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Hamilton, Canada: The adoption of cannabis legalization in Canada has not been associated with significant upticks in either marijuana use by young people or in the percentage of people experiencing adverse cannabis-related consequences, according to longitudinal data published in the journal JAMA Open Network.

A team of investigators from Canada and the United States assessed cannabis consumption trends in a cohort of at-risk young adults (ages 19 to 23) during the years immediately preceding and following legalization. Canada legalized the use and retail sale of marijuana products to those ages 18 and older in 2018.

Researchers reported, “Individuals who used cannabis more frequently pre-legalization significantly decreased their use and cannabis-related consequences post-legalization.” By contrast, those who had no history of cannabis use prior to legalization typically reported engaging in the limited use of marijuana use following legalization. However, this use was not associated with adverse consequences.

Authors concluded: “This study examined changes in cannabis use and consequences following recreational cannabis legalization in Canada in a sample of high-risk young adults, addressing the common concern that legalization may precipitate increases in use, particularly in this age group. Rather than detecting increases, however, the results revealed decreases overall, which is broadly consistent with substance use trajectories that might be expected among this age group in the absence of any policy change. … This study aligns with research from US jurisdictions which have largely found that legalization has not drastically altered consumption patterns among youths and young adults.”

State and federal data from the United States consistently has reported overall declines in self-reported marijuana use by young people over the past decade. During that time, nearly half of all states have adopted adult-use marijuana legalization.

Full text of the study, “Cannabis use frequency and cannabis-related consequences in high-risk young adults across cannabis legalization,” appears in JAMA Network Open.

Studies: One in Six Cancer Patients Report Using Cannabis for Symptom Management

Columbus, OH: Some 15 percent of cancer patients acknowledge consuming cannabis for symptom management, according to a pair of recent surveys.

The first study, published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics, surveyed nearly 2,500 patients receiving radiation for breast cancer. Fifteen percent of subjects acknowledged having used cannabis within the past 30 days. Patients most frequently endorsed using cannabis to treat insomnia, anxiety, and pain.

The second study, published in the journal Cancer Research Communications, surveyed 934 patients diagnosed with a variety of cancers. Just over 15 percent of respondents identified as current cannabis consumers. Patients most frequently reported consuming cannabis to mitigate pain, stress, and nausea, as well as to improve sleep and appetite. Cancer patients reported “moderate-high perceived effectiveness of cannabis-product use for symptom management.”

Authors of the study concluded, “Clinicians should be aware that a substantial percentage of patients with cancer are using cannabis products and report experiencing symptom relief with its use.”

The surveys’ findings are consistent with those of other studies concluding that cancer patients often turn to cannabis to alleviate their symptoms. However, despite the growing use of marijuana among cancer patients, most oncologists report receiving no “formal training regarding medical cannabis.”

Full text of the study, “Cannabis use patterns among patients with early-stage breast cancer in a large multicenter cohort from a state with legalized adult non-medical cannabis,” appears in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics. Full text of the second study, “Marijuana and cannabidiol use prevalence and symptom management among patients with cancer,” appears in Cancer Research Communications.

Analysis: Most MS Patients Experience Less Spasticity Following Cannabis Treatment

Catania, Italy: Some 80 percent of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients suffering from severe spasticity experience dramatic reductions in their symptoms following treatment with a proprietary cannabis spray (aka Sativex) containing near equal rations of THC and CBD, according to an analysis of clinical trial data published in the journal Therapeutic Advancements in Neurological Disorders.

A team of Italian researchers analyzed trial data from three studies involving over 2,300 patients. They reported, “In all three studies, over 80 percent of assessed patients with severe spasticity at baseline reported a shift into a lower category of spasticity after 12 weeks.” This shift was most dramatic in those patients suffering from “severe spasticity” at baseline.

Sativex is available as a prescription medication in a number of countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It is not approved for treatment in the United States. A separate cannabis extract drug, Epidiolex, which primarily contains CBD, is FDA-approved for the treatment of pediatric seizures.

Full text of the study, “A post hoc evaluation of the shift in spasticity in individuals with multiple sclerosis-related spasticity treated with nabiximols,” appears in Therapeutic Advancements in Neurological Disorders.

Analysis: Drug Sniffing Dogs Typically False Alert

Sydney, Australia: Drug sniffing dogs provide false alerts approximately seventy-five percent of the time, according to an analysis of ten years of data recently provided to members of the Australian Parliament.

The analysis reviewed over 94,000 searches. The overwhelming majority of those searches failed to identify the presence of illegal substances.

According to reporting in The Sydney Morning Herald, “The worst year for drug-detection dogs was 2014, when only 21 percent of the 14,213 searches resulted in illicit drugs being found; the best was two years later in 2016, where 32.5 percent of the 8746 searches were accurate.”

The findings of the analysis are consistent with those of prior studies. An analysis conducted by reporters at The Chicago Tribune similarly reported that drug sniffing dogs false-alerted over half of time, and that they were most likely to do so in instances where the suspect was Latino. Another study, this one published in the journal Animal Cognition, reported that drug dogs frequently falsely alert when their handlers perceive that illicit substances are present. “Handler beliefs affect outcomes of scent detection dog deployments,” the study’s authors concluded.

Nonetheless, the US Supreme Court has previously ruled that an alert from a police dog during a traffic stop provides a constitutional basis for law enforcement to search the interior of the vehicle.