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The Potential of Cannabidiol Treatment for Cannabis Users With Recent-Onset Psychosis.

Authors: Britta Hahn
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13 January 2018

A major factor associated with poor prognostic outcome after a first psychotic break is cannabis misuse, which is prevalent in schizophrenia and particularly common in individuals with recent-onset psychosis. Behavioral interventions aimed at reducing cannabis use have been un…

Effects of Marijuana on Mental Health: Depression.

Authors: Susan A. Stoner
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, June 2017

THC and CBD appear to have antidepressant-like effects in animal models at certain doses but not others. Marijuana has been associated with diminished motivation, but a distinct “cannabis amotivational syndrome” has yet to be substantiated. Studies looking at whether marijuana…

The effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol on the dopamine system.

Authors: Michael A. P. Bloomfield, Abhishekh H. Ashok, Nora D. Volkow, Oliver D. Howes
Nature, 17 November 2016

The effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, are a pressing concern for global mental health. Patterns of cannabis use are changing drastically owing to legalization, the availability of synthetic analogues (commonly termed spice)…

Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency Reconsidered: Current Research Supports the Theory in Migraine, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel, and Other Treatment-Resistant Syndromes.

Authors: Ethan B. Russo
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 1 July 2016

Medicine continues to struggle in its approaches to numerous common subjective pain syndromes that lack objective signs and remain treatment resistant. Foremost among these are migraine, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome, disorders that may overlap in their affected p…

Does Cannabis Cause, Exacerbate or Ameliorate Psychiatric Disorders? An Oversimplified Debate Discussed.

Authors: Margaret Haney, A. Eden Evins
Neuropsychopharmacology, January 2016

There have been extensive policy shifts in the legality of recreational and therapeutic use of cannabis in the United States, as well as a steady increase in the number of people using the drug on a regular basis. Given these rapid societal changes, defining what is known scie…

Use and effects of cannabinoids in military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Authors: Kevin Betthauser, Jeffrey Pilz, Laura E. Vollmer
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 1 August 2015

PURPOSE: Published evidence regarding the use of cannabis and cannabis derivatives by military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is reviewed. SUMMARY: When inhaled or delivered orally or transdermally, cannabinoids (the psychoactive components of unrefined mar…

Psychotic experiences are linked to cannabis use in adolescents in the community because of common underlying environmental risk factors.

Authors: Sania Shakoor, Helena M.S. Zavos, Philip McGuire, Alastair G. Cardno, et al
Psychiatry Research, 30 June 2015

Cannabis users are more likely to have psychotic experiences (PEs). The degree to which these associations are driven by genetic or environmental influences in adolescence is unknown. This study estimated the genetic and environmental contributions to the relationship between…

Cannabinoids for Medical Use: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Authors: Penny F. Whiting, Robert F. Wolff, Sohan Deshpande, Marcello Di Nisio, Steven Duffy, et al
JAMA, 23 June 2015

IMPORTANCE: Cannabis and cannabinoid drugs are widely used to treat disease or alleviate symptoms, but their efficacy for specific indications is not clear. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a systematic review of the benefits and adverse events (AEs) of cannabinoids. DATA SOURCES: Twenty…

Controlled Cannabis Vaporizer Administration: Blood and Plasma Cannabinoids with and without Alcohol.

Authors: Rebecca L. Hartman, Timothy L. Brown, Gary Milavetz, Andrew Spurgin, et al
Clinical Chemistry, June 2015

BACKGROUND: Increased medical and legal cannabis intake is accompanied by greater use of cannabis vaporization and more cases of driving under the influence of cannabis. Although simultaneous Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and alcohol use is frequent, potential pharmacokineti…

Use of Prescription Pain Medications Among Medical Cannabis Patients

Authors: Brian E. Perron, Kipling Bohnert, Angela K. Perone, Marcel O. Bonn-Miller, Mark Ilgen
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, May 2015

OBJECTIVE: Management of chronic pain is one of the most common reasons given by individuals seeking medical cannabis. However, very little information exists about the concurrent use of cannabis and prescription pain medication (PPM). This study fills this gap in knowledge by…

Proportion of patients in south London with first-episode psychosis attributable to use of high potency cannabis: a case-control study.

Authors: Marta Di Forti, Arianna Marconi, Elena Carra, Sara Fraietta, Antonella Trotta, Matteo Bonomo, et al
The Lancet Psychiatry, March 2015

BACKGROUND: The risk of individuals having adverse effects from drug use (eg, alcohol) generally depends on the frequency of use and potency of the drug used. We aimed to investigate how frequent use of skunk-like (high-potency) cannabis in south London affected the associatio…

Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: an integrative analysis.

Authors: Edmund Silins, L. John Horwood, George C. Patton, David M. Fergusson, Craig A. Olsson, et al
The Lancet Psychiatry, September 2014

BACKGROUND: Debate continues about the consequences of adolescent cannabis use. Existing data are limited in statistical power to examine rarer outcomes and less common, heavier patterns of cannabis use than those already investigated; furthermore, evidence has a piecemeal app…