers said that nearly a quarter of the participating patients “report regular use of cannabis as an adjunct to their prescribed therapy,” and that despite most reporting side effects, most also said that cannabis improved their symptoms.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study in the United States, which evaluated the prevalence of cannabis use among women with CPP. Our findings show that a clinically significant percentage of women use cannabis in addition to or as an alternative to traditional therapy for chronic pain,” the authors wrote, as quoted by NORML. “[U]sers indicated that cannabis improved CPP-related symptoms, decreased reliance on the health care system, and helped reduce use of opioid medications. Our findings provide important incremental evidence, and we hope to pave the way toward acceptance and consideration of cannabis as a therapeutic option for patients with debilitating pain to improve their quality of life.”
