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WeCare-MedicalCannabis’ A Comprehensive Resource for Medical Cannabis Education is Now Available in English, German, French, and Portuguese

 Tilray Brands, Inc. ("Tilray" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: TLRY; TSX: TLRY), a leading global cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company inspiring and empowering the worldwide community to live their very best life, today announced that its medical cannabis division, Tilray Medical, launched a new cannabis education platform, WeCare-MedicalCannabis, dedicated to providing resources and educating healthcare practitioners and patients about medical cannabis.

WeCare-MedicalCannabis provides science and research-based cannabis content tailored to healthcare professionals, caregivers, and patients to help them make informed decisions about medicinal cannabis and assists them along their path to discovering how medicinal cannabis can support daily wellness and health. Designed to serve as a one-stop, comprehensive resource on medical cannabis insights, WeCare-MedicalCannabis is now available in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Portugal.

Sascha Mielcarek, Managing Director, Tilray Europe, said, “As global pioneers in medical cannabis, we are aware of the lack of access to science-based, medical cannabis education. WeCare-MedicalCannabis was created to bridge that gap and help provide the needed resources to helping patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals with the information they need to make informed decisions on medicinal cannabis. As cannabis legalization continues to expand across Europe, Tilray Medical is dedicated to help provide informed and trusted guidance for those interested in learning more about medical cannabis.”

Tilray Medical continues to work with leading patient associations and physician societies, providing value to those impacted by changes within the medical landscape, and who serve at the forefront of global health initiatives. By providing access to educational platforms such as WeCare-MedicalCannabis, Tilray Medical continues to open and expand its world of wellbeing.

No, you can’t make up for your bad eating habits just by working out. Here’s what a new study says will actually work.

New research highlights a sad reality — no matter how much you work out or how healthy you eat, a longer life will only occur if you do both of these things together.

The large study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and counters the popular belief that working out eliminates some of the risks of eating an unhealthy diet or that eating healthy things counteracts staying in bed all day.

Researchers had a lot of data at their disposal, allowing them to publish a study that was thorough and that shed some light on a lot of issues. The data belonged to UK Biobank and came from over 350,000 people with a median age of 57, who filled out questionnaires about their diets and habits. At the start of the study, participants were healthy.

The study made some expected discoveries, like learning that participants who eat healthily and work out often had a lower mortality risk. Still, results highlighted that a healthy diet and frequent exercise were important independently.

“Physical activity is important. And whatever your physical activity is, diet is important,” said Dr. Melody Ding, lead author of the study.

The new phase 2b trial expands on successful phase 2a findings, in which treatment with SCI-110 resulted in a 21% reduction in tics across a cohort of adults with Tourette syndrome.

SciSparc, a pharmaceutical company in development of central nervous system therapies, has begun the process of submitting an investigational new drug application (IND) for a phase 2b trial to evaluate their cannabis-derived agent SCI-110 in patients with Tourette Syndrome (TS). As part of the submission, the company is looking to expand the trial and include a site in the US.

The newly announced phase 2b trial stems from results of a previously conducted phase 2a trial, which showed that treatment using SCI-110 led to a 21% reduction of tic symptoms across a sample of patients with medically refractory TS. Additionally, the agent was proven to be safe, with no concerning AEs, and improved patients’ tic symptoms over time on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale.

The news stems weeks after the company announced that it successfully completed the development of the formulation to be used in the multinational phase 2b study,2 along with news from January 2022 that they entered agreements to test the drug at 2 clinical trial sites in Hannover, Germany, and Tel-Aviv, Israel.3 SCI-110, currently in development for other indications, such as obstructive sleep apnea and Alzheimer disease (AD) agitation, contains a combination of dronabinol, an FDA-approved synthetic form of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), with endocannabinoid palmitoylethanolamide (PEA).

The new multinational, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial will evaluate the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of the agent in a cohort of adults aged 18 to 65 years with TS. Patients will be randomly assigned 1:1 to either study drug or placebo and evaluated on tic severity change at end points of week 12 and week 26 using commonly frequented measures. Additionally, the primary safety objective of the trial will be to assess absolute and relative frequencies of serious adverse events (AEs) for the entire population and separately for the SCI-110 and placebo groups.

"We are very excited about expanding our clinical sites to the US, especially after positive results obtained in a clinical trial led by professor Bloch MD, MS, an associate Professor in the Child Trial Center at Yale University, using our proprietary drug candidate," Adi Zuloff-Shani, chief technologies officer, SciSparc, said in a statement.

Further testing on pesticides used to cultivate marijuana is one way to ensure all the consumers are safe from harmful chemicals.

As Rhode Island gears up for its recreational sales debut this December, it now requires all of its cannabis pass pesticide testing. This process is common, as nearly all legal states have some form of pesticide testing in place. With cannabis being illegal on a federal level, however, one is left to question exactly how rigorous this testing is.

In fact, since marijuana is not technically a food product or controlled at all by any federal body, one has to wonder exactly what type of pesticides we might be consuming with our recreational, and even medical marijuana. The answer, just like with marijuana policy in general, is that it varies significantly from state to state.

Arizona is a good example of how some states are handling pesticide oversight. The state of Arizona determined that testing for pesticides in marijuana was essential before it is placed on shelves, “but unlike other states, regulators here don’t do their own testing to ensure they are safe,” wrote AZ Central. The state has a third party test its marijuana, which puts full faith in this outside company to provide accurate and reliable information. This is not an uncommon practice since marijuana policy is still enjoying its “Wild West” phase in many newly-legal states.

The fact is, pesticide testing varies significantly from state to state. In a2021 study, “six states imposed the strictest U.S. EPA tolerances (i.e. maximum residue levels) for food commodities on up to 400 pesticidal active ingredients in cannabis, while pesticide testing was optional in three states.” The study found that the action levels of regulated pesticides were very different depending on what jurisdiction it came from. 

The main reason for this inconsistency is due to the fact that the main agency that regulates and monitors pesticide use in the US is currently not at all involved in regulating marijuana pesticides. According to the EPA, they have not registered any pesticides for marijuana. This is because as a federal organization they cannot make policy for a substance that is deemed a Schedule 1 drug. Instead, the responsibility and authority is left to the states that have legalized marijuana.

CBD is a natural way to treat a range of health issues and can have a positive impact on our overall health and wellbeing. It can help with illness and injuries that cause pain and discomfort. It can also help with skin conditions like acne and eczema and can alleviate symptoms we may suffer caused by low mood and bad mental health. There is a product to suit everyone, from CBD softgels to oils, capsules, and gummies. Below, we’ll look at how adding CBD to your daily routine can help you overcome common health issues.

What is CBD?

CBD is extracted from the cannabis plant to make an all-natural substance, that is often used to boost health and well-being. Although it is produced within the cannabis plant, you won’t experience the common ‘high’ feeling associated with the drug, as this is produced by a separate chemical called THC – there should be no THC present in your CBD products. CBD can be mixed with other natural substances to make an oil to be taken orally, or you may also find it in the form of infused creams and lotions, capsules, gummies and even bath bombs – there is something to suit everyone!

How does it work?

CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid systems within our body. These symptoms are made up of receptors – CBD works with them and changes the way that they react to pain, and in turn, creates an anti-inflammatory effect, which is why CBD is commonly used to treat pain caused by chronic illness and injuries. It can also interact with the production of serotonin in our brain, which is the chemical that causes us to feel happy and can balance production to reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, and low mood.

Generally, CBD is used to balance various systems in the body, whether you’re experiencing pain, feeling down, or stressed, or something within your body is causing you to feel unlike yourself – taking CBD in one of its many forms can help.

What are the health benefits?

As previously mentioned, CBD products come with a variety of benefits, from relieving pain and discomfort to alleviating physical and mental symptoms of stress and anxiety. Below, we’ll look at these benefits in more detail and how CBD can promote good health.

A study funded by Quantified Citizen, co-authored by Paul Stamets, proves that psilocybin treatment can help boost mood and mental health.

A study published in Scientific Reports on June 30 has presented evidence that psilocybin mushrooms have a noticeable effect on the mood and mental health of participants.

The study, called “Psilocybin microdosers demonstrate greater observed improvements in mood and mental health at one month relative to non-microdosing controls,” analyzed 1,133 subjects between November 2019 to May 2021. Baseline assessment was conducted at the beginning of the study, and then again between 22-35 days later.

Researchers analyzed the results of psilocybin microdosing combined with either lion’s mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus, or abbreviated as HE) or niacin (vitamin-B3) to identify “small- to medium-sized improvements in mood and mental health that were generally consistent across gender, age and presence of mental health concerns … improvements in psychomotor performance that were specific to older adults.” The study refers to these combinations as “stacking.”

The study abstract notes that combining psilocybin with HE or B3 “did not impact changes in mood and mental health,” however, older participants did experience psychomotor improvements through either just psilocybin, or psilocybin and HE.

The research was written by numerous authors including Paul Stamets, as well as Joseph M. Rootman of University of British Columbia’s Department of Psychology. According to an interview with Forbes, Rootman is certain that the work being conducted now will help lead to more revelations in the future. “This study is an extension of our earlier manuscript published in the same journal, and we have further publications in preparation that are based on this same study,” said Rootman. “Our team has also been working hard to develop the next version of the study which will be used to generate findings related to psychedelic microdosing for years to come.”

Adolescents are over three times more vulnerable to developing a cannabis addiction than adults, but may not be at increased risk of other mental health problems related to the drug, finds a new study led by UCL and King’s College London researchers.

The study, published today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found that adolescents who used cannabis were no more likely to have higher levels of subclinical depression or anxiety than adults who use cannabis, nor were they more vulnerable than adult users to the associations with psychotic-like symptoms.

These findings build on a separate study by the same team, published recently in Psychopharmacology that found adolescents were not more vulnerable to associations between chronic cannabis use and cognitive impairment.

Lead author Dr Will Lawn (UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit and Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London) said:

“There is a lot of concern about how the developing teenage brain might be more vulnerable to the long-term effects of cannabis, but we did not find evidence to support this general claim.

“Cannabis addiction is a real issue that teenagers should be aware of, as they appear to be much more vulnerable to it than adults.

Cannabis use does not seem to be associated with more respiratory-related emergency department visits compared non-users of the drug

Cannabis use is not associated with more respiratory-related visits to an emergency department in comparison to those who do not use the drug although it is associated with a greater proportion of overall emergency department visits. This was the main conclusion of a propensity-matched study by a group of researchers from Ontario, Canada.

Cannabis (or marijuana) is the most commonly used addictive drug after tobacco and alcohol. The use of cannabis is associated with respiratory problems such as chronic bronchitis symptoms and large airway inflammation and in fact, heavy use may lead to airflow obstruction. Despite this evidence of adverse respiratory effects, a 2018 systematic review concluded that there was low-strength evidence that smoking cannabis was associated with cough, sputum production, and wheezing and that there was insufficient evidence of an association between use of the drug and obstructive lung disease. Nevertheless, one study has suggested that daily cannabis smoking, even in the absence of tobacco, is associated with an elevated risk of health care use for various health problems.

With some uncertainty over the respiratory effects of cannabis, in the present study, the Canadian team wanted to examine the magnitude of the association between the use of cannabis and adverse respiratory-related emergency department visits. They conducted a retrospective analysis linking health survey and health administrative data for residents of Ontario. Individuals who self-reported any use of cannabis (the exposed group) within the past year were matched 1:3 (to increase the sample size) with control individuals, which were those who self-reported no use of the drug. The primary outcome for the study was a respiratory-related emergency department visit or hospitalisation which included both upper and lower respiratory tract infections, respiratory failure, asthma or COPD as the reason for presentation at the hospital. As a secondary outcome, the team assessed all-cause emergency department visits.

Cannabis use and respiratory-related hospital visits

A total of 35,114 individuals were included in the analysis, of whom, 6,425 with a mean age of 32.2 years (38.8% female) were self-reported cannabis users. Overall, 42.5% of those using the drug did so less than once a month with a much smaller proportion (10.5%) reporting daily use.

With dozens of states passing some form of cannabis legislation in the past decade, more people than ever are using marijuana for either medical or recreational purposes. According to recent research, regular cannabis use has a minimal effect on a user’s physical health. The study adds to the growing body of research on how marijuana affects pulmonary, cardiovascular and other biological functions. Since federal law has made it virtually impossible for researchers to study cannabis for the past few decades, most of the research on the effects of regular cannabis use is quite new. This recent study, whose findings were reported in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal, sought to investigate the effect of regular (once a week) cannabis use on physical health. The results indicated that the plant didn’t have detrimental effects. The research involved data from roughly 300 pairs of twins which was sourced from the University of Colorado Boulder’s “Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan Behavioural Development and Cognitive Aging” study. This is an ongoing study of cognitive aging in twins from infancy to adulthood to determine how different influences in childhood and adulthood affect cognitive functioning. The researchers specifically tracked factors that influence declines, maintenance or boosts in cognitive abilities. Jessica Megan Ross, the study’s lead researcher, and her team looked at how these factors affected dizygotic twins, who share 50% of their genes, and monozygotic twins, who share 100% of their genes. They also drew data from a larger study that has been assessing twins and siblings on a yearly basis from birth into early adulthood.

After analyzing the data, the researchers  found that the increased use of marijuana during adolescence wasn’t necessarily associated with reduced physical activity or exercise in adulthood. Furthermore, they found that increased use of cannabis as an adult isn’t necessarily associated with regular appetite loss either.

Comparing data between siblings showed that the frequent use of cannabis as a teen was associated with less exercise in adulthood.

However, the comparison of the pairs of monozygotic twins revealed that regular cannabis use in adulthood was associated with a lower resting heart rate, suggesting shared family factors could be responsible for the association between adolescent cannabis use and infrequent exercise in adulthood.

The researchers concluded that there was a minimal connection between using cannabis once a week and negative physical health outcomes for adults aged 25 to 35. They also noted that this didn’t apply to adolescents and adults who used cannabis more than once a week.

A new article claims higher levels of THC are affecting the health of teens.

Marijuana products can have THC levels of up to 100%. This is a relatively new development, with marijuana growers and handlers learning how to cultivate stronger products in recent years. According to The New York Times, these high levels of THC are affecting teens, increasing their odds of dependency and even resulting in conditions like cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

The article interviews several experts, teens and their parents and paints a picture of some of the marijuana products that are in circulation today, claiming that these are stronger than in years past and that they can affect consumers in adverse ways.

Elysse, one of the teenagers interviewed, shared that marijuana made her feel euphoric and happy. The oils and waxes she purchased had THC levels of up to 90%, which she consumed several times a day. After a few months of regular use, her positive highs morphed into sad and anxiety-inducing experiences, including one instance where she vomited more than 20 times within the span of two hours. She was diagnosed with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a rare side effect of cannabis.

While there’s a lot we don’t know about marijuana, it’s clear that the drug has great medicinal capabilities. In terms of its side effects, they’re not wholly understood but cannabis has been linked with conditions like cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, cannabis addiction, mental health conditions, and more. These issues are more concerning in the case of teens, with the overuse of the drug affecting their brains in ways that may impact them for the rest of their lives.

More and more states are legalizing cannabis, but since the drug remains illegal on a federal level every state moves at its own pace. Currently, recreational marijuana is legal in 19 states, Washington DC and Guam. Only Vermont and Connecticut have caps on THC concentrations.

It helps with arthritis and overall inflammation.

Once you hit 40 years of age and over, your body can throw all kinds of curveballs at you. Some individuals already have or may start to develop health ailments at this stage of life, including chronic back pain, diabetes, cardiovascular issues, and more. A healthcare professional will address your particular situation and decide the best course of treatment for you. But did you know there are also surprising side effects of taking CBDA after 40?

Let's start at the beginning. CBDA (cannabidiolic acid) can be found in hemp plants and it's a cannabinoid. Cannabinoids are compounds that make up the active ingredients of marijuana. The plant contains many of them, and they can affect the body in plenty of ways, including providing pain relief, helping with depression, decreasing nausea, and more.

We spoke with Inesa Ponomariovaite, a CBDA expert and CEO of Nesa's Hemp, who addresses how taking this cannabinoid is an extraordinary addition to your routine as you age, so read on to learn more about the surprising side effects of CBDA. And next up, don't miss The 6 Best Exercises for Strong and Toned Arms in 2022, Trainer Says.

Nesa's Hemp

According to Ponomariovaite, Nesa's Hemp is a key player when it comes to CBDA hemp oil. She explains to Eat This, Not That!, "There are so many people searching for holistic remedies to heal and ease suffering from cancer and other pathogens—Nesa's Hemp was created for this reason—to heal the world and restore happiness. I created what the industry was missing—the first living CBDA biological product on the market. That is certified beyond any organic levels. The safest, cleanest, and most effective product."

It's easy to get hemp CBDA products mixed up with marijuana products. Note that they differ greatly, and Ponomariovaite lets us in on their differences and legality. "Marijuana products contain mostly THC which is the compound that makes you high. Unlike THC, CBDA actually suppresses THC and works in different ways and doesn't make you high," she says.

The best way to make use of CBD for weight loss is to also approach it holistically, ensuring you are exercising regularly, eating nutritiously, and getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night.

For weight-conscious individuals, it can be confusing to navigate the CBD market. But it’s natural even for people at a healthy weight to be interested in maintaining it to avoid being overweight. After all, being overweight or worse, obese, has been associated with numerous preventable illnesses such as stroke, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, coronary heart disease, and more. It’s always in your best interest to keep your weight at a healthy level as much as possible.

It’s known that the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in marijuana products has been linked to inducing appetite and weight gain, albeit at healthy levels when taken in moderation or under medical supervision. So much so that it’s even being used for inducing the appetite of cancer and HIV patients, or those that struggle with eating disorders.

But when it comes to CBD, will it help you lose weight, or will it cause weight gain? The truth is, there’s no clear-cut answer, though the results can vary depending on many factors. Here’s some food for thought, based on existing studies:

How CBD Affects Metabolism

A 2016 study conducted by Korean researchers focused on the impact of CBD on preadipocytes, which are immature fat cells. Their findings suggest that CBD work in three ways to promote “fat browning” otherwise white fat tissue (scientifically known as white adipose tissue or WAT), since browned fat is more effective in weight loss as well as obesity treatments.

Additionally, brown fat is more efficient in metabolizing fat molecules and blood sugar to help us maintain our body’s temperature. The presence of more white fat in the body can increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes while brown fat induces weight loss.

A study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence explored the association between cannabis use and physical health among 308 sets of twins.

Research on the influence of cannabis use on cardiovascular functions, pulmonary functions, and other indicators is still growing, but one new study has shed new light on the topic. “The effects of cannabis use on physical health: A co-twin control study,” published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence explored the relationship between cannabis use and physical health among 308 sets of twins, with the results suggesting that cannabis use is not associated with detrimental physical effects.

Cannabis research is still catching up to studies surrounding tobacco and alcohol’s effect on physical health, though studies so far have indicated cannabis has an impact on respiratory health, cardiovascular health, and body mass index.

The data is from an ongoing study called “Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan Behavioral Development and Cognitive Aging,” through the University of Colorado Boulder. It is the first prospective study of cognitive aging from infancy through adulthood, with a purpose of studying “how early and current influences accumulate over one’s life to impact how well individuals build and maintain cognitive functioning,” according to the CU Boulder website.

As part of the study, researchers are tracing factors associated with decreases, maintenance or boosts in cognitive abilities. Through in-depth behavioral and health measurements, analysis of environmental settings, biomarker and genotype data, researchers are looking to assess the association of cognitive changes with possible physical and behavioral health precursors, “to trace the emergence of these associations,” researchers say on the CU Boulder site.

As part of the study, researchers are tracing factors associated with decreases, maintenance, or boosts in cognitive abilities. Through in-depth behavioral and health measurements, analysis of environmental settings, biomarker and genotype data, researchers are looking to assess the association of cognitive changes with possible physical and behavioral health precursors, “to trace the emergence of these associations,” researchers say on the CU Boulder site.

Dr. Ashley Serfis sees dozens of pets a week at the Greenfield Animal Hospital. And while most energetic pups are high off of life, Serfis has seen more and more pets that are actually high.

According to research by PLOS One, the legalization of marijuana has led to an increase of pets getting their paws on pot resulting in cannabis-induced toxicosis.

Serfis used to see THC-related cases a couple of times a year, but recently that’s changed.

“Since edibles have become more common, we have seen cases a lot more frequently, at least a few times a month,” said Serfis.

If you're worried your pup snuck into your stash, she said there's several signs pet owners should look out for, like dilated pupils.

“Lethargy, incoordination or being wobbly on their feet; marijuana toxicity can also have urine dribbling,” said Serfis.

That said, using marijuana recreationally may be beneficial for sleep onset

U.S. research exploring the relationship between self-reported recreational cannabis use and sleep outcomes found consumers fell asleep faster than non-users but experienced more nighttime awakenings.

The idea was to see if objective and subjective measures — namely sleep efficiency (percentage of time spent asleep while in bed), sleep onset latency (time it takes to fall asleep) and the number of nighttime awakenings — differed between those who used recreational cannabis and those who did not.

Study findings show the amount of cannabis consumed daily, measured in grams, was inversely related to both sleep onset latency and sleep efficiency, but positively related to how many times subjects woke up over the course of the night.

After controlling for covariates, the study author noted that regression models were statistically significant for predicting the three sleep outcomes.

“Subjective sleep measures did not differ from cannabis users versus non-cannabis users,” the study states.

Zelira Therapeutics, a global leader in the research, development and commercialization of clinically validated cannabinoid medicines, is about to begin a first-ever clinical trial of its own proprietary pain formula for the treatment of diabetic nerve pain against an as-yet-unidentified brand name pain medication, the company announced. (Benzinga)

The trial will evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Zelira’s patent-protected product.

How is the trial set up?

The trial is designed as a multi-arm, head-to-head comparison of 60 subjects, with 20 subjects in each arm, powered to show statistical difference. A total of 20 patients in the investigative drug arm have already been enrolled. 

“This product trial exemplifies Zelira’s strategy to continue generating clinical validation for cannabinoid-based medicines,” said Dr. Oludare Odumosu, CEO of Zelira Therapeutics.

“We look forward to what we hope will be positive results in this clinical trial and continue to deliver on our ‘multiple shots on goal’ strategy for both our OTC products and our RX prescription cannabinoid products worldwide.”

Salk Institute Neurobiologist Zhibin Liang discusses the neuroprotective effects of a cannabis compound known as cannabinol, and the road ahead to validate and build on the research of his team’s recent findings.

Scientists have been exploring the therapeutic effects of medical cannabis for a host of health conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. Among the many compounds of cannabis, the best known are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which have received the bulk of the research community’s attention. However, lesser known compounds, such as cannabinol (CBN), are also making their way into research. Early study results suggest that CBN, for example, may be able to help protect brain cells in aging and neurodegenerative processes. 

Zhibin Liang, Glenn Postdoctoral Fellow in Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory and The Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Salk Institute for Biological Studies, joins Being Patient’s LiveTalk series to discuss the progress that scientists have made in studying cannabis’s potential benefits when it comes to aging and Alzheimer’s. He also shares insight into his team’s research on CBN.

 Broadly, what do scientists know and don’t know about the potential protective effects of cannabis in the context of aging and neurodegenerative diseases? 

Zhibin Liang: Medical cannabis [is an] emerging research field. Phytocannabinoids from the cannabis plant [are] well known for acting on the cannabinoid receptors [CB1 and CB2] in the brain, in the central nervous system, or in the peripheral nervous systems. 

It’s well known that this kind of compounds, especially tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the psychoactive compound – have pharmacological effects. For example, [they] can relieve pain. Some research [shows they can] fight cancer and improve memory or behavior. There is also some research [showing that] neurological disorders can benefit [from phytocannabinoids]. 

Right now, most people study two compounds: THC and cannabidiol (CBD). Less studied are the minor cannabinoids. There are over 150 cannabinoids identified from the plant. 

While there are only a few studies focusing on cannabis exclusively for TMJ disorders compared to other illnesses, their results have been promising.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders affect the jaw as well as the muscles responsible for controlling movement in the jaw. The temporomandibular joint functions similarly to a sliding hinge and connects the skull and jawbone. The human body has one of these jaws on each side.

The symptoms of TMJ include tenderness or pain in the jaw, pain in the left, right, or both jaws, clicking sound when you open your mouth, pain around the ear and face, muscle spasms, joint locking, difficulty chewing, and more. These can be caused by various factors such as damage in the joint or the joint cartilage due to impact, eroding of the disk, or misalignment of the jaw disk. In most cases of people with TMJ, the exact cause is unclear.

According to the National Institutes of Health, there are some 10 million Americans that have temporomandibular joint disorders. They tend to affect people between the ages of 20 to 40, and it’s more common in women compared to men. Most cases of TMJ disorders are mild and when diagnosed early, they are not expected to worsen over time.

Lifestyle changes such as eating soft food, application of ice packs, avoiding extreme jaw movements as well as relaxation techniques are recommended. If this is not enough, pain medications and NSAIDS may be recommended by doctors and in severe cases, the use of a stabilization splint, a type of oral appliance, may be needed. In rare cases, botox and surgery may be required.

Millions of people with TMJ struggle with the severe pain and discomfort brought on by this condition.

Scientists link weed smoking to greater empathy, agreeableness, and moral fairness.

Following the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last week, Fox News host Laura Ingraham blithely blamed the perpetrator’s “psychotic behavior” on his alleged marijuana use. Then she claimed without evidence that cannabis legalization is having “violent consequences” for “an entire generation of Americans.”

For all the wrong reasons, Ingraham is right about one thing: cannabis can have a profound influence on social behavior. Depending on dose, strain, and other factors, it may induce a range of emotions and behaviors: withdrawn introspection and peaceful calm, playfulness and joy, and sometimes anxiety or irritability.

In any case, these effects are mediated largely by the cannabinoid receptors, in particular CB1, the prime target of psychoactive THC. And if CB1 is involved, it follows that the broader endocannabinoid system – including the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide and 2-AG, which also bind to CB1, and the enzymes that create and degrade them – must play an important role in modulating human social behavior.

But Ingraham’s rant was more unhinged scapegoating than sound science. In fact, a newly published study suggests that recent cannabis use is associated with prosocial and “humanitarian” behaviors, greater empathy and agreeableness, and greater fairness and harmlessness. Below, read more about it and two other recent studies exploring the link between cannabis, the endocannabinoid system (ECS), and social behavior.

Cannabis consumption boosts empathy

Noting that the existing scientific literature around cannabis use is generally focused on health risks or disease treatment, researchers with the University of New Mexico set out to investigate something different: associations with prosocial behavior among otherwise healthy people.