Cannabis Policy Impacts Public Health and Health Equity (2024)

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More than half of all U.S. states have legalized cannabis,2 fueled by therapeutic use, social acceptance, a desire for relaxed drug policies, enforcement skepticism, potential tax revenues, and racial justice concerns. The commercial markets created by state legalization require the development
of complex policies—surrounding cultivation, processing and manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and sales—to promote public health and health equity. Because cannabis is illegal federally, the federal government has had minimal involvement in cannabis policies within the states. The limited
federal guidance on cannabis has focused on its sale—not on public health.Further, federal policies have complicated the efforts of state governments to develop cannabis policies that protect public health. These federal policies include the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act (2018 Farm Bill), which
removed hemp and other cannabinoids from the Controlled Substances Act, creating a lucrative industry for intoxicating cannabis products designated legally as hemp.3 Public health leadership on cannabis policy is needed, not just in those states with legalized cannabis but nationwide.

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RTHC improves behavioural schizophrenia-like deficits that CBD fails to overcome: a comprehensive multilevel approach using the Poly I:C maternal immune activation

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Prenatal infections and cannabis use during adolescence are well-recognized risk factors for schizophrenia. As inflammation and oxidative stress (OS) contribute to this disorder, anti-inflammatory drugs have been proposed as potential therapies. This study aimed to evaluate the association between delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and schizophrenia-like abnormalities in a maternal immune activation (MIA) model. Additionally, we assessed the preventive effect of cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic/anti-inflammatory cannabinoid.

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ROLE OF IMMUNE CELLS IN POSTOPERATIVE PAIN IN THE MOUSE

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More than half of the patients who undergo surgery experience pain despite analgesic treatment. Therefore, new strategies for the treatment of postoperative pain are needed. Since laparotomy is common in abdominal surgeries, studying laparotomy-induced pain in mice could provide valuable insights. We used female CD-1 mice. Laparotomy consisted of a 1.5 cm horizontal incision to gain access to the abdominal cavity. We studied three aspects of postoperative pain: movement-induced pain using infrared actimetry; pain at rest, analysing the facial expres- sions of the mice using artificial intelligence, and sensory hypersen- sitivity using the vonFrey test. We also studied the recruitment of immune cells to the surgical wound using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS).

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Cannabis containing equivalent concentrations of delta‐9‐tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) induces less state anxiety than THC‐dominant cannabis

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Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active component of cannabis, can cause anxiety in some users during intoxication. Cannabidiol (CBD), another constituent of cannabis, has anxiolytic properties suggesting that cannabis products containing CBD in addition to THC may produce less anxiety than THC-only products. Findings to date around this issue have been inconclusive and could conceivably depend on moderating factors such as baseline anxiety levels in users.

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Cannabidiol does not attenuate acute delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol-induced attentional bias in healthy volunteers: A randomised, double-blind, cross-over study

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To test how attentional bias and explicit liking are influenced by delta- 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and whether these effects are moderated by cannabidiol (CBD).Across four sessions, participants inhaled vaporised cannabis containing 10 mg of THC and either 0 mg (0:1 CBD:THC), 10 mg (1:1), 20 mg (2:1) or 30 mg (3:1) of CBD, administered in a randomised order and counter-balanced across participants (a total of 24 order groups).

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Speakers (2024)

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speakers-2024

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Cannabinoid Therapy in Athletics: A Review of Current Cannabis Research to Evaluate Potential Real‐World Cannabinoid Applications in Sport

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The increasing legalization of Cannabis sativa plant products has sparked growing interest in their therapeutic applications. Prohibition laws established in 1937 hindered formal research on cannabis, a plant with cultural and medicinal roots dating back to 2700 BC in Chinese history. Despite regulatory hurdles, published research on cannabis has emerged; yet elite ath- letes remain an underrepresented population in these studies. Athletes, known for exploring diverse substances to optimize performance, are drawn to the potential benefits of cannabinoid therapy, with anecdotal reports suggesting positive effects on issues ranging from anxiety to brain injuries. This review aims to evaluate empirical published cannabis research with a specific focus on its potential applications in athletics. T

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“I still partly think this is bullshit”: A qualitative analysis of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome perceptions among people with chronic cannabis use and cyclic vomiting

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Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of death by cancer among women worldwide. The prognosis of the disease and patients’ response to different types of therapies varies in different subgroups of this heterogeneous disease. The subgroups are based on histological and molecular characteristics of the tumor, especially the expression of estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Hormone-dependent breast cancer, determined predominantly by the presence of ER, is the most common type of breast cancer. Patients with hormone-dependent breast cancer have an available targeted therapy, however, tumor cells can develop resistance to the therapy, which is a major obstacle limiting the success of treatment and enabling relapse to metastatic disease. …

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A Rare Case of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Secondary to Cannabidiol for Refractory Epilepsy

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Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of death by cancer among women worldwide. The prognosis of the disease and patients’ response to different types of therapies varies in different subgroups of this heterogeneous disease. The subgroups are based on histological and molecular characteristics of the tumor, especially the expression of estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Hormone-dependent breast cancer, determined predominantly by the presence of ER, is the most common type of breast cancer. Patients with hormone-dependent breast cancer have an available targeted therapy, however, tumor cells can develop resistance to the therapy, which is a major obstacle limiting the success of treatment and enabling relapse to metastatic disease. …

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Meta-analysis of the Therapeutic Impact of Cannabinoids in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of death by cancer among women worldwide. The prognosis of the disease and patients’ response to different types of therapies varies in different subgroups of this heterogeneous disease. The subgroups are based on histological and molecular characteristics of the tumor, especially the expression of estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Hormone-dependent breast cancer, determined predominantly by the presence of ER, is the most common type of breast cancer. Patients with hormone-dependent breast cancer have an available targeted therapy, however, tumor cells can develop resistance to the therapy, which is a major obstacle limiting the success of treatment and enabling relapse to metastatic disease. …

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Heterogeneity in hormone-dependent breast cancer and therapy: Steroid hormones, HER2, melanoma antigens, and cannabinoid receptors

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Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of death by cancer among women worldwide. The prognosis of the disease and patients’ response to different types of therapies varies in different subgroups of this heterogeneous disease. The subgroups are based on histological and molecular characteristics of the tumor, especially the expression of estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Hormone-dependent breast cancer, determined predominantly by the presence of ER, is the most common type of breast cancer. Patients with hormone-dependent breast cancer have an available targeted therapy, however, tumor cells can develop resistance to the therapy, which is a major obstacle limiting the success of treatment and enabling relapse to metastatic disease. …

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Impact of Low-Dose Dronabinol Therapy on Cognitive Function in Cancer Patients Receiving Palliative Care: A Case-Series Intervention Study

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Among treatments for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP), cannabinoid-based medicines (CBMs) have become extremely popular. Evidence remains modest and limited primarily to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for neuropathic pain; nevertheless, the use of various CBMs, including cannabidiol (CBD) to treat neuropathic, nociceptive, and mixed pain has increased globally. This observational case-series assessed the impact of CBMs as a complementary treatment by pain mechanism and cannabinoid profile over three months.

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