Showing posts with label marijuana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marijuana. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Marijuana May Lead Non-Smokers to Cigarettes

Columbia: While cigarette smoking has long been on the decline, marijuana use is on the rise and, disproportionately, marijuana users also smoke cigarettes. A new study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the City University of New York reports that cannabis use was associated with an increased initiation of cigarette smoking among non-cigarette smokers. They also found adults who smoke cigarettes and use cannabis are less likely to quit smoking cigarettes than those who do not use cannabis. Former smokers who use cannabis are also more likely to relapse to cigarette smoking. Results are published online in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Study Debunks Claim that Medical Marijuana Laws Have Increased Recreational Use of Marijuana Among U.S. Teens

Columbia: Legalizing medical marijuana has not increased recreational use of the substance among U.S. adolescents, according to a new study conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The findings are published online in the journal Addiction. “For now, there appears to be no basis for the argument that legalizing medical marijuana has increased teens’ use of the drug,” says Deborah Hasin, PhD, professor of Epidemiology at Columbia’s Mailman School and senior author of the study. “However, we may find that the situation changes as commercialized markets for medical marijuana develop and expand, and as states legalize recreational marijuana use.”

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Perceived harm of Marijuana decreased among some tenns after legalization

Columbia: Marijuana use significantly increased and its perceived harm decreased among eighth- and 10th-graders in Washington state following enactment of recreational marijuana laws, according to a UC Davis and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health study published online in JAMA Pediatrics.  There was no change in use or perceived harm among 12th graders or among similar grades in Colorado. The authors believe the study is the first in the nation to assess changes in teens’ perceptions and marijuana use before and after legalized recreational use, and compare these attitudes and use in 45 other contiguous states where marijuana use is not legal.

Friday, December 23, 2016

Traffic Fatalities Decline in States with Medical Marijuana Laws

Columbia: States that enacted medical marijuana laws, on average, experienced reductions in traffic fatalities, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Overall, states that passed medical marijuana laws saw an 11 percent reduction in traffic fatalities, on average, after enacting the laws, and had 26 percent lower rates of traffic fatalities compared with states without the laws. The findings are published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Studies Examine Marijuana Use Among Pregnant and Women of Reproductive Age, and Use For Medical Purposes

JAMA: Two studies published online by JAMA examine trends in marijuana use among pregnant and nonpregnant women of reproductive age, and use for medical purposes among adults in the United States. In one study, Deborah S. Hasin, Ph.D., Qiana L. Brown, Ph.D., M.P.H., L.C.S.W., of Columbia University, New York, and colleagues used data from women ages 18 through 44 years from the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2002 through 2014 to determine whether marijuana use has changed over time among pregnant and nonpregnant reproductive-aged women.

Monday, November 7, 2016

Teens’ misconceptions about marijuana

Stanford: There’s a good news/bad news story playing out around teen smoking: After years of public health education about the dangers of cigarette use, teenagers’ cigarette smoking is declining. But their marijuana use hasn’t changed, with around 20 percent of 12th graders reporting that they recently smoked marijuana. To find out why, Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, professor of adolescent medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and her team recently conducted a survey of 786 students from 10 large high schools across California. They asked the teens about their beliefs regarding marijuana and their patterns of use. Science writer Erin Digitale asked Halpern-Felsher to describe the highlights of the study, which was recently published online in Preventive Medicine.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Medical marijuana evidence 'mixed'

Scimex: The apparent health benefits of marijuana's active chemicals - cannabinoids - are still lacking solid evidence due to weak research, according to an international review covering nearly 80 randomised trials and nearly 6,500 participants. The reviewers found there was moderate evidence to support the use of cannabinoids for treating chronic pain, but the evidence linking cannabinoids with improvements in chemotherapy-caused nausea and vomiting, sleep disorders and Tourette syndrome, was of a low quality.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Medical marijuana not a gateway for teen users

Scimex: A US study has found no evidence that legalising marijuana for medical purposes leads to increased use among teenagers. The researchers analysed 24 years of data from over one million adolescents across the US and did not find a link between the availability of medical marijuana and dopier teens, even after taking individual, school, and state-specific factors into account.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Researchers need more powerful marijuana!

Nature: Residents of 23 US states can buy medical marijuana to treat everything from cancer pain to anxiety, but US scientists must wade through onerous paperwork to score the drug for study. Their sole dealer is the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which has a contract with the University of Mississippi in Oxford to produce marijuana for research purposes.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Evidence linking marijuana and risk of stroke grows

American Heart Association: Smoking marijuana may increase your chances of having a stroke, according to a review of 34 different studies published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Mulling the marijuana munchies: How the brain flips the hunger switch

Yale University. US: The “munchies,” or that uncontrollable urge to eat after using marijuana, appear to be driven by neurons in the brain that are normally involved in suppressing appetite, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers in the Feb. 18 issue of the journal Nature.

Marijuana flips appetite switch in brain

Nature: Sudden attacks of 'the munchies' are triggered by a change in the hormone released by neurons.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

American Academy of Pediatrics Reaffirms Opposition to Legalizing Marijuana for Recreational or Medical Use

AAP. US: In an updated policy statement and technical report, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reaffirms its opposition to legalizing marijuana, citing the potential harms to children and adolescents.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Pro-marijuana ‘tweets’ are sky-high on Twitter

Washington University. US: Analyzing every marijuana-related Twitter message sent during a one-month period in early 2014, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that the “Twitterverse” is a pot-friendly place. In that time, more than 7 million tweets referenced marijuana, with 15 times as many pro-pot tweets sent as anti-pot tweets.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Increased impulsivity and hostility linked to recreational marijuana use in young adults

Yale. US: While the negative effects of chronic marijuana use are being documented in a growing body of research, it has been unclear whether recreational use of the substance produces problematic effects in everyday life.

Half of Young Victims of Fatal Crashes in Nine U.S. States Used Either Alcohol or Marijuana


Columbia University. US: Half of young drivers who died in car crashes in U.S. states such as California, Hawaii and West Virginia were under the influence of either alcohol or marijuana, or both, according to statistics for fatal road accidents involving 16- to 25-year olds in nine U.S. states.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Teen prescription opioid abuse, cigarette, and alcohol use trends down

NIH. US: Use of cigarettes, alcohol, and abuse of prescription pain relievers among teens has declined since 2013 while marijuana use rates were stable, according to the 2014 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey, released today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). However, use of e-cigarettes, measured in the report for the first time, is high.

Friday, June 13, 2014

Youth Risk Behavior United States, 2013

Many high school students in the USA engage in behaviors at risk for disease and mortality, according for the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System 2013 report.
  • 41.4% of high school students nationwide who drove a car or other vehicle had texted or e-mailed while driving, 
  • 34.9% had drunk alcohol, and 23.4% had used marijuana. 
  • 14.8% had been electronically bullied, 
  • 19.6% had been bullied on school property, and 
  • 8.0% had attempted suicide. 
  • Many high school students are engaged in sexual risk behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections, including HIV infection.
Some risk behaviors have decreased (physical fighting, cigarette use, and sexual activity) while some have increased (having not gone to school because of safety concern, obesity and overweight) and some have not changed (suicide attempts treated by a doctor or nurse, having ever used marijuana, and having drunk alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse).
The good news is that current cigarette smoking among high school students is at its lowest level in more than 20 years.
Source: CDC