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Study: Cannabis Use Associated With Reduced Anxiety, Improved Sleep Quality in Older Adults Cannabis use is associated with short-term reductions in pain, depression, and anxiety, as well as with improved sleep quality the following night.
a graph line indicating a decrease overlaid on a background with a stethoscope, notepad, pen, and cannabis leaves Analysis: Cannabis-Related Hospitalizations Fall Among Underage Youth Following Adult-Use Legalization “The total effect, 3.5 years after legalization, was a 34 percent reduction in hospitalizations for those below relative to those above the minimum legal age,” investigators determined.
A senior woman reads the label on a cannabis CBD bottle Preclinical Data Finds “Compelling” Evidence That CBD Offers a “Comprehensive Treatment Approach” to Alzheimer’s Disease “These data present CBD as a potential target to combat not only molecular deficits in AD but also cognitive impairment,” the study’s authors concluded.
A voter in Nebraska casts a vote for marijuana Nebraska: Lawmakers Kill Bill Facilitating Voter-Approved Medical Cannabis Access The bill’s failure will likely delay patients’ ability to access cannabis products.
Study: Cannabis Use Associated With Reduced Anxiety, Improved Sleep Quality in Older Adults
Orlando, FL: Older adults’ use of cannabis is associated with reduced anxiety and improved sleep, according to data published in the journal Psychiatry.
Investigators affiliated with the University of Central Florida assessed the impact of cannabis use on anxiety, sleep quality, depression, and pain in a cohort of older (ages 55 to 74) medical cannabis consumers.
Researchers reported that cannabis use was associated with short-term reductions in pain, depression, and anxiety, as well as with improved sleep quality the following night. Subjects’ improved sleep was directly related to their reductions in anxiety, the study’s authors determined.
“These findings provide evidence of momentary improvements in pain, anxiety, depression, and indirect benefits for sleep quality,” they concluded. “The results of this study contribute to a growing body of research evaluating the utility of MC [medical cannabis] for older adults and serve to help inform moderate use guidelines for this population.”
Survey data provided by AARP reports that more than one in five older adults have consumed cannabis over the past year, with some two-thirds of older consumers acknowledging having used it “to improve or manage a physical health condition,” such as chronic pain, anxiety, or sleep disturbances. Industry-backed survey data finds that an estimated 16 percent of US adults say that they use cannabis products to help them sleep.
Full text of the study, “Impact of medical cannabis on anxiety and sleep quality in older adults,” appears in Psychiatry.
Analysis: Cannabis-Related Hospitalizations Fall Among Underage Youth Following Adult-Use Legalization
Ottawa, Canada: The legalization of the adult-use cannabis market in Canada resulted in a significant decline in the rate of underage youths requiring hospitalization for marijuana-related incidents, according to data published in the American Journal of Public Health.
Researchers affiliated with the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto assessed nationwide rates of cannabis-related hospitalizations among those ages 15 to 44 years old in the years immediately prior to and following legalization.
They reported that hospitalization rates increased by two percent annually among both underage youth and adults during the three years prior to legalization. Following legalization, hospitalization rates fell among underage youth, but not among adults.
“The total effect, 3.5 years after legalization, was a 34 percent reduction in hospitalizations for those below relative to those above the MLA [minimum legal age],” the study’s authors concluded. “The results suggest that cannabis legalization may … prevent such increases for at-risk young people in regions pursuing cannabis legalization.”
Survey data from Canada and the United States have consistently failed to identify an uptick in young people’s use of marijuana following legalization.
Full text of the study, “Minimum legal age of nonmedical cannabis purchase laws and cannabis-related hospitalizations in Canada, 2015-2022,” appears in the American Journal of Public Health.
Nebraska: Lawmakers Kill Bill Facilitating Voter-Approved Medical Cannabis Access
Lincoln, NE: State lawmakers killed legislation (LB 677) that sought to provide a regulatory framework for the production and dispensing of medical cannabis. Some 70 percent of Nebraskans approved a pair of ballot measures in November legalizing the use of medical cannabis by authorized patients.
Despite that public support, lawmakers filibustered the measure – which sought to facilitate the law’s implementation while also imposing various changes to its provisions. The failure of the bill will likely delay patients’ ability to access cannabis products. Regulations governing the law will now be left to members of a yet-to-be-appointed commission.
Numerous elected officials, including Republican Attorney General Mike Hilgers and U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts, have publicly opposed adopting the voter-approved law, and the AG is asking the state’s Supreme Court to nullify the election result.
Additional information is available from Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana.
Preclinical Data Finds “Compelling” Evidence That CBD Offers a “Comprehensive Treatment Approach” to Alzheimer’s Disease
Madrid, Spain: CBD treatment is neuroprotective and is associated with improved memory in preclinical models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to data published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy.
Spanish researchers assessed the impact of CBD in in vitro and in vivo models of AD. They reported that CBD reduces neuroinflammation, reduces the build-up of proteins associated with the onset of AD, significantly improves long-term and short-term spatial memory, and promotes neuronal repair and regeneration.
“These multifaceted effects of CBD, ranging from molecular-level modulation to behavioral improvements, underscore its potential as a comprehensive therapeutic approach for AD,” the study’s authors concluded. “These data present CBD as a potential target to combat not only molecular deficits in AD but also cognitive impairment, offering a promising therapeutic approach that could potentially slow disease progression and improve quality of life for AD patients.”
Full text of the study, “Cannabidiol as a multifaceted therapeutic agent: Mitigating Alzheimer’s disease pathology and enhancing cognitive function,” appears in Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy.
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