Legalizing marijuana will increase our opiate epidemic
BY HEIDI HEILMAN | MARCH 3, 2016, 14:23 EDT
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We have, for some time, known that the more marijuana there is in our communities, the more opiate and heroin use rises. Now, brain science is beginning to explain why.
Studies reveal that the cannabinoid-opioid systems of the brain are intimately connected. There is a functional interaction between the mu and Cb1 receptors of the brain and these receptors commonly exist together on brain cells. In the areas of the brain where cannabinoids bind, opioids bind as well. If you modify one system, you automatically change the other.
The mechanism is not yet well understood. With marijuana research, we are where we were in the 1920s and 30s with tobacco research linking smoking to cancer. More research is needed. But, ultimately, cannabinoids and opioids are known to strictly interact in many physiological and pathological functions, including addiction. Overall, evidence confirms a neurobiological convergence of the cannabinoid and opioid systems that is manifest at both receptor and behavioral levels.
– See more at: http://newbostonpost.com/2016/03/03/legalizing-marijuana-will-increase-our-opiate-epidemic/#sthash.L1rAe1JE.dpuf More Cannabis – More Opium
Drug intervention experts and law enforcement officials who lived through the Vancouver safe injection site experience insist there was no decrease in either overdoses or drug-related crime.
Dr. Colin Mangham, a researcher and consultant in drug prevention for 37 years, told the Sun from B.C. last week he was “shocked at how weak” the research was into the effectiveness of InSite, the safe injection site set up in 2003 by Vancouver Coastal Health in the city’s Downtown East Side.
Mangham says the 30-35% reported decline in fatal overdoses among those using InSite was subject to “interpretation bias” – meaning the same people who created the program did the research on it.
Retired Vancouver cop John McKay, the inspector assigned to the area from 2003 to 2006, writes in a statement to the respected Lancet medical journal in 2012 that the 65 police officers assigned to the area once InSite opened were “integral” to the lowered overdose rates.
McKay said by phone last week they quickly realized they had to adopt a strategic policing effort because the impact of InSite was huge on surrounding Gastown and Chinatown. He said people were living on the streets injecting, dealers were there (having recognized that their clients were permitted to be in possession of the illegal drugs), “human defecation was everywhere,” there were needles in the alleyways and “a lot of violence.”
Young students at one school situated about five or six blocks away from InSite constantly had to watch for abandoned needles in the schoolyard, he adds.
“Harm reduction for drug addicts is harm production for the rest of the community because of the behaviour of the people (the addicts),” McKay says.
For complete article go to Insite Injecting Room \\\’WEAK\\\” evidence
Latest Letter of Concern from the American Epilepsy Society March 2015 regarding ‘Medical Marijuana’ in its current form/use
Despite the pressure of anecdotal evidence prevalent in the popular press and social media, for the past two years the American Epilepsy Society has been opposed to the expanded use of medical marijuana and its derivative, cannabidiol or CBD, in the treatment of children with severe epilepsy. At this time there is no evidence from controlled trials that strongly supports the use of marijuana for treatment of epilepsy. Our position is informed by the lack of available research and supported by the position statements from the American Academy of Neurology, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association.
The American Epilepsy Society has consistently advised states against acting on anecdotal evidence alone and has called for more research. The need for more research is a consistent theme from nearly every medical society in the U.S. To help advance research, the American Epilepsy Society has requested that the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency reschedule marijuana to ease access for clinical studies.
AmericanEpilepsySocietyLetterUntestedCBDMarch2016
Abstract
In the Medical Marihuana state of CA, marihuana was found in drivers which resulted in 1,551 fatalities in the last 5 years. Nationally, in the 23 states and D.C. with state-approved Medical Marihuana, there were more than 1,000 fatalities in the single year of 2014. In the 27 states with no legal marihuana of any kind there were 1,619 marihuana related fatalities.
If CA marihuana use increases from the 2014 level of 18.8% to the level of WA and AK (two recreational marihuana states) at 31%, we could expect an additional 223 CA fatalities each year, for about 565 fatalities a year.
Alcohol is also heavily involved in the marihuana fatalities with 46% of the marihuana drivers were also impaired by alcohol at 0.05% and 38% legally DUI at 0.08+ BAC.
Despite the heavy use of alcohol by marihuana drivers, alcohol involvement in fatal crashes has increased less than 1% in the last 5 years.
Drivers with marihuana in Medical Marihuana states had a 29% higher involvement in fatal crashes than No Medical Marihuana states. Every percent increase in CA driver marihuana involvement in crashes will results in 19 more fatalities.
The growing legalization of marihuana for recreational use, along with the present Medical Marihuana use will cause a tidal wave of motor vehicle fatalities and injuries. This has already happened in Washington State where the level of drivers with marihuana is almost equal to the level of drivers DUI, the No.1 preventable traffic safety problem.
For complete paper, please download the PDF here
“Data compiled in this report shows that the decision to legalize marijuana was not without harm,” said Dave Rodriguez, executive director of NW HIDTA. “Unfortunately, many of the reported outcomes show the exact opposite of the goals that sold the initiative to voters. We now see clearly that marijuana is increasingly hurting our youth, black market sales have not disappeared, the amount of crime due to marijuana has actually gone up and Washington has become a net exporter of cannabis to other states.”
For complete report go to..
Federal Report Paints Damning Picture of Legalization\’s Consequences
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, a federal task force issued a damning report on the consequences of marijuana legalization in Washington State. The document, written by the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) office in Seattle, shows a huge spike in access to and use of marijuana since legalization, with predictable and unfortunate results.
Most notably, there are now almost 200 more recreational marijuana businesses than Starbucks in that coffee chain\’s home state. This boom has fuelled massive increases in consumption. Overall last-year use (ages 12+) rose 23% from 2011-2012 to 2013-2014, and last-month use among children ages 12 to 17 is up over 6% during the same period.
The spike in use has had foreseeable consequences, particularly on the roads and with kids:
Stoned driving:
– One-third of all DUI cases now test positive for active THC, up from 19% in 2012.
– The number of drivers involved in fatal accidents that had active THC in their blood increased over 120% from 2010 to 2014.
– A survey revealed that a full 49% of young adult (ages 18-25) respondents who used marijuana in the past month had driven a car within three hours of getting high — and that 16% of them had done so six or more times in that same month.
Children:
– Kids ages 12-17 accounted for 74% of all state marijuana seizures in 2014, compared to 28.9% in 2010.
– In Seattle public schools, over three-quarters (77%) of all drug and alcohol disciplinary violations from September 2014 to January 2015 were related to marijuana–with an elementary school reporting that a 5th grade student brought a marijuana candy bar to school to share with fellow students.
– Marijuana poisoning calls to the Washington State Poison Center rose 54% from 2012 to 2014.
– State authorities have yet to criminally prosecute any marijuana businesses for attempting to sell pot to minors, despite documented violations that entailed felony liability.
\”The \’regulate and control\’ model legalizers promised has ended up being a corporate free-for-all,\” noted Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of SAM. \”More and more kids are getting their hands on pot, despite the claims that the opposite would happen, and the state won\’t prosecute offenders. And many of these same kids are getting behind the wheel right after getting high. Like Colorado, it\’s profits before public health and safety.\”
\”It\’s no surprise that the marijuana industry is uninterested in protecting minors when heavy users consume 80% of their product,\” added Jeffrey Zinsmeister, SAM\’s Executive Vice President. \”As with Big Tobacco, the pot industry knows that hooking kids while they\’re young is the best way to generate the heavy users their business model needs.\”
For more information about marijuana use and its effects, please visit http://www.learnaboutsam.org.
Association of cannabis use with hospital admission and anti-psychotic treatment failure in first episode psychosis: an observational study
Abstract:
Objective To investigate whether cannabis use is associated with increased risk of relapse, as indexed by number of hospital admissions, and whether anti-psychotic treatment failure, as indexed by number of unique anti-psychotics prescribed, may mediate this effect in a large data set of patients with first episode psychosis (FEP).
Setting Anonymised electronic mental health record data from the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
Participants 2026 people presenting to early intervention services with FEP.
Exposure Cannabis use at presentation, identified using natural language processing.
Results Cannabis use was present in 46.3% of the sample at first presentation and was particularly common in patients who were 16—25, male and single. It was associated with increased frequency of hospital admission (incidence rate ratio 1.50, 95% CI 1.25 to 1.80), increased likelihood of compulsory admission (OR 1.55, 1.16 to 2.08) and greater number of days spent in hospital (β coefficient 35.1 days, 12.1 to 58.1). The number of unique anti-psychotics prescribed, mediated increased frequency of hospital admission (natural indirect effect 1.09, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.18; total effect 1.50, 1.21 to 1.87), increased likelihood of compulsory admission (natural indirect effect (NIE) 1.27, 1.03 to 1.58; total effect (TE) 1.76, 0.81 to 3.84) and greater number of days spent in hospital (NIE 17.9, 2.4 to 33.4; TE 34.8, 11.6 to 58.1).
Conclusions Cannabis use in patients with FEP was associated with an increased likelihood of hospital admission. This was linked to the prescription of several different anti-psychotic drugs, indicating clinical judgement of anti-psychotic treatment failure. Together, this suggests that cannabis use might be associated with worse clinical outcomes in psychosis by contributing towards failure of anti-psychotic treatment.
For complete article go to Association of cannabis use with hospital admission
Why is whole plant marijuana not approved? Concerns focus on abuse liability, safety and effectiveness.
Abuse liability. Marijuana has high abuse potential, no currently approved medical use and is considered unsafe. At least 4.2 million Americans have a cannabis (marijuana) use disorder, with about 30.5 percent of current marijuana users harboring this problem. Long-time heavy users can experience a robust withdrawal, reflecting adaptive changes in the brain and body caused by the drug. Shortly after use, marijuana intoxicates and impairs higher brain functions, learning, memory, planning, and decision-making. Driving skills are reduced and the risk for injuries increases. Functioning at school or at work is compromised, especially because marijuana takes so long to clear from the body, days to weeks, and much longer compared with an alcohol binge. Complex human performance can be impaired as long as 24 hours after smoking a moderate dose of marijuana and the user may be unaware of the drug\’s influence. For 7 to 20 days, abstinent marijuana users may have impaired attention, concentration and impulse control. The most robust, durable deficits are documented in heavy, steady marijuana users. Even after one month of withdrawal, daily, heavy marijuana smokers can manifest impaired higher brain functions. Yet the indications for marijuana are for chronic medical conditions, requiring daily or more frequent use.
Safety. There is a strong association between marijuana use and psychosis or schizophrenia, in at least four ways: (1) marijuana can produce transient schizophrenia-like symptoms in some healthy individuals; (2) in those harboring a psychotic disorder, marijuana may worsen the symptoms, trigger relapse, and negatively affect the course of the illness; (3) susceptible individuals in the general population develop a psychotic illness with heavy marijuana use, which is associated with age of onset of use, strength of THC in marijuana, frequency and duration of use; (4) marijuana use is associated with lowering the age of onset of schizophrenia. Among youth, marijuana use is associated with poor grades and with high school drop-out rates, with those dropping out of school engaging in high rates of frequent marijuana use. Early use of heavy marijuana is associated with lower income, lower college degree completion, greater need for economic assistance, and higher unemployment. In sum, marijuana use is associated with an increased risk of degraded brain function, increased motor vehicle crashes, emergency department visits, psychiatric symptoms, reduced educational and employment achievement, reduced motivation, increased use of, and addiction to other drugs, and adverse health effects on the developing fetus.
Effectiveness. The FDA is not the only body that has questioned the effectiveness of marijuana. Non-government academic physicians and scientists have extensively scrutinized biomedical research (meta-analyses) on the use of whole plant marijuana for medical indications. Independently, they have concluded that there is scant, inadequate or no evidence that whole plant medicine is valuable as a first line treatment for a myriad of medical conditions claimed by the marijuana lobby. For edibles, rigorous evidence is at zero or near-zero levels. Indeed, many specialty medical associations (Neurology, Psychiatry, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics) do not endorse marijuana as a medicine.
For complete article Pro-Cannabis Activists Push Florida Again – But Science pushes back
