Cannabis legalization in Canada: how might ‘strict’ regulation impact youth? Tara Marie Watson & Patricia G. Erickson DRUGS: EDUCATION, PREVENTION AND POLICY, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1080/09687637.2018.1482258 EDITORIAL Cannabis legalization in Canada: how might ‘strict’ regulation impact youth? Canada is on course to become, in October 2018, the second country in the world, after Uruguay, to federally legalize cannabis for recreational use. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has set out to achieve several objectives with this major drug policy reform, including ‘[to] Protect young Canadians by keeping marijuana out of the hands of children and youth’ (Government of Canada, 2016). While protecting the health and safety of [...]
Lire la suiteCannabis legalization in the provinces and territories : missing opportunities to effectively educate youth ? Tara Marie Watson, Jenna Valleriani, Elaine Hyshka & Sergio Rueda Canadian Journal of Public Health, 2019 https://doi.org/10.17269/s41997-019-00209-0 Abstract Cannabis is now legal in Canada, yet important questions remain regarding how the provinces and territories are approaching cannabis education and messaging aimed at youth. Although widespread education and awareness campaigns are long considered cornerstones of substance use and related harm prevention, there is limited evidence to support the effectiveness of such campaigns. We continue to see examples of cannabis-related messaging that focus on risk and harm and often adopt a narrow [...]
Lire la suiteA Cross-Sectional Survey of Medical Cannabis Users : Patterns of Use and Perceived Efficacy Michelle Sexton, Carrie Cuttler, John S. Finnell, and Laurie K. Mischley Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2016, Volume 1.1, 131-138 DOI: 10.1089/can.2016.0007 Abstract Background: The political climate around Cannabis as a medicine is rapidly changing. Legislators are adopting policies regarding appropriate medical applications, while the paucity of research may make policy decisions around conditions for which Cannabis is an effective medicine difficult. Methods: An anonymous online survey was developed to query medical Cannabis users about the conditions they use Cannabis to treat, their use patterns, perception of efficacy, and physical and mental health. [...]
Lire la suiteSex Differences in Cannabis Use and Effects: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Cannabis Users Carrie Cuttler, Laurie K. Mischley, and Michelle Sexton Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2016, 1, 1, 166-175 DOI : 10.1089/can.2016.0010 Abstract Introduction : Despite known sex differences in the endocannabinoid system of animals, little attention has been paid to sex differences in human's cannabis use patterns and effects. The purpose of the present study was to examine sex differences in cannabis use patterns and effects in a large sample of recreational and medical cannabis users. Methods : A large sample (n=2374) of cannabis users completed an anonymous, online survey that assessed their cannabis use [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinoid Actions on Neural Stem Cells : Implications for Pathophysiology Rui S. Rodrigues, Diogo M. Lourenço, Sara L. Paulo, Joana M. Mateus, Miguel F. Ferreira, Francisco M. Mouro, João B. Moreira, Filipa F. Ribeiro, Ana M. Sebastião and Sara Xapelli Molecules, 2019, 24, 1350, 59 pp. Abstract : With the increase of life expectancy, neurodegenerative disorders are becoming not only a health but also a social burden worldwide. However, due to the multitude of pathophysiological disease states, current treatments fail to meet the desired outcomes. Therefore, there is a need for new therapeutic strategies focusing on more integrated, personalized and effective approaches. The prospect [...]
Lire la suiteModulation of Astrocyte Activity by Cannabidiol, a Nonpsychoactive Cannabinoid. Ewa Kozela, Ana Juknat, and Zvi Vogel International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2017, 18, 1669, 20 pp. doi:10.3390/ijms18081669 PMID : 28788104 PMCID : PMC5578059 Abstract The astrocytes have gained in recent decades an enormous interest as a potential target for neurotherapies, due to their essential and pleiotropic roles in brain physiology and pathology. Their precise regulation is still far from understood, although several candidate molecules/systems arise as promising targets for astrocyte-mediated neuroregulation and/or neuroprotection. The cannabinoid system and its ligands have been shown to interact and affect activities of astrocytes. Cannabidiol (CBD) is the main [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinoid signalling in the immature brain: Encephalopathies and neurodevelopmental disorders Onintza Sagredo, Javier Palazuelos, Ana Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Valentina Satta, Ismael Galve-Roperh, Jose Martinez-Orgado Biochemical Pharmacology, 2018, 157, 85-96 DOI : 10.1016/j.bcp.2018.08.014 Abstract The endocannabinoid system exerts a crucial neuromodulatory role in many brain areas that is essential for proper regulation of neuronal activity. The role of cannabinoid signalling controlling neuronal activity in the adult brain is also evident when considering its contribution to adult brain insults or neurodegenerative diseases. In the context of brain genetic or acquired encephalopathies administration of cannabinoid-based molecules has demonstrated to exert symptomatic relief and hence, they are proposed as new potential [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinoïd-Based Therapies and Brain Development: Potential Harmful Effect of Early Modulation of the Endocannabinoid System Patricia Schonhofen, Ivi Juliana Bristot, Jose Alexandre Crippa et al. CNS Drugs, 2018, 32(Suppl 1), 1-16 DOI : 10.1007/s40263-018-0550-4 Abstract The endocannabinoid retrograde signaling pathway is widely expressed in the central nervous system, where it plays major roles in regulating synaptic plasticity (excitatory and inhibitory) through long-term potentiation and long-term depression. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) components—cannabinoid receptors, endocannabinoids and synthesis/degradation enzymes—are expressed and are functional from early developmental stages and throughout adolescent cortical development, regulating progenitor cell fate, neural differentiation, migration and survival. This may potentially confer increased vulnerability to [...]
Lire la suiteCannabis, Cannabidiol, and Epilepsy. Clinical Considerations and Practical Applications. A new frontier brings new questions and old dilemmas. Adrian L. Turner and M. Scott Perry Practical Neurology, October 2018, 31-35 Background As early as 12,000 BCE, texts from central Asia reported human use of cannabis for nonmedical indications including ropes, fibers, and cloth. Ancient Chinese manuscripts from approximately 10,000 years later give the first documented use of cannabis for medical purposes 1. Other early reports from ancient Mesopotamia, Persia, and India describe cannabis use for indications such as spasticity, depression, anxiety, and epilepsy.1,2 Cannabis for medicinal purposes was not scientifically studied until the 19th century. In 1840, [...]
Lire la suiteCannabis-associated symptom profiles in patients with first episode psychosis and population controls Diego Quattrone, Laura Ferraro, Giada Tripoli, Erika LaCascia, Harriet Quigley, EU-GEI group, Charlotte Gayer-Anderson, Peter B. Jones, James B. Kirkbride, Daniele La Barbera, Ilaria Tarricone, Michael T. Lynskey, Tom P. Freeman, Pak C. Sham, Alaistar Cardno, Evangelos Vassos, Jim van Os, Craig Morgan, Ulrich Reininghaus, Cathryn M. Lewis, Robin M. Murray, and Marta Di Forti mars 2019 DOI : 10.1101/577932 Abstract : Objective : The evidence is mixed on whether cannabis use is associated with a particular symptomatology in first episode psychosis (FEP) patients. The authors set out to investigate a) patterns of [...]
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