Weekly Stories, Studies, Surveys, Poll Results, Laws, etc.
Study: Cannabis Treatment Provides Sustained Relief for Patients With Fibromyalgia
London, United Kingdom: Patients with fibromyalgia (FM) report sustained improvements in their health-related quality of life following the use of medical cannabis preparations, according to observational data published in the journal Clinical Rheumatology.
British investigators assessed the adjunctive use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) in a cohort of 497 FM patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. (British health care providers may prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Patients’ outcomes were assessed at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months. Study participants consumed either herbal cannabis or oil extracts containing standardized concentrations of THC and CBD.
Consistent with previous studies, patients reported long-term improvements in their pain, anxiety, sleep, and overall quality of life following cannabis treatment. Participants who consumed formulations containing greater concentrations of CBD were most likely to report symptom relief.
“CBMPs were associated with improvements in all PROMs [patient-reported outcome measures], fibromyalgia-specific and general-health related, from baseline to all follow-up measures at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months,” the study’s authors concluded. “More randomized controlled trials are warranted, but this large analysis provides real-world data to inform their conduct.”
Other observational studies assessing the use of cannabis products among patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry have reported them to be beneficial for those diagnosed with treatment-resistant epilepsy, cancer-related pain, anxiety, endometriosis, inflammatory bowel disease, hypermobility disorders, depression, migraine, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, substance use disorders, insomnia, and inflammatory arthritis, among other conditions.
Full text of the study, “UK Medicinal Cannabis Registry: A case series analyzing clinical outcomes of medicinal cannabis therapy for fibromyalgia,” appears in Clinical Rheumatology.
Analysis: Cannabis Use Not Linked to Suicide in High-Risk Individuals
Boulder, CO: Cannabis use is not associated with an increased risk of later life suicidality in high-risk young adults, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Addictive Behaviors Reports.
Investigators affiliated with the University of Colorado at Boulder assessed the relationship between substance use and suicidality in a cohort of high-risk adolescent siblings. Study participants were assessed at age 17 and again at ages 24 and 30.
“There was little evidence of an association between suicidality and any substance use examined in the present study, with the possible exception of tobacco use,” the study’s authors concluded. “Cannabis use did not show a consistent association with cross-sectional or later life suicidality in this high-risk sample.”
Separate data published earlier this year reported no increase in “emergency department presentations for suicidal ideation and attempts” in Canada following adult-use cannabis legalization.
Research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that “suicide rates among older age groups declined [in the United States] following the opening of recreational marijuana dispensaries.”
Full text of the study, “Associations between cannabis use frequency and suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A clinical longitudinal sibling study,” appears in Addictive Behavior Reports.
SCOTUS: Justices Refuse To Hear Case Challenging Federal Cannabis Prohibition
Washington, DC: Judges on the US Supreme Court have declined to take up a lower court case challenging the constitutionality of federal marijuana prohibition.
Petitioners argued that Congress’ reliance on the Commerce Clause of the Fifth Amendment to prohibit the trafficking of state-legal cannabis products exceeds its constitutional authority. Lower courts had rejected petitioners’ arguments and justices on the Supreme Court refused to grant certiorari.
The Supreme Court previously upheld the constitutionality of federal cannabis prohibition in 2005 in the case Gonzalez v. Raich. However, in 2021, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas opined that the Court ought to revisit that decision because federal policies [since then] have greatly undermined [the Court’s] reasoning.”
NORML had previously raised similar arguments in the federal case US v. Schweder et al. However, the judge in that case ultimately determined that Congress’ decision to criminalize marijuana was not without a “rational basis.”
“At some point in time, a court may decide this status to be unconstitutional,” the judge ruled. “But this is not the court and not the time.”
Washington, DC: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) have reintroduced legislation, the Marijuana in Federally Assisted Housing Parity Act, permitting residents in federally assisted housing to consume cannabis products in compliance with their state’s marijuana laws.
Federal law currently allows the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to remove residents from public housing and Section 8 housing if a tenant has engaged in the use of a controlled substance while on the premises, “including [the use of] state legalized medical marijuana.”
Speaking in support of the legislation, Congresswoman Holmes Norton said: “Individuals living in federally funded housing should not fear eviction simply for treating their medical conditions or for seeking a substance legal in their state. Increasingly, Americans are changing their views on marijuana, and it is time that Congress caught up with its own constituents. With so many states improving their laws, this issue should have broad bipartisan appeal because it protects states’ rights.”
NORML’s Political Director Morgan Fox, who is working with lawmakers to promote the bill, added, “At a time when affording a home or rent is becoming significantly more difficult and states are increasingly criminalizing being unhoused, it is outrageous to deny people access to public housing for responsibly using a substance that is legal in some form in most of the country. This outdated federal policy is particularly cruel when applied to medical cannabis patients, who are often forced to choose between their health and basic shelter. NORML is proud to endorse this legislation to stop housing discrimination against vulnerable Americans who consume cannabis in compliance with state laws.”
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