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- The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana Under Schedule III as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country.
- # **Analysis: Medical Cannabis Associated With Decreased Use Of Opioids, Alcohol, And Tobacco**
Patients authorized to use medical cannabis products report decreasing their use of opioids, alcohol, tobacco, and other substances, according to a data analysis published in the journal *Cannabis*.
Investigators surveyed 2,697 Canadian medical cannabis registrants. The mean age of participants was 54.3 years of age.
Consistent with other surveys, respondents frequently reported substituting cannabis in lieu of other substances.
Among those respondents prescribed opioids, 54 percent said that they had reduced their intake over the past year. Among those taking other medications, just under one-third said that they had decreased their use.
Of those respondents who reported consuming alcohol, 38 percent reported reducing their use. About one in four respondents who consumed tobacco products said that they had reduced their use. “Given the significant rates of morbidity and mortality associated with both alcohol and/or tobacco/nicotine use in Canada and around the globe, the … reported reduction in use in the present study may represent a significant public health impact,” the study’s authors wrote.
They concluded: “Our data suggests that transitions towards higher risk substance use patterns are unlikely to be exacerbated by the use of medical cannabis. … Use of medical cannabis was associated with symptom improvement and meaningful reductions in the use of prescription opioids and non-opioids, unregulated drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. … Overall, our results highlight that older patients represent an increasingly important subset of the medical cannabis population whose unique needs and patterns of use warrant further investigation.”
- # **Study: Frequent Cannabis Use Not Linked to Motivation Loss**
Those who regularly consume cannabis do not exhibit so-called ‘amotivational syndrome,” even when they are acutely under the influence, according to data published in the journal *Social Psychological and Personality Science*.
Researchers affiliated with the University of Toronto assessed a cohort of 260 frequent cannabis consumers five times per day over a seven-day period. Investigators assessed subjects’ motivation and willingness to push themselves during times when they were under the influence and when they were not.
They reported: “In contrast to the stereotype of the stoned slacker who is apathetic and unmotivated, we found little evidence for an association between being high and a lack of motivation among cannabis users. … When frequent cannabis users get high, in other words, they are no more apathetic, nor less extrinsically or intrinsically motivated to pursue their goals. … We also failed to find any next-day emotional effects.”
Commenting on the study’s findings, its lead author stated: “There is a stereotype that chronic cannabis users are somehow lazy or unproductive. We found that’s not the case. … Our data suggests that you can be hard-working, motivated and a chronic cannabis user at the same time.”
Other recent studies assessing cannabis use and motivation have reached similar conclusions. For instance, a 2022 study determined that college-age students who used cannabis were more likely to engage in effort-related decision making tasks than were non-users. Another study concluded that the use of cannabis is not independently predictive of significant changes in adolescents’ motivation, apathy, or engagement.
NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “These findings, and others, refute hypothesized associations between cannabis use and low motivation. It is unfortunate that many of these longstanding stereotypes have historically guided public health messaging about cannabis and have also been used to stigmatize and discriminate against those who consume it responsibly.”
- **CBD Has Potential To Manage Symptoms Of Alcohol Use Disorder, New Scientific Review Finds: "These processes are highly relevant to alcohol seeking behaviours, suggesting that CBD may have potential in the management of alcohol use disorder."**
A new review of scientific literature around CBD and its effects suggests that the cannabinoid could be useful in managing symptoms of alcohol use disorder (AUD) by modulating brain networks that perpetuate addiction.
The review, from authors at the University of Sydney and local health districts in the Australian city, attempts to “theorise the potential neurobiological mechanisms by which CBD may ameliorate various symptoms of AUD.”
“Previous research suggests that CBD may affect salience, reward, emotion generation and regulation and executive control (including inhibition control, working memory and self-monitoring) processes,” the report, which was published on Thursday in the Journal of Cannabis Research, says. “These processes are highly relevant to alcohol seeking behaviours, suggesting that CBD may have potential in the management of alcohol use disorder.”
“CBD appears to modulate neurotransmitter systems and functional connections in brain regions implicated in [alcohol use disorder], suggesting CBD may be used to manage AUD symptomatology.”
- Germany Marijuana Legalization Law Will Take Effect On Schedule Next Month After Lawmakers Decline To Delay Implementation
- **Medical Cannabis Patients Report Sustained Quality Of Life Improvements**
Patients authorized to consume medical cannabis products report significant improvements in their overall health, according to data published in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
Researchers affiliated with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine assessed the impact of medical cannabis on patients’ physical and emotional well-being. Participants in the study possessed a doctor’s authorization to access state-licensed cannabis products in Pennsylvania. Patients’ symptoms were assessed upon enrollment in the study and then again at 30, 60, and 90 days. Most patients enrolled in the study inhaled herbal cannabis or concentrates.
Investigators said that patients’ cannabis use resulted in immediate symptom improvements. These improvements were sustained for the length of the study. Those patients who consumed cannabis products once per day displayed greater improvements in their general health than did those who used it more frequently. Only minor side effects (e.g., cough, dry mouth) were reported.
“It is clear that medical marijuana, when administered safely, can improve an individual’s quality of life,” the study’s authors determined. “Participants reported significant decreases in emotional limitations, fatigue, and pain levels.”
They concluded, “The findings suggest that MMJ [medical marijuana] has the potential to improve physical and social functioning, energy levels, emotional well-being, and overall general health within the first 30–60 days of use.”
Their findings are consistent with those of other larger observational studies involving thousands of patients enrolled in medical cannabis access programs.
- **Study: Patients With Post-traumatic Stress And Depression Report Improvements Following Cannabis Therapy**
Patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and comorbid depression respond favorably to the use of medical cannabis preparations, according data published in the journal BMJ Psych Open.
British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) in a cohort of patients suffering simultaneously from post-traumatic stress and depression. (Since 2018, British specialists have been permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Self-reported symptoms were assessed three months after subjects initiated their cannabis use.
Investigators reported, “Treatment with prescribed cannabis was associated with substantial reductions in the severity of PTSD symptomatology, with these improvements being more marked in individuals with depression.”
They concluded: “Treatment with CBMPs is associated with significant improvements in well-being and quality of life in PTSD after three months. … These results parallel previous findings for quality of life across a broad range of conditions and for PTSD specifically and highlight the potential benefits of CBMPs for symptom reduction and improvements in well-being across a wide range of chronic conditions.”
Prior assessments of patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and depression have similarly concluded that cannabis therapy can improve subjects’ health-related quality of life. By contrast, a 2021 clinical trial concluded that the inhalation of marijuana flower provided limited benefits compared to placebo in treating symptoms of PTSD.
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- Marijuana Tax Revenue Should Fund Education And Housing, Not Police And Prisons, Voters Say In New Poll
New Jersey adults might have mixed opinions about how the state should spend marijuana revenue—but a new study makes clear that most don’t think cannabis tax dollars should be earmarked for police or anti-drug campaigns.
The public opinion study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy last week, asked 1,006 New Jerseyans to choose one of seven revenue preferences where they’d most like to see cannabis tax dollars allocated, including public health, affordable housing and funding for police, courts and prisons.
Researchers at Rutgers University and Drexel University found that, while no single category received more than 25 percent, there was “more general support for funding community-based initiatives in public health, housing, and education than for funding police, courts, and prisons.”
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- Marijuana Consumers Walk More And Exercise Just As Much As Non-Users
People who use marijuana take more walks on average compared to non-users and e-cigarette users, according to the findings of a new study that “challenge the stereotype” of cannabis consumers being less active.
The study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports late last month, also found that marijuana consumers are no less likely to engage in basic exercise and strength training compared to non-users.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas and Ohio University carried out the study, which was based on data on 2,591 adults who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health from 2016-2018.
“Results indicated that participants’ marijuana and e-cigarette use predicted their walking for exercise, with marijuana users walking the highest number of times per week, followed by non-users, e-cigarette users, and dual users,” they found. “However, this effect only approached significance after controlling for covariates. There were no significant differences in strength training or general exercise between groups.”
“This finding challenges the stereotype that adult marijuana users are less active than their non-using counterparts.”
The authors said the study is among the first of its kind to explore the relationship between marijuana and e-cigarette use and exercise behavior, accounting for different exercise types.
They concluded that “marijuana use is not significantly related to engagement in a particular type of physical activity,” findings that “challenge the stereotype that marijuana and e-cigarette users are less active than their non-using counterparts.”
As to the question of why marijuana consumers seem to walk more often than non-users, the study authors theorized that this “may be due to some adults using cannabis to increase their motivation for and enjoyment of exercise or the concentration of marijuana users in urban areas.”
“People who live in large American cities—which tend to be in states where medical and recreational marijuana are legal—also tend to use public transport and walk more,” they said.
To the point about increased enjoyment with cannabis use, a study published in December also found that marijuana consumption prior to exercise can lead to greater enjoyment and an enhanced “runner’s high.”
Another study published last July surveyed 49 runners and found that participants experienced “less negative affect, greater feelings of positive affect, tranquility, enjoyment, and dissociation, and more runner’s high symptoms during their cannabis (vs. non-cannabis) runs.” Participants did run 31 seconds slower per mile when using marijuana, but researchers said that was not statistically significant.
The positive effects of cannabis that the runners reported is consistent with the findings of a 2019 study, which found that people who use marijuana to elevate their workout tend to get a healthier amount of exercise.
Older people who consume cannabis are also more likely to engage in physical activity, according to another study that was published in 2020.
Similarly, in another stereotype-busting study that was published in 2021, researchers found that frequent marijuana consumers are actually more likely to be physically active compared to their non-using counterparts.
- Giving Away Free Marijuana Could Help Curb The Drug Overdose Crisis, New Study Suggests
Giving out free cannabis through harm reduction organizations could both reduce drug overdose deaths and improve users’ quality of life, according to new research published this week in the Harm Reduction Journal.
The case study, which examined a marijuana donation program in rural Michigan, says it’s the first to document the harm reduction practice in the United States and concludes that the approach has “potential for sustainability dependent on state laws.”
“While the policies surrounding the regulation and distribution of cannabis can still present barriers towards this practice,” authors wrote, “harm reduction staff working in the field see the potential benefits of cannabis, which include reduced premature death, improved quality of life, pain moderation, increased recovery outcomes, and improved safety for clients and community.”
The observation period, from September 2021 through May 2023, included ten “cannabis-experienced harm reduction clients” who received marijuana weekly through pickups or deliveries, “with clinical staff determining client interest and appropriateness.”
When staff reported their interactions with clients, many pointed to benefits they’d observed.
One person, described as 50 or older, “had spinal fusion neck surgery (with the installation of two steel rods, three connectors, and six bolts) five months into the study,” authors wrote.
“Before the surgery, this person had not used opioids for two years (as evidenced by criminal legal mandated urine drug screens) but reported frequent struggles in denying himself alcohol,” they continued. “With their use of the products donated by this program, this individual reported complete abstinence from alcohol while recovering from their surgery and since. They expressed gratitude for topical pain relief with cannabis pain cream, cannabis vape cartridges, and flower for smoking.”
Another participant “in her 20s was pregnant, homeless, and a methamphetamine and opioid dependent injector at the beginning of the study,” the case study says. “She reported that with the use of products donated in this program, she used methamphetamine and opioids less frequently, and actively worked with harm reduction agency staff to get on MOUD [medications for opioid use disorder] while pregnant.”
Researchers also looked at data from a cannabis company that provided marijuana for the program, shedding light on product types and the scale of donations.
“This administrative data suggests that while flower products constitute most of the adult and medical sales, edible, oil, and topical products predominated donations,” the study says. “Further, cost analysis suggests that donations represent only 1% of total gross sales and account for much less than the expected yearly donation amount.”
The five-author team behind the paper includes researchers at the nonprofit RTI International, the Rutgers University School of Social Work and San Francisco General Hospital.
They described their findings as a “starting point for inquiry into cannabis donation as a harm reduction strategy,” but said further research is needed “to fully understand the individual-level outcomes, public health impacts, necessary legal regulations, and best practices for cannabis donation.”
“Until then, given the ongoing overdose mortality stemming from illicitly produced fentanyl and other synthetic contaminants saturating the unregulated drug market, and the potential benefits of cannabis in reducing this unregulated substance use,” the report says, “harm reduction practitioners will continue to support client self-determination, and mutual aid in all forms, including available safe psychoactive substances, for persons who use drugs.”
The analysis does not attempt to draw conclusions about the overall outcomes of such harm reduction efforts, instead drawing on interviews with administrators of the rural Michigan program.
“While this is the first study to document the donation of cannabis as a harm reduction practice in the US, it is exploratory and not designed or intended to assess the outcomes associated with this practice,” it says. “Instead, we focus on describing how this process has been organically occurring in a state where there is the provision of cannabis and statutes that allow for donation.”
It says the findings show the feasibility of such programs, including the fact that donations from commercial marijuana companies make up just a tiny portion of the businesses’ overall product—about 1 percent of gross sales.
The case study comes on the heels of recent research out of Canada showing an association between marijuana legalization and declines in beer sales, suggesting a substitution effect where consumers shift from one product to the other.
Other studies have linked cannabis legalization with reductions in the use of both prescription and nonprescription opioids.
A report published last November, for example, linked legalizing medical marijuana with a “lower frequency” of nonprescribed pharmaceutical opioid use.
In August, a federally funded study found that marijuana was significantly associated with reduced opioid cravings for people using them without a prescription, suggesting that expanding access to legal cannabis could provide more people with a safer substitute.
A separate study last year found that legal access to CBD products led to significant reductions in opioid prescriptions, with state-level drops of between 6.6 percent and 8.1 percent fewer prescriptions.
Another linked medical marijuana use to lower pain levels and reduced dependence on opioids and other prescription medications, while yet another, published by the American Medical Association (AMA), found that chronic pain patients who received medical marijuana for longer than a month saw significant reductions in prescribed opioids.
AMA also released research showing that about one in three chronic pain patients report using cannabis as a treatment option, and most of that group has used cannabis as a substitute for other pain medications, including opioids.
State-level marijuana legalization is associated with major reductions in prescribing of the opioid codeine specifically, too, according to a study that leveraged data from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
A 2022 study similarly found that giving people legal access to medical cannabis can help patients reduce their use of opioid painkillers, or cease use altogether, without compromising quality of life.
There’s also no deficit of anecdotal reports, data-based studies and observational analyses that have signaled that some people use cannabis as an alternative to traditional pharmaceutical drugs like opioid-based painkillers and sleep medications.
As for alcohol, a separate study published last November found that marijuana legalization may be linked to a “substitution effect,” with young adults in California “significantly” reducing their use of alcohol and cigarettes after the cannabis reform was enacted.
Data from a Gallup survey published last August also found that Americans consider marijuana to be less harmful than alcohol, cigarettes, vapes and other tobacco products.
A separate survey released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Morning Consult last June also found that Americans consider marijuana to be significantly less dangerous than cigarettes, alcohol and opioids—and they say cannabis is less addictive than each of those substances, as well as technology.
In 2022, a survey showed that Americans believe that cannabis is less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco.
- Marijuana Can Help Increase Orgasm Frequency And Satisfaction For Women, Study Finds
Published this month in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, the report is the product of a 2022 observational study by authors Suzanne Mulvehill, a clinical sexologist, and Jordan Tishler, a doctor at the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists and the company inhaleMD. While decades of sexuality research support the use of marijuana for sexual difficulties, the authors said, theirs is “the first study to look at FOD specifically, demonstrating significant benefit.”
The survey of 387 participants found that more than half (52 percent) said they experienced orgasm difficulty.
“Among respondents reporting orgasm difficulty, cannabis use before partnered sex increased orgasm frequency (72.8%), improved orgasm satisfaction (67%) or made orgasm easier (71%),” the study found.
“Fifty years of sexuality research support use of cannabis for sexual difficulties.”
Mulvehill and Tishler have helped drive medical marijuana advocacy around female orgasmic disorder/difficulty in some states now considering allowing the diagnosis as a qualifying condition under medical marijuana programs. Mulvehill is the founder of the Female Orgasm Research Institute, of which Tishler is a vice president.
“It’s a medical condition that deserves medical treatment,” Mulvehill told Marijuana Moment in an interview last month. “Women with FOD have more mental health issues, are on more pharmaceutical medication. They have more anxiety, depression, PTSD, more sexual abuse histories. It’s not just about pleasure, it’s about a human right.”
Their newly published research reflects those observations. “Women with FOD reported 24% more mental health issues, 52.6% more PTSD, 29% more depressive disorders, 13% more anxiety disorders, and 22% more prescription drug use than women without FOD,” it says. “Women with FOD were more likely to report sexual abuse history than women without FOD.”
In Illinois, members of the state’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Board held an initial meeting Monday about the proposal to add FOD to the state’s list of qualifying conditions, while Ohio officials are set to hear public testimony on a similar plan on Wednesday following a petition Mulvehill submitted last year.
New Mexico regulators are also accepting public comment for a hearing on the issue set for May. Connecticut, too, is planning to review a proposal, according to the Female Orgasm Research Institute, though a meeting date has not yet been set.
Tishler told Marijuana Moment last month that advocates sometimes face an uphill battle in trying to draw attention to cannabis’s benefits for FOD.
“One amongst many complicating factors in this field is that it is two taboo subjects,” he said. “Americans don’t deal with cannabis very well, as we can see, and they also really don’t deal with sex very well.”
But in recent years, there have been a number of studies “that have really moved this field forward in terms of, you know, well done, reasonable-size studies that are quantitative. Now, the one piece that’s lacking—that Dr. Mulvehill and I are working on—is doing the gold standard, the randomized controlled trial. And we’re having some difficulty because of the nature of cannabis, etc., in terms of getting approved and funded.”
Regardless of sex or gender, there’s growing evidence that marijuana can improve sexual function. A study last year in the Journal of Cannabis Research found that more than 70 percent of surveyed adults said cannabis before sex increased desire and improved orgasms, while 62.5 percent said cannabis enhanced pleasure while masturbating.
Because past findings indicated women who have sex with men are typically less likely to orgasm than their partners, authors of that study said cannabis “can potentially close the orgasm in equality gap.”
A 2020 study in the journal Sexual Medicine, meanwhile, found that women who used cannabis more often had better sex.
Numerous online surveys have also reported positive associations between marijuana and sex. One study even found a connection between the passage of marijuana laws and increased sexual activity.
Yet another study, however, cautions that more marijuana doesn’t necessarily mean better sex. A literature review published in 2019 found that cannabis’s impact on libido may depend on dosage, with lower amounts of THC correlating with the highest levels of arousal and satisfaction. Most studies showed that marijuana has a positive effect on women’s sexual function, the study found, but too much THC can actually backfire.
“Several studies have evaluated the effects of marijuana on libido, and it seems that changes in desire may be dose dependent,” the review’s authors wrote. “Studies support that lower doses improve desire but higher doses either lower desire or do not affect desire at all.”
Part of what cannabis appears to do to improve orgasms is interact with and disrupt the brain’s default mode network, Tishler said. “For many of these women, who cannot or do not have an orgasm, there’s some complex interplay between the frontal lobe—which is kind of the ‘should have, would have, could have [part of the brain]’—and then the limbic system, which is the ’emotional, fear, bad memories, anger,’ those sorts of things.”
- **Germany legalises possession of cannabis for personal use**
Germany’s lower house of parliament voted to legalize cannabis for limited recreational use on Friday despite warnings from the opposition and medical authorities.
The new rules mean adults can possess small amounts for personal use but the drug remains banned for under 18s.
In total, 407 German lawmakers voted in favor of the new regulation, 226 lawmakers voted against and four lawmakers abstained from Friday’s vote.
Under the new legislation, put forward by Germany’s ruling coalition party, adults can cultivate up to three plants for private consumption and be allowed to possess 50g at one time at home, and 25g in public, starting from April 1.
From July 1, cannabis would also be available in licensed not-for-profit clubs with no more than 500 members – all of whom would have to be adults. Only club members would be allowed to consume their output.
- SIGNIFICANT AND SUSTAINED REDUCTIONS IN HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS FOLLOW MEDICAL CANNABIS LEGALIZATION
States that have legalized cannabis for medical use report significant reductions in private health insurance premiums according to a recent study published in the Journal of International Drug Policy. The study found sustained reductions in annual premiums of as much as $ 1,663 per year compared to demographically similar states without any form of cannabis legalization based upon analysis of healthcare data spanning 2010-2021.
Previous studies that suggest medical cannabis can impact insurance premiums by broadening treatment options for mental health conditions, chronic pain, and nausea, potentially reducing crime, reducing the need for rehabilitative services to treat substance use disorders, decreasing hospital admission rates, and reducing prescription drug costs by substituting more addictive prescription drugs with medical cannabis. according to the authors.
This decline in private health insurance premiums follows a similar trend as prescription costs for Medicare and Medicaid have also declined in states with both medical-use only and adult-use cannabis laws.
- **Young Adults Report ‘Significantly’ Lower Rates Of Alcohol And Tobacco Use Following Marijuana Legalization, Study Finds**
Another federally funded study is suggesting that marijuana legalization may be linked to a “substitution effect,” with young adults in California “significantly” reducing their use of alcohol and cigarettes after the cannabis reform was enacted.
What’s more, the research appeared to contradict prohibitionist arguments about the potential impact of legalization, as the data also revealed no significant increase in marijuana use among young adults who were still not of age to access retail dispensaries—though there were interesting changes in certain modes of consuming cannabis following the policy change.
The study, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs last week, involved surveys of people aged 18-20 living in Los Angeles before and after the state implemented adult-use marijuana legalization under a 2016 voter initiative. One cohort of 172 pre-legalization subjects were interviewed between 2014 and 2015, and the other 139 post-legalization subjects were surveyed between 2019 and 2020.
Researchers said that, “despite the possibilities of increased access to cannabis via diversion from the adult use market and increased normalization of cannabis use,” legalizing recreational marijuana “did not lead to increased frequency of cannabis use” among the subjects. They did notice a shift toward the use of edibles post- adult-use legalization (AUL), however.
“Regarding other licit substance use, we observed significantly fewer days of alcohol and cigarette use among the [post-legalization] cohort compared to the [pre-legalization] cohort,” the study says. This suggests the “possibility of a protective effect offered by cannabis, including edibles, or potentially ongoing changes in norms and attitudes toward these substances within this socio-historical context.”
“Lower frequency of alcohol and tobacco use coupled with increase in edibles use post-AUL may suggest a substitution effect, which could result from increasing access to cannabis through a medical cannabis recommendation or diversion of cannabis from medical or adult use cannabis dispensaries,” the researchers said.
The study, which was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, also found that changes in the use of illicit and prescription drugs “did not significantly differ” between pre-legalization and post-legalization cohorts, which the researchers said is “notable since some critics predicted that AUL would lead to increased other drug use” via the so-called “gateway theory.”
“Future studies should monitor whether stable rates of cannabis use and declines in alcohol and cigarette use will be sustained as some participants reach legal age to access these substances for adult use, and how these trends continue or alter as participants enter later emerging adulthood,” the study concludes.
While one of the limitations of the study is the fact that people under 21 cannot legally purchase alcohol or tobacco, the findings regarding a possible substitution effect have been echoed in numerous studies covering different jurisdictions across the country, at least when it comes to other substances such as opioids.
For example, legalizing medical marijuana is associated with a “lower frequency” of nonprescribed pharmaceutical opioid use, according to a study published this month in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.
In August, a federally funded study found that marijuana was significantly associated with reduced opioid cravings for people using them without a prescription, suggesting that expanding access to legal cannabis could provide more people with a safer substitute.
A separate study published last month found that legal access to CBD products led to significant reductions in opioid prescriptions, with state-level drops of between 6.6 percent and 8.1 percent fewer prescriptions.
A report from this summer, meanwhile, linked medical marijuana use to lower pain levels and reduced dependence on opioids and other prescription medications. Another, published by the American Medical Association (AMA) in February, found that chronic pain patients who received medical marijuana for longer than a month saw significant reductions in prescribed opioids.
- **SCIENCE & HEALTHScientists Published More Than 32,000 Marijuana Studies Over The Past 10 Years, Including Thousands In 2023, NORML Analysis Shows**
Researchers have published more than 32,000 scientific papers on marijuana over the past 10 years—including over 4,000 in 2023 alone—according to an analysis from NORML that again calls into question critics’ claims that cannabis is insufficiently studied to be legalized.
The advocacy organization’s analysis is based on keyword searches on the federal National Library of Medicine website PubMed.gov. This year marked the third in the row that cannabis-related papers totaled over 4,000 as researchers continue to explore risks and benefits amid the legalization movement.
“Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a blog post.
“It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know,” he said.
Researchers have published more than 32,000 scientific papers on marijuana over the past 10 years—including over 4,000 in 2023 alone—according to an analysis from NORML that again calls into question critics’ claims that cannabis is insufficiently studied to be legalized.
The advocacy organization’s analysis is based on keyword searches on the federal National Library of Medicine website PubMed.gov. This year marked the third in the row that cannabis-related papers totaled over 4,000 as researchers continue to explore risks and benefits amid the legalization movement.
“Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a blog post.
“It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know,” he said.
The idea that cannabis hasn’t been studied enough often surfaces in legislative debates in states and Congress, typically echoed by legislators and officials seeking to block or delay reform.
In one key example, while President Joe Biden campaigned on modest cannabis reform, he’s justified his longstanding opposition to federal legalization in part by arguing that the issue needs to be further studied.
In reality, the scientific literature on marijuana is expansive—although advocates have expressed frustration with a seeming bias in federal research priorities that have historically favored investigations into the potential harms, rather than benefits, of cannabis. That’s started to change of late, however, NORML notes.
While 32,000 cannabis-related scientific papers in 10 years is an impressive number, it stands to reason that the total would be even greater were it not for the fact that marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which federal officials and scientists have frequently criticized as a major barrier to research.
Biden signed legislation into law last year that’s meant to streamline the research process—and an ongoing administrative review into cannabis scheduling that he directed could also result in a historic reclassification that consequently lifts research barriers. Nonetheless, there are still unique hurdles to studying the Schedule I drug.
In 2023, marijuana research topics have run the gamut, with a mix of private and government-funded studies that have explored usage trends, therapeutic applications, minor cannabinoids, drug substitution, legalization policy implications and more.
Recent examples include multiple studies indicating that state-level legalization has not translated into increased underage use, contradicting prohibitionist claims and bolster the idea that enacting regulated markets can effectively restrict youth access.
Studies have also revealed potential consequences of prohibitionist policies, including how states that continue to criminalize cannabis may be “unintentionally” promoting the use of unregulated delta-8 THC products, for instance.
Another recent scientific paper found that patients with chronic health conditions saw significant improvements in overall quality of life and reductions in fatigue during the first three months of medical marijuana use.
This is just a small sampling of 2023 studies that have looked at marijuana from numerous scientific, political, economic and cultural angles as more states enact legalization and congressional lawmakers work to advance federal reform.
Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently detailed how it’s evaluated more than 800 investigational new drug applications involving cannabis and cannabis-derived products that included ample scientific materials. The agency said that the period has seen profound changes in product form factors, cultural views and the legal landscape around cannabis.
- The study—‘Medicinal cannabis for pain: Real-world data on three-month changes in symptoms and quality of life’—followed 55 adult chronic pain patients, giving them questionnaires to assess their pain, sleep, mood, and quality of life. Many of these patients had other conditions, as well, including stress and anxiety disorders. Since this is common for chronic pain patients in general, researchers felt this better replicated the real-world patients who might try cannabis.
Doctors deemed all the patients eligible for medical cannabis, but none had been using cannabis at the beginning of the study. Australian doctors prescribed each patient cannabis products on an individual basis, rather than receiving identical products and doses. This meant they could use products tailored to their specific needs, just like the average cannabis patient. These products included both flower and oils, and had a variety of different CBD and THC levels.
Researchers assessed the cohort at the beginning of the experiment before their cannabis regimen had begun, and then again after three months of cannabis use. Most in the cohort started with relatively poor health, with high levels of pain, problems sleeping, and low ratings for mood and quality of life.
After three months of cannabis use, the chronic pain patients reported significant improvements on all measures. Not only had the severity of their pain gone down, but it interfered less with their life. They had raised their scores significantly for quality of life, general health, mood, and sleep. The improvements proved meaningful. According to the researchers, led by Kylie O’Brien at the NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, New South Wales, Australia —the “effect sizes in all cases were moderate to strong.”
For depression, researchers stated: “We found substantial improvements … higher than those typically reported in meta-analyses for antidepressants.”
Cannabis was very well-tolerated by the pain patients. In the 55-person cohort, one 29-year-old man reported extremely mild adverse reactions: dry eyes and feeling cold. The symptoms resolved the same day they began.
- **Scientists have discovered rare cannabinoids in non-cannabis plants**
Cannabinoids come from cannabis plants, right? Not always. A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, have detected the presence of cannabinoids in other plants – the result of “parallel evolution” of cannabinoid biosynthesis. In particular, the researchers found cannabigerolic acid (CBGA; 4.3%) alongside other rare cannabinoids in a perennial shrub called Helichrysum umbraculigerum – commonly known as “wooly umbrella.”
The team applied de novo whole-genome sequencing, chemical structure annotation, enzymatic assays, and pathway reconstitution to understand the molecular and chemical features of the plant, while also conducting a nutrient-based experiment. When given hexanoic acid and phenylalanine (precursor compounds for cannabinoids), the plant produced more cannabinoids compared with plants that were fed regular nutrients.
In contrast to cannabis plants, where the flower glandular trichomes see the greater concentration of cannabinoids, it is the trichomes of the leaves of H. umbraculigerum where CBGA accumulates, with barely any presence in the flowers. As well as using some of the same biosynthetic pathways as cannabis flowers, the wooly brolly naturally produces other rare cannabinoids and water-soluble cannabinoids that aren’t present in cannabis. Notably, the plant also benefits from two enzymes that cannabis does not produce, which convert CBGA into tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) or cannabidiolic acid (CBDA).
In a press release, lead author of the study Paula Berman explained, “The next exciting step would be to determine the properties of the more than 30 new cannabinoids we’ve discovered, and then to see what therapeutic uses they might have.”
The study authors closed their piece with this encouraging note: “Our discovery provides a currently unexploited source of cannabinoids and tools for engineering in heterologous hosts.”
- **Marijuana Is Linked to Lower Pain During Exercise And Making Running More Enjoyable**
Marijuana is associated with an enhanced exercise experience, making running more enjoyable while reducing pain, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder surveyed 49 runners, asking them to rate various aspects of runs after consuming cannabis and without using it.
The study, published last week in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, found that participants experienced “less negative affect, greater feelings of positive affect, tranquility, enjoyment, and dissociation, and more runner’s high symptoms during their cannabis (vs. non-cannabis) runs.”
They did run a bit slower after consuming marijuana, with researchers observing that they ran 31 seconds slower per mile, but they said that was not statistically significant.
“Participants also reported lower pain levels after their cannabis (vs. non-cannabis) run,” the study says. “Perceived exertion did not differ between runs.”
“Results suggest that acute cannabis use may be associated with a more positive exercise experience among regular cannabis users,” it concludes. “Research using varied methodologies, a range of exercise modalities, and diverse populations is needed to establish the long-term harms and benefits associated with this behavior, as well as the generalizability of these findings to other populations and settings.”
The positive effects of cannabis that the runners reported is consistent with the findings of a 2019 study, which found that people who use marijuana to elevate their workout tend to get a healthier amount of exercise.
Older people who consume cannabis are also more likely to engage in physical activity, according to another study that was published in 2020.
Similarly, in another stereotype-busting study that was published in 2021, researchers found that frequent marijuana consumers are actually more likely to be physically active compared to their non-using counterparts.
Meanwhile, the use of medical marijuana is associated with “significant improvements” in quality of life for people with conditions like chronic pain and insomnia—and those effects are “largely sustained” over time—according to a study published this year by the American Medical Association (AMA).
- **New Study Examines Cannabidiol for Nicotine Use Reduction**
A recently published study explored the possibility of using cannabidiol (CBD) to reduce symptoms associated with nicotine withdrawal.
Published earlier this month in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, the study called “Cannabidiol Reduces Nicotine Withdrawal Severity and State Anxiety During an Acute E-cigarette Abstinence Period: A Novel, Open-Label Study,” tested the addition of cannabidiol (CBD) in nicotine withdrawal efforts (1). Noting the lack of prior research on nicotine use intervention strategies, the study tested the addition of 320mg of CBD administered to 20 daily nicotine users to test the hypothesis that CBD could reduce the intensity of withdrawal symptoms and anxiety.
“After controlling for participants' positive CBD expectancies, results were consistent with hypotheses, suggesting CBD reduced both nicotine withdrawal symptom severity and state anxiety during e-cigarette abstinence,” read the results section. “Cannabidiol (CBD) has potential to facilitate e-cigarette quit attempts by decreasing withdrawal symptom intensity and anxiety during nicotine e-cigarette abstinence.”
“These preliminary findings suggest testing the impact of CBD on e-cigarette cessation attempts is warranted,” the authors concluded, noting that 8.1 million adults in the US use e-cigarettes
- Researchers analyzed THC levels in the breath of people who use cannabis regularly, both before and after they smoked marijuana. The researchers found that THC levels spanned a similar range across pre- and post-use samples. 'In many cases, we would not have been able to tell whether the person smoked within the last hour based on the concentration of THC in their breath,' said study author (National Institute of Standards and Technology)
- Contrary to popular belief, it seems that CBD could actually increase the effects of THC! A recent study found that the maximum amount of THC measured in participants’ blood samples after consuming a brownie containing both THC and CBD was almost double that found in participants who had consumer a THC-only brownie. Furthermore, the amount of 11-OH-THC – a metabolic byproduct of THC that produces drug effects similar to THC – was 10-fold greater after eating the brownie with the high CBD extract compared with the one containing high THC extract.
- According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there are around 100,000 new cases of psychosis each year in the US alone and, although antipsychotic drugs are commonly prescribed to help patients manage, the potential side effects from these drugs can be a deterrent. And so, researchers at Oxford University are all set to investigate the effectiveness of cannabidiol in 1000 participants in 35 centers across Europe and North America – including those with first episode psychosis and those with psychosis who haven’t responded to conventional treatment. Additionally, the research will assess whether cannabidiol can prevent the onset of psychosis in people who are at high risk for psychosis. Following the footsteps of previous smaller scale studies that have indicated beneficial effects, this will be the first large-scale study to evaluate the effects of cannabidiol in a population of patients with psychosis or psychotic symptoms.
- The results of the survey —which involved interviews with 938 people from January 6-11—reflect a broader substitution trend that’s been identified in multiple polls and studies over recent years: As more states move to legalize marijuana, more people are choosing to use cannabis over alcohol, as well as certain prescription drugs like opioids.
Part of the reason for the trend appears to be related to perceived dangerousness of various intoxicants, with most Americans saying that they believe cannabis is safer than alcohol and tobacco, as one survey released in October found.
A separate poll released last year found that more Americans now openly admit that they smoke marijuana or eat cannabis-infused edibles than say they’ve smoked cigarettes in the past week.
More than twice as many Americans think that marijuana has a positive impact on its consumers and society at large than say the same about alcohol, according to that Gallup survey data.
That’s generally consistent with the results of another poll released last year showing that more Americans think it’d be good if people switched to cannabis and drank less alcohol compared to those who think the substance substitution would be bad.
- **Does CBD lessen the effects of THC? Recent studies question a common belief**
It is often assumed that products containing CBD are less potent or can reduce negative THC effects, but the findings from both studies suggest that CBD may not be a determining factor in the strength of a product. Consumers who buy products with CBD thinking they are getting “weed lite” or less potent products may be incorrect in their thinking.
But because cannabis research is still so young, it’s hard to know if these studies are the final word on the matter or just another bump in the road. There are still some caveats.
In the review from last Nov., the authors do note a previous study that shows CBD to lessen some of THC’s effects, but the participants in it were given exceptionally large doses of 600mg of CBD to 5mg of THC—a ratio of 120:1 CBD to THC! The authors concluded such a large amount of CBD is impractical to put in a commercial vape cartridge. So CBD may temper THC’s effects, but it may be that astronomical amounts of it are needed.
At the end of the day, it may be difficult to separate and clearly delineate these two compounds and their effects because of the entourage effect —or how all the compounds in the cannabis plant work together synergistically to create the feeling of being high, including cannabinoids, terpenes, and more. The sum is greater than the whole of the parts, so it might be hard to study the individual compounds separately.
Cannabis research is getting better as more states legalize, but there may not be a definitive answer to the interaction of CBD and THC yet. There is a growing body of research that sways toward the idea that CBD does not temper THC’s effects, so buyers should keep that in mind the next time they’re at the dispensary.
As always, we tell our readers that every person has a different body chemistry and will experience weed differently. You could get incredibly high or paranoid off of a hit or two from a joint, while your friend will barely feel a thing; a certain strain may make you fall asleep, while the same one will make your friend go out for a walk. It’s important to understand how your own body responds to weed.
CBD has shown tremendous potential in treating seizures and epilepsy conditions in children, however, CBD’s medicinal benefits beyond that, or its ability to tame THC’s intoxicating effects, are inconclusive to date.
- **CBD-rich cannabis oil improves core social symptoms in people with autism spectrum disorder**
Many parents have been raving about the benefits of cannabis-based treatments for children on the autism spectrum for years. Notably, the goal is not to cure autism, but to facilitate better engagement and promote improved living skills so they can eventually be more independent.
For several years, Israeli scientists have been running clinical trials that reveal promising results for a 20:1 CBD to THC cannabis oil on many secondary symptoms of autism spectrum disorder, such as improved sleep, reduced anxiety, fewer rage attacks, and reductions in self-injury behaviors.
Results from these clinical trials show that cannabis also improved core social communication skills and boosted daily-living skills, such as getting dressed, eating food, and cleaning up, in children and adolescents. While these benefits didn’t extend to other core symptoms like restricted and repetitive behaviors, this study highlights the exciting potential of cannabis to improve the quality of life for those with autism spectrum disorder, and improve the opportunity for them to live a more independent life.
- It will soon be illegal to smoke cannabis on the street in Amsterdam's red light district under new regulations unveiled by the city
- Most posts regarding medicinal cannabis from Twitter users in the United States are pro-cannabis in nature, according to a new analysis.
- Cannabis shows some preliminary promise in the treatment of opioid withdrawal, according to new research
- **Effects of THC consumption on sleep**
As neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Kesner told me, “We’ve known for quite some time that THC has sleep-promoting properties in humans. Some of the earliest reports of cannabis use described this. In fact, ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicine describes cannabis as nidrajanan, a ‘sleep-inducing’ drug.”
Many modern consumers report that cannabis aids their sleep, but there is no one-size-fits all answer to how cannabis impacts sleep. THC’s effects on sleep will change depending on the cannabinoid content of what you consume, your history of use, sex, etc. In fact, one clear-cut thing we can say is that, with THC, its influence on your sleep will change over time–you won’t get the same effects if you consume THC once or twice that you will if you continue ingesting it long-term.
What are the likely, acute (short-term) effects on sleep THC may have if you begin consuming?
In general, acute THC consumption in humans makes people fall asleep faster and stay asleep once they fall asleep. It leads to increases in SWS and decreases in REM sleep. Consistent with experimental studies, surveys of medical cannabis patients show that the vast majority of those taking pharmaceutical sleep medications decrease their use of those drugs after starting medical cannabis.
- The Yale School of Medicine will establish a new research center to study cannabis, the university has announced.
- Twitter allows cannabis ads in the US
- **CBD may increase effects of THC edibles, study finds**
Researchers found that individuals given brownies containing high doses of CBD experienced stronger subjective effects than those given brownies made from a THC-dominant strain, despite both edibles containing the same dose of THC.
- Longitudinal study reveals that co-use of tobacco and cannabis entails no additional risk to lung function beyond risks associated with tobacco use alone.
- Heating cannabis oils decreases levels of CBD and THC – with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy able to detect early degradation of these cannabis oils.
- Placebo controlled randomized clinical trial reveals that cannabidiol oil reduces behavioral disturbances in patients with dementia.
- According to recent study from King’s College London, UK, increased CBD dosage in cannabis products does not significantly change effects of THC on cognitive performance, psychotic symptoms or pleasure experienced by users
- **Benefits of cannabis on the aging adult brain**
The strength of communication across different brain regions changes as people age and contributes to age-related memory impairments and cognitive decline. Scientists in Colorado used functional neuromaging to assess how regular cannabis use (at least once per week) in adults over 60 years old altered the strength of communication between several brain regions that normally declines with age.
They found that older adults who regularly used cannabis had stronger communication patterns between three brain regions—the hippocampus, the parahippocampal gyrus, and the cerebellum—compared to non-cannabis using older adults. The stronger connectivity among older cannabis users resembled that of much younger non-using adults and suggests that cannabis may protect against some of the age-related declines in brain function.
- People living in states with legal marijuana have lower rates of alcohol use disorder, federally funded Twin Study finds
- Weed improves Sex and could help close ‘Orgasm Inequality Gap’ between men and women, new study indicates
- Marijuana Legalization Not Associated With Increased Rates Of Psychosis, American Medical Association Study Of 63 Million People Finds
- Teen Marijuana Use Trends Downward As More States Legalize It For Adults, Federal Survey Finds
- It looks like in a few decades we can say goodbye to alcohol and tobacco.
More Americans now openly admit that they smoke marijuana or eat cannabis-infused edibles than say they’ve smoked cigarettes in the past week, according to recently released data from Gallup, with the pollster adding that cannabis consumption is likely to continue increasing even more in years to come.
That’s despite that fact that possessing marijuana remains federally prohibited and is punishable with jail time in some states, while tobacco remains perfectly legal across the country.
Trends in cannabis and tobacco use have been moving in this direction over the past several decades, as public health campaigns and other government prevention measures have taken aim at cigarettes while more states have started legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use.
According to data from a survey conducted in July, a record 16 percent of Americans say that they currently smoke cannabis, while just 11 percent reported smoking a cigarette in the past week, as CNN noted in a recent analysis.
What’s more, Gallup also asked for this first time this year about whether people consume cannabis edibles, with 14 percent saying they do. That means that more people smoke or eat federally illegal cannabis than smoked a perfectly legal tobacco cigarette in the past seven days.
In 2013, the first time that Gallup asked about current marijuana use, just seven percent said they actively smoked cannabis. Around that same time, past-week cigarette use hovered around 20 percent, still down from a high of 45 percent in the mid-1950s.
Alcohol remains the most widely used recreational substance in the U.S., the data shows, despite broad recognition that liquor has harmful effects. Forty-five percent of respondents said they’ve drank alcohol in the past week, while 67 percent said they use alcohol occasionally.
More than twice as many Americans think that marijuana has a positive impact on its consumers and society at large than say the same about alcohol, according to Gallup survey data released this month.
This is generally consistent with the results of a separate poll released in March that found more Americans think it’d be good if people switched to cannabis and drank less alcohol compared to those who think the substance substitution would be bad.
Interestingly, a 2020 Gallup survey separately showed that 86 percent of Americans view alcohol use as morally acceptable, compared to 70 percent who said the same about marijuana consumption.
“In sum, American adults are significantly more likely to use alcohol than either marijuana or cigarettes. And while alcohol consumption has remained relatively constant over the decades, cigarette use is now less than a fourth of what it was in the 1950s,” Gallup said in a new analysis. “Americans’ regular use of marijuana is modestly higher than cigarettes at this point, but the trend over recent decades in marijuana use is upward.”
The percentage of Americans who smoke has declined substantially in recent years. What does the future fold for Americans’ use of alcohol and marijuana? Learn more with Gallup’s latest analysis.
Frank Newport, Gallup senior scientist, said that that the “future of marijuana use is, I would say, somewhat up in the air, but the probability is higher that its use will increase rather than decrease.”
That’s based on observable trends in usage, the spread of the legalization movement in U.S. states, growing public support for ending prohibition and the fact that people generally perceive cannabis is less harmful.
“Americans recognize the harmful effects of smoking cigarettes, and smoking has declined significantly over the past half-century and can be expected to continue on this trajectory,” Newport said. “Americans are more ambivalent about the effects of smoking marijuana, and its future use by Americans will depend partly on changes in recognition of its potential harms and partly on the continuing shifts in its legality in states across the union.”
Another indicator that the trend is likely to continue in the current directions is the fact that young people are significantly more likely to say that they use marijuana than tobacco. Thirty percent of those under 35 said that smoke cannabis, while just eight percent of that same age group reported past-week cigarette smoking.
The data used for these reports is based on a survey where Gallup put the drug-related questions to 1,013 adults from July 5-26. The margin of error was +/- four percentage points.
- CBD has pain-reducing effects by acting directly in the brain
Most non-opioid pain medications work by reducing inflammation. Inflammation activates a specific set of sensory cells that send signals to the brain and activate a network of brain regions that together, promote the sensation of pain.
Pain is commonly reduced by blocking inflammation at the source of injury, but it can also be relieved by disrupting the brain’s pain processing network. An ideal pain treatment would dampen inflammation and disrupt pain processing in the brain without causing opioid-like dependency, but blocking pain processing in the brain has proved to be challenging or fraught with adverse consequences.
CBD’s pain-relieving benefits have long been attributed to its anti-inflammatory effects. However, Iranian neuroscientists recently discovered that CBD also reduces pain by acting in a small brain region, the nucleus accumbens, which is involved in the processing and response to pain.
The group injected CBD directly into the nucleus accumbens of rats, limiting its effect to the brain, and measured their pain sensitivity following a pain-inducing procedure. Rats treated with CBD showed reduced pain sensitivity, even though inflammation at the site of injury wasn’t blocked.
Their findings are impactful because they reveal that CBD may reduce pain by acting directly in the brain, and not just by reducing inflammation at the site of injury. This study reveals the need for further investigation of CBD’s efficacy in treating chronic pain conditions where pain no longer results from inflammation but from dysfunctional nerve signaling or brain processing.
- Marijuana legalization is associated with decreased use of alcohol, nicotine and non-prescription opioids among young adults, according to a new study.
Researchers at the University of Washington analyzed data on substance use trends from 2014 to 2019, finding that people aged 21-25 were less likely to consume the arguably more dangerous drugs post-legalization in the state.
The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health last week, looked at “six annual waves of cross-sectional survey data,” analyzing data from 12,694 adults.
“Contrary to concerns about spillover effects, implementation of legalized nonmedical cannabis coincided with decreases in alcohol and cigarette use and pain reliever misuse,” the study abstract said.
“The weakening association of cannabis use with the use of other substances among individuals ages 21–25 requires further research but may suggest increased importance of cannabis-specific prevention and treatment efforts,” it continued.
“Real-world data from legalization states disputes longstanding claims that cannabis is some sort of ‘gateway’ substance,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said in a blog post. “In fact, in many instances, cannabis regulation is associated with the decreased use of other substances, including many prescription medications.”
To that point, another recent study concluded that marijuana legalization is associated with decreased use of prescription drugs for the treatment of conditions such as anxiety, sleep, pain and seizures.
Several previous studies have identified associations with the enactment of medical cannabis legalization at the state level and reduced pharmaceutical prescriptions, but that paper focused on the potential impact of recreational legalization in 10 states plus Washington, D.C.
Last year, a study found that medical marijuana use is associated with significant reductions in dependence on opioids and other prescription drugs, as well as an increase in quality of life.
A meta-study that was published in 2020 also signaled that marijuana shows promise as a treatment option for chronic pain and could serve as an alternative to opioid-based painkillers.
Researchers released a study that year that found cannabis can mitigate symptoms of opioid withdrawal.
In 2019, researchers determined that states with legal marijuana access experience decreases in opioid prescriptions, and a separate study released the previous month showed that daily marijuana consumption is associated with reduced opioid consumption among chronic pain patients.
- Colleges located in states that have legalized marijuana see larger application pools, with no apparent decline in the quality of student applicants, according to a new study.