Study: Cannabis Products Associated with Quality of Life Improvements in Patients with Post-Traumatic Stress
London, United Kingdom: Patients with post-traumatic stress experience symptom improvements following the use of cannabis products, according to data published in the journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics.
British investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of cannabis products in 162 PTSD patients with a physician's authorization. Study subjects were participants in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. Study participants consumed either cannabis extracts or THC-dominant flowers for a period of six-months.
Authors reported that patients showed "statistically significant improvements" in a variety of domains, including sleep, anxiety, and stress. Self-reported adverse events were typically mild in severity.
"This observational study suggests an association between CBMP [cannabis-based medicinal products] treatment and improvement in PTSD-specific, HRQoL [health-related quality of life], sleep, and anxiety outcomes at up to 6-month follow-up," they concluded. "CBMPs were well-tolerated and adverse events manageable. … [T]his study can serve to inform future randomized placebo-controlled trials with the aim of confirming these promising effects, whilst informing current clinical practice."
Observational studies assessing the role of cannabinoids in mitigating symptoms of PTSD have generally yielded mixed results. A 2021 clinical trial reported that the inhalation of marijuana flowers provided limited benefits compared to placebo in treating symptoms of PTSD.
Full text of the study, "Assessment of clinical outcomes in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder: Analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry," appears in the journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics.
Analysis: Medical Cannabis Access Associated with Reduced Alcohol Sales
Ontario, Canada: The adoption of medical cannabis access in Canada was associated with reductions in alcohol sales, according to data published in the journal Health Policy.
A Canadian researcher evaluated the relationship between medical cannabis legalization and retail sales of alcohol in various regions of the country over an eight-year period.
The author determined: "This study found a significant negative association between legal medical cannabis sales and liquor store alcohol sales: each cannabis sales dollar was associated with an average alcohol sales reduction of between $0.74 and $0.84. The negative association was robust with respect to several alternative modeling choices."
He concluded, "From a public health perspective, the results likewise imply that reductions in alcohol-related health impacts might partly offset the increased cannabis-related health impacts that legalization might bring."
A 2017 analysis of US beverage sales identified a similar decline in alcohol sales following the adoption of statewide medical cannabis legalization laws, as did a 2021 assessment of Youth Risk Behavioral Survey data. By contrast, a more recent study evaluating the impact of adult-use legalization laws in the United States reported an association with increased alcohol use those age 21 and older.
Full text of the study, "Relationship between sales of legal cannabis and alcohol in Canada," appears in Health Policy.
Study: Consumption of Commercially Available CBD Products Associated with Perceived Improvements in Pain, Anxiety, Sleep, and Well-Being
Los Angeles, CA: Subjects who consume commercially available CBD products report improvements in their overall well-being as compared to those taking a placebo, according to data published in the journal Integrative Medicine Reports.
A team of investigators affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles and with the Scripps Institute assessed the health and safety of 13 commercially available CBD products in a cohort of over 2,800 participants. Subjects were randomly assigned to consume either CBD or a placebo for a period of 4 weeks.
Researchers reported: "Well-being, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and pain significantly improved among those assigned to take a CBD product relative to waitlist controls. Among those assigned to a CBD product, the percentage of individuals with a given condition who experienced an improvement which could be considered clinically meaningful or important was 46.6 percent for anxiety; 47.9 percent for sleep disturbance, and 35.2 percent for pain. … [A]ll products in the study exhibited a favorable safety profile; no severe side effects were reported."
They concluded: "Our results suggest that the commercially available CBD products included in this study are safe and may serve as potentially effective complementary therapies for management of anxiety, sleep disturbance, and pain. These effects appear independent of the prior CBD use and product spectrum."
Prior analyses of commercially available CBD products have raised concerns about their purity and potency. Survey data compiled by the National Consumers League in 2020 determined that more than eight in ten US voters desire greater federal regulatory oversight over the labeling and marketing of commercially available CBD products.
Full text of the study, "The safety and effectiveness of commercially available cannabidiol products for health and well-being: A randomized, multi-arm, open-label waitlist-controlled trial," appears in Integrative Medicine Reports.
Review: Evidence Lacking for Supposed Cannabis 'Hangover' Effect
New South Wales, Australia: The majority of available data fails to support claims that cannabis may potentially impact either cognitive function or subjects' performance of safety sensitive tasks 24 hours after consumption, according to a review of the scientific literature published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
A team of Australian researchers reviewed data from 20 studies involving 458 subjects. Selected studies assessed subjects' performance 12 to 24 hours following THC dosing.
Investigators failed to identify any evidence of so-called THC-specific "next-day effects" in 16 of the 20 studies reviewed.
They concluded: "A small number of lower-quality studies have observed negative (i.e., impairing) 'next day' effects of THC on cognitive function and safety-sensitive tasks. However, higher-quality studies, and a large majority of performance tests, have not. Overall, it appears that there is limited scientific evidence to support the assertion that cannabis use impairs 'next day' performance."
Authors further opined that the imposition of workplace drug testing policies that detect the long-term presence of cannabis metabolites and impose sanctions upon those who test positive for them are arguably not justified by the available data.
Full text of the study, "The 'next day' effects of cannabis use: A systematic review," appears in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
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