What is Specific Research Regarding Cannabis and Birth Defects and Breastfeeding?

Posted on by davidbearman
A recent news article reported that cannabis was added to the California list of chemicals that CAN cause birth defects. Since I am well informed on the subject of cannabis therapeutics and their effects, I was surprised by the action. As a physician involved in drug abuse treatment and prevention since 1967, I am curious as to the basis that your panel used to determine that cannabis smoke and  Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ-9-THC) were shown to cause reproductive toxicity. This determination fly’s in the face of the research done by Melony Dreher, RN, Ph.D., Dean of Rush School of Nursin...
More

Coffee – With a Splash of Cannabis

Posted on by Samantha Bearman, MPH
Although caffeine is usually the draw to the casual cup of coffee, there are some potential side effects that can deter one from imbibing. Caffeine has been linked to anxiety as it is in itself a stressor that releases adrenaline. However CBD infused coffee can blunt caffeine induced anxiety. There has been substantial research done on the calming effects of CBD. Furthermore there are even studies that suggest that CBD has been shown to have an impact on one’s overall sense of well being; not to mention that CBD is a powerful anti-inflammatory which can help ease tension and morning aches...
More

Marijuana Mindfulness

Posted on by Samantha Bearman, MPH
Laundry, deadlines, soccer games, carpool, grocery shopping, bills, tickets, presentations. Just reading this list of daily responsibilities can elicit stress in just about anyone. With the link between stress and physical maladies becoming clearer, finding ways to integrate self care into our daily routine is not only a novel idea but it is beneficial to our longevity and quality of life. Introducing meditation to your regular schedule is a simple way to allow yourself time to connect with your thoughts, your body, and center your focus; or for those of you who have been experiencing med...
More

A Brief History of Cannabis Medicine

Posted on by davidbearman
For thousands of years, cultures around the world utilized the cannabis plant as food, fiber and medicine. Cannabis appears in the first materia medica ever written. The earliest Chinese pharmacoepoia, Shen Nung’s Pen Ts’ao Ching (Divine Husbandman’s Classic of Materia Medica), was passed on by oral tradition and dates back to between 2637 and 2737 B.C.E. Nung is considered the Chinese god of agriculture and possibly the mythical Second Emperor of China. Researchers date the oldest written compilation that still survives documenting these Chinese oral medical traditions to between 300 ...
More

STUDY: Tincture of Cannabis to treat “Cannabis Dependency”?

Posted on by davidbearman
Last month, the Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) Internal Medicine released a study claiming Nabiximols successfully “reduced illicit cannabis use in patients with cannabis dependence.” The study was poorly designed and meaningless, and the subsequent article was short on logic and facts. Let’s review them. Nabiximols, or GW Pharmaceuticals’ Sativex, is a standardized cannabis tincture with an equal dose of CBD and THC. It is essentially a whole plant cannabis extract. Nabiximols is replacing “illicit”, or illegal,  cannabis use only by the default of it being in the early stages of FDA...
More

Why Do We Even Have Drug Schedules?

Posted on by davidbearman
Prior to 1970 there was no such thing as a federal drug schedule. This concept was enacted as part of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and President Nixon’s War on Drugs. The CSA was a politically driven law, not a medically or scientifically generated piece of regulation. The CSA created five schedules allegedly based on medical use and abuse potential. Although cannabis has a 4,000-year history as a human medication, under federal law it is placed in Schedule I meaning it has no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Marinol, synthetic THC, was approved by the FDA as a ...
More

Dispensaries v. Pharmacies: Why Are They Regulated So Differently?

Posted on by davidbearman
In several court decisions, the California Supreme Court has determined that a doctor’s recommendation for the medical use of cannabis is, for all intents and purposes, the equivalent of a prescription. Since that is the case, that determination should have application to dispensaries. Photo: Cannabis Museum, Ohio Historically from the 1850s until 1942, cannabis-containing prescriptions and patent medicines were available in pharmacies. One needs to ask why dispensaries and pharmacies are not treated under the same regulations today. Dispensaries ought to have a legal obligation to ...
More

Painless: The Case of Too Much Anandamide

Posted on by davidbearman
When it comes to pain it looks like you can’t have too much Anandamide. Anandamide, aka “the bliss molecule”, or N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) is an endogenous cannabinoid produced by the human body that binds to the endocannabinoid system similar to plant-derived THC. Anandamide, the "Bliss Molecule" Recently an article appeared in the British Journal of Anesthesia that discussed an unusual case of a woman who felt little or no pain. When the case came to the attention of researchers, what they found provides us with more insight regarding the analgesic and anxiolytic effects not o...
More

Report: New Cannabinoid Drug Interactions

Posted on by American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine (AACM)
Picture taken on January 15, 2012 in Lille, northern France, of drug capsules. AFP PHOTO PHILIPPE HUGUEN (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images) Adrian Devitt-Lee of Project CBD writes: "The interactions between plant cannabinoids and a drug-metabolizing enzyme called carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) was recently published in Drug Metabolism and Distribution. Researchers at the Universities of Michigan and Florida showed that THC, CBD, and cannabinol (CBN) all inhibit CES1. CES1 is important for activating or inactivating drugs that regulate blood pressure, as well as the ...
More

Commentary: This is Your “Little Brain” on Cannabis

Posted on by David G Ostrow, MD, PhD, LFAPA
This article from Psychology Today brings up an important topic of conversation for medical professionals. Perhaps the high concentration of CB1 receptors in the cerebellum is a protective adaptation. Poor coordination and difficulty with visual tracking should be a warning to slow down, both in terms of cannabinoid ingestion and movement. Unfortunately, poor judgement on the part of the frontal cortex and reward circuitry is able to override this primitive early warning system and we all know the outcome when that happens. Continuing to ignore the brain’s innate warning circuitry would b...
More