Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance in the United States, data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show. The survey revealed that in 2022, cannabis increased in every age group — including those older than age 65. The annual NSDUH...
The University of Minnesota School of Public Health launched a new Cannabis Research Center on Thursday. The center will conduct research aimed at assessing the health impacts of the state’s recent legalization of recreational cannabis for adults, and help inform...
Research published this month in the Journal of Dental Research, scientists from Rutgers University and the University of Texas revealed that CBD, a cannabis compound, could offer a potent and safe alternative to opioids for managing acute dental pain. See the...
An analysis of the genomes of more than 1 million people, published Nov. 20 in the journal Nature Genetics, has shed light on the underlying biology of cannabis use disorder and its links to psychiatric disorders, abuse of other substances such as tobacco, and...
A University at Buffalo psychologist has received a $3.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to assess how cannabis use affects patients who receive immunotherapy. Thomas Jefferson University and Oregon Health and Science University will join UB in...
Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives refiled a bipartisan bill to legalize and regulate marijuana at the national level. The legislation, known as the States Reform Act, was reintroduced by South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace. Read the...
In this article, the authors present a breakdown of cannabis and cannabis-derived applications received by the FDA over the past 50 years. The authors also provide a summary of their experience and challenges in reviewing applications for research of cannabis and...
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is “likely” to approve a recommendation from the Biden administration to reclassify marijuana under the nation’s drug laws, according to a report issued by congressional researchers. The report, which was released by the...
A new analysis led by a team of researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center has traced a new trend: More than one in five youths who reported vaping within the past month in a national survey in 2022 also vaped cannabidiol, or CBD, according to a report...
Many online marijuana dispensaries do not enforce age limits on purchases, and they have other lax policies that enable minors to buy cannabis on the internet, according to a new study published on Monday in The Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics. ...
A study presented at the 2023 annual meeting of the Menopause Society suggests that cannabis, or marijuana, may be increasingly popular for mitigating symptoms such as sleep difficulties and mood issues, despite a lack of research on the efficacy of marijuana for...
The Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) is hosting a virtual, two-day symposium on October 12-13, 2023 highlighting the state of science in medicinal cannabis research. Whereas the majority of current research focuses on delta-9-THC and cannabidiol, the 2023...
More than one-fifth of people who use cannabis struggle with dependency or problematic use, according to a study published on Tuesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open. The research found that 21 percent of people in the study had some...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended easing restrictions on marijuana, a department spokesperson said on Wednesday, following a review request from the Biden Administration last year. Marijuana is currently classified as a schedule I...
State medical cannabis laws seem not to have contributed to population-level shifts in pain treatment for chronic noncancer pain in the US, researchers concluded in a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
New research suggests that while some military veterans may turn to cannabis to relieve stress, frequent cannabis use may actually lead to more severe insomnia in the long run. The findings have been published in the Journal of Sleep Research. Read the article here.
Marijuana legalization will be on the ballot in Ohio in November, the secretary of state’s office confirmed Wednesday. Petitioners submitted 127,772 signatures from all over Ohio to qualify for November a referendum to legalize the growing and sale of marijuana to...
The extent to which demographics of participants enrolled in cannabis clinical trials are representative of those who use cannabis is unknown. A new study published in Nature: Scientific Reports compared 2002 to 2021 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and...
The NFL and NFL Players Association are helping to fund a study on innovative pain management solutions. The league and union have jointly awarded two research funding grants totaling $526,525 to independent medical researchers at the American Society of Pain and...
Medical marijuana is touted as a pain reliever, but in U.S. states where it's legal, prescriptions for opioid or non-opioid painkillers haven't decreased, a new study finds. The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, looked at the use of medical...
Clinical overuse of marijuana is linked to a variety of complications after major elective surgery, including blood clots, stroke, breathing difficulties, kidney issues and even death, a new study found. The study, published in the journal JAMA Surgery, analyzed data...
The FDA and FTC issued a cease and desist to companies selling Delta-8 “edibles” deceptively packaged as name brand snacks, and experts warn of the dangers—like psychosis, loss of consciousness and death—ingesting Delta-8 poses for children. The FDA and FTC gave the...
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota signed a bill into law on Tuesday legalizing recreational marijuana use in the state. With Walz’s signature, Minnesota becomes the 23rd state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the third Midwestern state to do so. Under the...
A growing number of marijuana-adjacent products are hitting consumer markets in the United States. Among them is a synthetic cannabinoid known as THC-O. Here's what you should know about the newly popular cannabinoid.
The Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research at McMaster University is hosting their 5th Annual Innovations in the Science of Cannabis Conference on October 12th and 13th. The conference will provide the opportunity to learn about the current state...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded Weill Cornell Medicine a five-year, $11.6 million grant for research on a link between cannabis and the brains of those living with HIV. The project is the...
A study published in the journal Psychological Medicine provides new evidence that problematic cannabis use may lead to schizophrenia, particularly for young men who are heavy users. The research, likely the largest epidemiological investigation conducted to date that...
The same factors driving many health care disparities in the U.S. are also affecting who has access to cannabis for managing symptoms related to cancer treatment, according to a new study led by a University at Buffalo researcher. The findings published in the journal...
Smoking cigarettes has long been linked to peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition where the buildup of plaque narrows arteries and limits blood flow to the legs or arms. Now, a new study suggests that marijuana may have a similar impact, after finding that users...
The Governor of Arkansas has signed a bill to ban hemp-derived psychoactive cannabinoids, including delta-8 THC products. The bill prohibits the growth, processing, sale, transfer, or possession of hemp products containing certain hemp-derived psychoactive...
The Senate, in a rare move, considered - but ultimately opted against - whether to back cannabis research at the Veterans Affairs Department for generations of former troops who suffer from trauma, stress, chronic pain, and opioid addiction. Read the article here.
The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) awarded $20 million in research grants to 16 academic institutions. The funds will support scientific research on the impact of cannabis on the mental health of young people, novel cannabinoids like Delta-8 and...
All patients undergoing procedures requiring anesthesia should be asked about cannabis use, according to guidelines released by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA Pain Medicine). The first U.S. guidelines on cannabis use in relation to...
Raphael Mechoulam, a pioneering Israeli chemist who is credited with opening the field of cannabis science after identifying the structure and function of the key compounds of cannabis, died on March 9 at his home in Jerusalem. In his research at the Hebrew...
The American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), intends to publish a supplemental issue on emerging issues in cannabis surveillance and applied research. Research Articles and Brief Research...
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says that both cannabinoids delta-8 and -9 THC-O, which have been growing in popularity in recent years, are to be considered illegal controlled substances. DEA's position on the legal status of delta-8 and -9 THC-O came...
Oxford scientists are to launch a major global trial to investigate whether cannabidiol (CBD) can treat people with psychosis or psychotic symptoms. The international study will involve 35 centres, mainly in Europe and North America. It will be coordinated by the...
Using marijuana every day can raise a person’s risk of coronary artery disease, or CAD, by a third compared with those who never partake, a new study found. Study results suggest that daily cannabis users were 34% more likely to be diagnosed with coronary artery...
Bipartisan bills were introduced this month in both the Senate and House to explore the use of medicinal cannabis for veterans suffering from chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder. The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act, as both the Senate and House versions...
"The number of seniors visiting emergency rooms in California for cannabis-related issues is growing, according to new research. From 2005 to 2019, the state’s emergency departments saw a 1,804 percent relative increase in the rate of cannabis-related trips among...
"THC-O acetate products have recently become popular due to claims that they produce stronger psychoactive effects than traditional marijuana and uncertainty about their legal status in the United States. However, a new study published in the Journal of Medical...
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced final guidance that “outlines FDA’s current thinking on several topics relevant to clinical research related to the development of human drugs containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds.” Some of the most...
January 26, 2023 The Food and Drug Administration says there are too many unknowns about CBD products to regulate them as foods or supplements under the agency’s current structure and called on Congress to create new rules for the massive and growing market. Read the...
On December 2, President Joe Biden signed the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (MMCREA) into law. The bipartisan legislation will roll back federal restrictions on medical marijuana research and the cultivation of research-grade marijuana, as...
A new cannabis research center in Chicago will explore the effects of the plant and how best to manage the industry, officials announced Thursday. The Cannabis Research Institute is expected to do work on crop production, health benefits and risks, worker training...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reportedly planning to announce a regulatory framework for products like CBD that are derived from legal cannabis in the coming months amid concerns about product quality and safety. A statement issued by FDA Principal Deputy...
More than a quarter of U.S. adults suffering from chronic pain have turned to using cannabis to manage their discomfort, according to a new study published in JAMA Open Network. Researchers at Michigan Medicine surveyed 1,661 adults last spring with chronic pain who...
It was a mixed outcome for cannabis advocates as measures to legalize adult-use recreational marijuana passed in Maryland and Missouri but were soundly rejected in reliably red Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota. Read the article here.
The Senate passed a bill that will expand research into the potential medical benefits of marijuana and CBD. The Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act was passed through unanimous consent by a voice vote and will now head to President Biden’s desk...
The UC Riverside Center for Cannabinoid Rsearch (UCRCCR) is UCR's newest research center and will focus on collaborative studies aimed at improving our understanding of roles for the endocannabinoid system in health and disease, and the impact that cannabis use has on...
On October 21, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released a bulletin to Utah medical cannabis patients regarding the detection of synthetic cannabinoids in state-sponsored medical cannabis sales. The DHHS now requires that if a medical cannabis...
Some 120 brands are selling hemp-derived delta-9 THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, products online, according to an April study published by CBD Oracle, which reports on the industry. But others in the cannabis industry are concerned about the...
President Biden on Thursday pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and said his administration would review whether marijuana should still be in the same legal category as drugs like heroin and LSD. The pardons will clear...
Voters in November will decide whether recreational marijuana can be used legally in five states: Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota. As it stands, 19 states, two territories and D.C. have embraced marijuana legalization over the last decade,...
At least a dozen states have banned the hemp-derived drug, including Colorado, Montana, New York, and Oregon, which have legalized marijuana. But delta-8 manufacturers call the concerns unfounded and say they’re driven by marijuana businesses trying to protect their...
The FDA has appointed Norman Birenbaum to be the its senior public health advisor on cannabis research and regulatory actions, reported Inside Health Policy. This is the first time the FDA has hired a cannabis research and regulation advisor. Read the article here.
Medical cannabis could be a viable substitute for effective, but highly-addictive, opioids often used for pain relief, a new survey suggests, as researchers continue to explore the potential health benefits of cannabis amid a growing national opioid crisis. Of the...
Products made with a highly concentrated form of cannabis, known as dabs, are setting off alarm bells for physicians and a group of research scientists in the Pacific Northwest, who see the wide availability of dabs and other highly concentrated substances as a quiet...
Two Michigan universities and a California-based marijuana research group (MAPS: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) are using about $40 million in Michigan marijuana tax revenue to research the therapeutic effects of cannabis on veterans suffering...
As cannabidiol (CBD) use rises, high-quality randomized clinical trials are needed to determine if anti-inflammatory benefits of CBD for heart disease seen in preclinical data will work in a real-world setting, according to research presented at ACC Latin America...
Children whose mothers used cannabis after the fifth or sixth week of pregnancy may be more likely to develop mental health problems in early adolescence, a new study suggests. An analysis of data from more than 10,000 children aged 11 and 12 revealed that exposure...
People with chronic pain who use medical cannabis have a higher risk for heart rhythm disorders versus nonusers, according to a study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2022. The analysis included a cohort of patients with chronic pain who were...
Despite a lack of robust evidence, cannabinoids — such as CBD — are often assumed to be safe and effective in managing pain and used for such purposes in real-world settings. Now, nine new research awards totaling approximately $3 million will investigate the...
Federal support for cannabis research continues to rise. A first-of-its-kind “request for information” issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the latest example. It aims “to solicit information from the scientific research community about its interest in...
People in US states that legalized recreational cannabis use it 20% more frequently than those in states that didn't legalize it, a study published Thursday in the journal Addiction has suggested. The participants were surveyed pre- and post-2014 on how many days they...
More people in the U.S. are now smoking marijuana than cigarettes, according to a Gallup poll. Cigarette use has been trending downward during the past decades, with only 11% of Americans saying they smoke them whereas 16% of Americans say they smoke marijuana. Read...
Taking cannabidiol - the non-intoxicating component of cannabis better known as CBD - may curb the severity of chronic anxiety symptoms in young people, a new study found. Teens and young adults with treatment-resistant anxiety who were given a single daily CBD pill...
California employers could soon be barred in many cases from screening for marijuana use in hiring or firing people. State lawmakers on Tuesday sent Assembly Bill 2188 to Gov. Gavin Newsom. If he signs it into law, it would go into effect Jan. 1, 2024. AB 2188,...
A group of attorneys general, led by those in legal adult use cannabis states like California, New York, and Virginia, are urging Congress to address the risks that unregulated “copycat edibles” pose to children. The group is “gravely concerned about the dangers of...
Oregon is set to become the first state to ban synthetic cannabinoids sold at grocery stores and other retailers beginning next month. Oregon regulators say they’re restricting sale of the products over concerns about the chemicals used in production. But the move...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) seeks applications to develop and maintain a medicinal cannabis use registry to assess the medical conditions reported as reasons for using medicinal cannabis, how and what products are being used, and the associated medical...
Doctors and lawmakers in California want cannabis producers to warn consumers of the increased risk of psychiatric disorders and other health risks on their packaging labels and in advertising, similar to requirements for cigarettes. They also want sellers to...
About 60% of CBD products tested in the lab also contain THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical in pot that causes intoxication, researchers report in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Most products contained just trace amounts of THC, but those are enough...
The city council in Washington, D.C. unanimously passed a bill Tuesday that, if approved by Mayor Muriel Bowser, would stop employers from firing employees who fail marijuana drug tests. The bill, named the Cannabis Employment Protections Amendment Act of 2022, would...
A recent systematic review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that some cannabis products might help treat chronic pain in the short term. However, medical professionals need to weigh this against the potential drawbacks of increased dizziness and...
A California federal appeals court ruled last week that delta-8 THC and other cannabinoids derived from hemp are legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, even if the substances have psychoactive properties. In an opinion from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals quoted by cannabis...
Recreational marijuana is officially legal in Rhode Island, with adults over 21 now allowed to possess, use and grow cannabis. Gov. Dan McKee signed a bill into law Wednesday afternoon that legalizes the plant, expunges past convictions and sets up a new framework for...
Once a state legalizes recreational cannabis, residents are more likely to start using it, including those too young to do so legally, report researchers at University of California San Diego. The findings, published online in the May 26, 2022 issue of Addiction,...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to five companies for selling products labeled as containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC) in ways that violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). This action is the...
Smoking marijuana at least once a month is linked to an elevated risk of heart attack, according to a new study conducted among nearly 160,000 people in the U.K. The research, published Friday in the journal Cell, looked at more than 11,000 people between ages 40 and...
The NIH published a Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) this month to “promote research in understanding the mechanisms by which cannabis and cannabinoids affect cancer biology, cancer interception, cancer treatment and resistance, and management of cancer symptoms.”...
The National Cancer Institute published a Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) this month regarding its first-ever grants for the study of cannabis and tobacco co-use in an effort to ultimately “advance tobacco prevention.” The funding, $50,000 for one year, is meant to...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State marijuana regulators are changing the definition of THC -- the psychoactive substance in the drug that produces a “high” -- to include more cannabinoids, including those traditionally found in hemp. The new rule, which goes into effect May 2,...
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Andy Beshear cleared the way Tuesday for a cannabis research center to open as he reviews whether he has the executive authority to singlehandedly legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky. The governor revealed his action on a bill authorizing...
A tablet formulated with cannabidiol, or CBD, reduces pain after shoulder surgery, with no safety concerns, a study presented Friday during the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting found. The tablet, called Oravexx, developed by New Jersey-based life...
The House passed legislation on Friday to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act would remove marijuana from the federal government’s list of controlled substances, impose an 8 percent tax on...
A new study has found that secondhand cannabis smoke from bongs can be even more harmful than tobacco due to an increased concentration of fine particulate matter. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, who published their report on the Jama Open...
The U.S. Congress is poised to eliminate some obstacles for researchers trying to study the health effects of cannabis. Two bills, passed unanimously in the Senate on 24 March and by an 82% vote in the House of Representatives on 4 April, would ease storage rules,...
In September, a widely-covered study published in JAMA Network Open found that youth use declined after the passage of medical and adult use cannabis laws. But methodological concerns raised by researchers regarding the use of pooled and unweighted data from a...
The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations has requested for the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to allocate funds and resources toward the establishment of a regulatory framework for all cannabis derivatives, including cannabidiol (CBD). The “Cannabis and Cannabis Derivatives” section of the appropriations package states that
The Kentucky House endorsed legalizing medical marijuana, passing a bill Thursday to strictly regulate the use of cannabis for a list of eligible medical conditions. Under the bill, doctors could prescribe medical cannabis for a specified list of conditions that include
Obtaining a medical marijuana card may pose a risk for those who use cannabis products to treat pain, anxiety, or depression, according to a Massachusetts General Hospital study. In a significant minority of individuals, researchers found those at greatest risk of developing the addictive symptoms of cannabis use
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the lead federal agency supporting scientific research on drug use and its consequences, is promoting federally funded research in cannabis expressing interest in studies on differing cannabis regulatory models and...
Nicotine, generally found in tobacco cigarettes, is often the assumed substance of vaping. A recent study by Ruoyan Sun, assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Public Health, shows that 35 percent of 12- to 14-year-olds, 51.3...
Ohioans with autism would be able to use medical marijuana under a bill passed by the Ohio House Wednesday. House Bill 60 would add autism spectrum disorder to the list of qualifying conditions under Ohio’s medical cannabis program.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was associated with a reduction in self-reported cannabis use by up to 60 per cent among people with schizophrenia who have cannabis use disorder (CUD), according to a CAMH-led study just published in the journal NPJ Schizophrenia.
The National Football League is giving UC San Diego $500,000 to study whether cannabis can be effectively used to help athletes manage pain from injuries and to recover more quickly. The research will be done on professional rugby players and will involve...
Young adults hospitalized for a stroke are much more likely to be admitted for a recurrent stroke if they have cannabis use disorder (CUD), new observational research suggests. "Our analysis shows young marijuana users with a history of stroke or transient ischemic...
Despite the perception that marijuana is harmless, there is some scientific evidence challenging that belief, and there are many unanswered questions about its impact on brain health, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today...
The New Jersey State Policy Lab at Rutgers University has released a first-of-its-kind report examining health, education, and law enforcement factors related to marijuana usage. It’s intended to be used as a baseline to measure the impact of legalization and identify...
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