Study: Medical Cannabis Treatment Reduces Daily Morphine Intake in Chronic Pain Patients
Pittsburgh, PA: The use of cannabis products is associated with a reduction in pain patients' daily consumption of opioids, according to data published in the journal Pain Physician.
A team of investigators affiliated with the Institute for Pain Medicine in Pennsylvania assessed opioid use trends in a cohort of 115 chronic pain patients who initiated medical cannabis therapy. Patients in the study suffered from intractable pain and had consumed opioids for a period of at least six-months. The majority of the study's participants were between 50 and 70 years of age.
Consistent with other studies, authors reported that patients reduced their daily morphine milligram equivalent (MME) intake after initiating cannabis therapy.
"There was a 67.1 percent average decrease in daily MME/patient from 49.9 to 16.4 MME at the first follow-up," they reported. "There was a 73.3 percent decrease in MME at the second follow-up from 49.9 to 13.3 MME."
Authors concluded: "The current study's approach has led to a significant decrement in chronic opioid use for the majority of patients with chronic pain deciding to trial medical cannabis in our clinical setting. ... Therefore, we present medical cannabis as an alternative, potentially effective, class of treatment."
Full text of the study, "Medical cannabis used as an alternative treatment for chronic pain demonstrates reduction in chronic opioid use - A prospective study," appears in Pain Physician.
Poll: Most Voters Lack Confidence that President Will Follow Through on Marijuana-Specific Campaign Pledges
Washington, DC: Most voters doubt that President Joe Biden will follow through on his campaign promises to reform federal marijuana laws, according to the results of a recently released Economist/YouGov poll.
On the campaign trail, Biden insisted, "No one should be in jail because of marijuana." He pledged, "As President, [I] will decriminalize cannabis use and automatically expunge prior convictions." Thus far, however, the White House has made almost no mention of the issue.
That fact has not gone unnoticed by voters. Fifty-six percent of those polled agreed that the President has made little or no progress on the issue, while 23 percent were unsure. Looking forward, an even greater majority said that they did not expect the President to take any substantive action on the issue in 2022.
Although the President cannot repeal the federal prohibition of marijuana by executive order, he can take steps unilaterally to follow through on several of his campaign promises – such as granting amnesty to those with federal convictions for certain marijuana-related crimes.
NORML has previously urged the White House to issue pardons for those convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses, as have several members of Congress.
"President Biden was crystal clear on the campaign trail that his administration would prioritize criminal justice reform, and he explicitly highlighted his desire to expunge the records of those suffering from the stigma of a federal marijuana conviction," NORML's Executive Director Erik Altieri said. "Following through on this campaign promise would be an important first step in remedying the past wrongs associated with nearly a century of marijuana prohibition and healing the wounds of the many Americans who have needlessly suffered under this failed public policy. In 2022, it is readily apparent that the criminalization of cannabis, and the lifelong lost opportunities that come with a criminal marijuana conviction, causes far greater harm than the responsible use of cannabis itself."
Clinical Trial: Cannabis-Infused Eye Drops Effectively Treat Rare Form of Dystonia
Tel Aviv, Israel: The administration of cannabis-infused eye drops reduces spasms in patients diagnosed with the progressive neurological disorder benign essential blepharospasm (BEB), according to placebo-controlled data published in the journal Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology. BEB is a rare type of dystonia that is characterized by the abnormal blinking or spasming of the eyelids.
A team of Israeli researchers compared cannabis-infused eye drops versus placebo in patients with BEB over a period of several weeks. Cannabis treatments were associated with significant reductions in the both the frequency and duration of patients' spasms.
Authors concluded, "Medical cannabis can be an effective and safe treatment for BEB as a second line after BTX-A injections when used for three months. No significant ocular or systemic side effects was associated with the treatment."
Full text of the study, "Medical cannabis oil for benign essential blepharospasm: A prospective, randomized controlled pilot study," appears in Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology.
Longitudinal Study: Cannabis' Impact on Lung Health Distinct from Tobacco
Dunedin, New Zealand: Smoking cannabis long-term is not associated with the same physiological consequences on lung health as is tobacco smoking, according to longitudinal data published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
A team of New Zealand researchers examined the long-term effects of cannabis smoking and/or tobacco smoking in a cohort of 881 middle-aged adults.
Consistent with prior studies, researchers reported that cannabis inhalation was associated with higher total lung capacity and other physiological changes that are distinct from the health consequences associated with tobacco smoking. Authors concluded, "[I]t is increasingly clear that cannabis has different effects on lung function [as compared] to tobacco and the effects of widespread cannabis use will not necessarily mirror the harms caused by tobacco smoking."
The findings are consistent with prior research concluding that cannabis smoke and tobacco smoke are not equally carcinogenic, that cannabis inhalation exposes consumers to fewer toxicants than does tobacco smoking, and that marijuana smoke exposure is typically not associated with the same health consequences as is tobacco smoking, including increased risks of COPD or lung cancer. Moreover, the use of vaporization technology, which heats herbal cannabis to a set temperature below the point of combustion, is associated with reduced exposure to toxic gasses and has been identified as a "safe and effective" cannabis delivery device in clinical trials.
Full text of the study, "Differential effects of cannabis and tobacco on lung function in mid-adult life," appears in theAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
New Hampshire: Supreme Courts Rules in Favor of Employment Protections for Medical Cannabis Patients
Concord, NH: Businesses are not permitted to terminate employees solely because of their off-the-job use of medical marijuana, according to a decision rendered by the state's Supreme Court.
Justices determined that those who participate in the state's medical cannabis access program qualify under the law as "individuals with a disability" and therefore employers must make "reasonable accommodations" for them. Justices ruled that providing the defendant with an exception to a company's marijuana drug testing policy was a reasonable accommodation. "We agree with the plaintiff that (the state anti-discrimination law) does not contain any language categorically excluding the use of therapeutic cannabis as an accommodation," justices ruled in an unanimous opinion.
Unlike the medical cannabis access laws of over a dozen states, New Hampshire's law does not explicitly protect qualified patients from workplace discrimination.
Henry Klementowicz, a senior staff attorney for the New Hampshire state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union said, "This Supreme Court ruling is a victory for the over ten thousand Granite Staters enrolled in the state's medical cannabis program who were at were at risk of experiencing employment discrimination due to their disability."
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