Systematically Testing the Evidence on Marijuana

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 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...

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...

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...

"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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

Cannabis use can “significantly” impair drivers for up to four hours after use, a new study revealed, stressing the urgency for a better understanding of the effects its use increases around the country. The randomized clinical trial of 191 regular cannabis users in...

The hazards of drunken driving are well known, and a new research review shows that adding pot to the mix only makes matters worse. The analysis of 57 past studies found that the combination of alcohol and marijuana compromised people's driving skills to a greater...

Patients with chronic pelvic pain, vulvodynia, endometriosis, or gynecologic malignancy may use THC, CBD, or a combination of both in an effort to treat their pain, research shows. A recent review in this area identified 16 studies published since 1990 that examined...

If taken in the right way and at the right amount, certain cannabis compounds might prevent or lessen the severity of COVID-19 infection, a pair of recently released studies suggests.

A recent Bloomberg article noted that "Cannabis compounds prevented the virus that causes Covid-19 from penetrating healthy human cells, according to a laboratory study published in the Journal of Nature Products."

On January 19, 2021, our lead PI, Dr. Devan Kansagara, joined OPB’s Think Out Loud to discuss the STEM project. You can listen to the session or read the related article on the OPB website.

The University of Mississippi announced Thursday, Jan. 20, the approval of a new center for medical cannabis research. The National Center for Cannabis Research and Education (NCCRE) will foster and conduct scientific research, data analysis, education and training on...

Some recreational pot shops are using tricks from the old playbooks of alcohol and tobacco companies to target underage users on social media, a new study reports. For the study, the researchers evaluated one year of publicly displayed posts on Facebook and Instagram...

Whole-plant cannabis is linked to a significant reduction in seizures in children with severe treatment-resistant epilepsy, early research suggests.

The findings of a new study suggest that cannabis decriminalization policy reduces the racial disparity in arrests for possession. The study, published in

Children of women who use marijuana during or soon after pregnancy are twice as likely as other kids to become anxious, aggressive or hyperactive, according to a new study.

At a time of increasing legalization of marijuana, a growing number of people under 50 diagnosed with cannabis use disorder were later hospitalized for a heart attack, new research has found.

Researchers at Colorado University will begin a first-of-its-kind study on how cannabis products affect exercise performance.

Teen vaping of marijuana doubled between 2013 and 2020, indicating that young people may be swapping out joints, pipes or bongs for vape pens, according to a new study.

Use of cannabis is common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), especially for the treatment of MS-related spasticity, new research suggests.

Forty-seven percent of US adults who use cannabis report medical reasons for use, and many obtain their information about medical cannabis from dispensaries. Merlin et al. report results of a study that surveyed 434 frontline cannabis dispensary workers...

The Washington State University board of regents has voted to approve the establishment of an official research center on cannabis. The newly named Center for Cannabis Policy, Research and Outreach will involve nearly 100 scientists and faculty working on a range of...

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have initiated the first placebo-controlled randomized trial investigating the efficacy of cannabis products for the treatment of acute migraine. Trial participants will be randomized into 4 study groups (placebo,...