Weekly Stories, Studies, Surveys, Poll Results, Laws, etc.
Study: Using Cannabis Prior To Drinking Results in Significantly Less Alcohol Consumption
Fort Collins, CO: Subjects drink less alcohol and experience fewer alcohol cravings after consuming cannabis, according to data published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Researchers affiliated with Colorado State University assessed adults’ willingness to consume alcohol in a laboratory setting. Participants were offered drinks every fifteen minutes during a one-hour session. During visits where participants were permitted to consume cannabis before the session, subjects reduced their intake of alcoholic beverages by 25 percent.
Investigators reported: “We tested whether cannabis serves as a substitute for alcohol in a sample of community adults who drink heavily and use cannabis regularly. Consistent with our hypothesis, … self-administering cannabis before alcohol significantly reduced alcohol consumption compared to when alcohol was offered without cannabis. Furthermore, we found a trend toward an acute reduction in alcohol craving following cannabis and alcohol co-administration compared to alcohol administration alone, … suggesting that craving reduction may be a plausible mechanism through which cannabis substitution for alcohol could occur in some individuals.”
The study’s authors concluded, “[These findings] provide … support for the idea that legal-market cannabis can serve as substitute for alcohol among some individuals who engage in heavy drinking.”
According to survey data published in 2024 in The Harm Reduction Journal, 60 percent of cannabis consumers say that their cannabis use results in less frequent alcohol consumption.
Full text of the study, “Cannabis administration is associated with reduced alcohol consumption: Evidence from a novel laboratory co-administration paradigm,” appears in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Case Series: Insomnia Patients Report Improved Sleep Quality Following Cannabis Use
London, United Kingdom: Patients with insomnia report improvements in their sleep quality and reduced anxiety following their use of medical cannabis products, according to data published in the journal PLOS Mental Health.
British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) in 124 insomnia 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, 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months. Study participants primarily consumed THC-dominant herbal cannabis.
Investigators reported that cannabis use was associated with improved outcomes “across multiple metrics,” including better sleep quality, reduced anxiety, and improved health-related quality of life. Fewer than one in ten participants reported any adverse events from cannabis. The most frequently reported side effects were dry mouth and fatigue.
The study’s authors concluded: “This case series study investigated the outcomes of insomnia patients prescribed cannabis-based medicinal products over an 18-month period. The findings indicate a promising association between cannabis-based medicinal product treatment and improvements in sleep-specific outcomes and general HRQoL [health-related quality of life] measures. … These findings can be used to inform future RCTs [randomized controlled trials].”
Placebo-controlled clinical trial data have previously affirmed the efficacy of plant-derived cannabis extracts in patients with chronic insomnia. Separate data reports that nearly 40 percent of insomnia patients either reduce or eliminate their use of prescription sleep aids following their use of cannabis.
Other observational studies assessing the use of cannabis products among those enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry have reported them to be effective for patients diagnosed with treatment-resistant epilepsy, cancer-related pain, anxiety, fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, hypermobility disorders, depression, migraine, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, substance use disorders, and inflammatory arthritis, among other conditions.
Full text of the study, “UK Medical Cannabis Registry: A clinical outcomes analysis for insomnia,” appears in PLOS Mental Health.
Texas: Medical Cannabis Expansion Bill Takes Effect
Austin, TX: Legislation took effect Monday, expanding patients’ access to state-qualified medical cannabis products.
Under the law, patients diagnosed with chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and other newly eligible conditions may enroll in the Texas Compassionate Use Program and obtain state-licensed medical cannabis products.
The new law also expands the pool of cannabis products available for patients, including vaporizers, and it increases the total number of licensed dispensaries that can operate in the state from three to a total of fifteen.
According to data provided by the Texas Department of Safety, over 116,000 patients participate in the Compassionate Use Program.
Delaware: Governor Vetoes Measure That Sought To Relax Cannabis Zoning Restrictions
Dover, DE: Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer vetoed legislation last week (Senate Bill 75) that sought to loosen local zoning restrictions limiting where licensed adult-use cannabis retailers can operate.
The bill would have imposed statewide rules explicitly permitting retailers to operate within 500 feet “of a place of worship, school, licensed child-care, residential treatment facility, park, or library,” and/or “within a one-half mile of another retail marijuana store.” The bill was introduced in response to some municipal lawmakers enacting more restrictive zoning laws, effectively imposing local bans on marijuana retailers.
In his veto message, Gov. Meyer said, “While I fully support the goals of implementing a safe, equitable, and accessible adult-use cannabis market in Delaware, displacing local land use authority without offering any corresponding partnership or support is not how we build durable, effective policy or trust.”
State lawmakers approved legislation legalizing the adult-use marijuana market in April 2023, but retail sales did not begin until last month. Currently, consumers are only able to purchase cannabis at approximately a dozen retail locations — all of which are existing medical cannabis dispensaries that received ‘conversion licenses’ to sell to patients and adults. Proponents of SB 75 say that the Governor’s veto will further delay consumers from gaining access to state-licensed marijuana products.
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