WeedLife News Network

There are several studies on the topic of cannabis concentrates and psychosis expected this year.

Cannabis legalization has picked up speed in the U.S. over the last few years. The topic has become one of those unlikely things that people with differing political parties agree on, a substance that is now accepted, if not embraced, by many.

Still, popular opinion differs on policies, an issue made strikingly clear by the amount of research there is to date on the drug.

U.S. states that have enabled marijuana programs are now finding themselves rushing to study the drug and its possible side effects. Its long-term influence is not known, especially in relation to potent versions of THC and the effect that may have on the brain.

Marijuana’s potency has increased over the years, particularly in concentrate products such as wax and shatter, which in the U.S. can have THC levels as high as 85 per cent. For reference, a joint with a high potency may have about 20 per cent THC.

Several studies have found links between THC and mental health conditions, including psychosis. While not wholly understood, the association is concerning, with one study suggesting that people who consume cannabis on a daily basis are five times more likely to have a psychotic episode.

Food and Drug Administration ‘concerned’ about unproven health claims and packaging that appeals to children

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warnings to companies selling products including delta-8 THC, a cannabis compound, for making unsupported claims about the health benefits of the items.

The FDA said even though there is very little research on delta-8 THC, a substance found in the cannabis sativa plant, online retailers and cafes are claiming products containing the compound will reduce anxiety or help with sleeping.

Delta-8 can induce a “high” in users but is derived from a similar part of the marijuana plant to CBD, a non-psychoactive and legal compound, which makes the legality of delta-8 unclear.

The FDA said several people had been hospitalized after taking delta-8 and sent warning letters to five companies – ATLRx, BioMD Plus, Delta 8 Hemp, Kingdom Harvest, and M Six Labs – for allegedly making false claims about its benefits.

“The FDA is very concerned about the growing popularity of delta-8 THC products being sold online and in stores nationwide,” said Janet Woodcock, deputy commissioner of the FDA. “It is extremely troubling that some of the food products are packaged and labeled in ways that may appeal to children.”

Smoking weed during pregnancy significantly can increase the risk of low birth weight, preterm delivery and requiring neonatal intensive care, according to a recent study published in JAMA.

The tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in marijuana will pass through your system to your baby and may harm your baby’s development. If you are planning to get pregnant, have learned you are pregnant or are breastfeeding, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends stop smoking weed, using marijuana edibles or exposing yourself to secondhand marijuana smoke.

“More research is needed on the harms of marijuana use during pregnancy, but we know there can be significant risks,” said Kathryn R. Bradley, M.D., OB/GYN with Norton Women’s Care. “Those who are pregnant, planning to get pregnant or breastfeeding can protect their own health and that of their baby by not using marijuana.”

Possible risks of smoking weed for your fetus or while breastfeeding

There is no evidence that marijuana eases morning sickness. Your OB/GYN can recommend alternative ways to help your symptoms.

The study in the journal, “Birth Outcomes of Neonates Exposed to Marijuana in Utero,” analyzed the results of 16 other studies that included a total of nearly 60,000 patients. The authors concluded that educating patients about the risks of marijuana could improve neonatal health, especially in light of increased marijuana legalization and use.

The study compared pregnancies and outcomes for those who said they used marijuana versus those who said they didn’t. The authors wrote that enough data exists to rule out tobacco use along with marijuana as a factor in outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm delivery.

Throughout the past decade, the phrase “Cannabis is Safer Than Alcohol” has become the official slogan for why the average stoner should damn well be able to appreciate the same freedom as those who enjoy a stiff drink. After all, pot is arguably less risky than the sauce Americans pour down their gullets during sporting events, weekends, or any other day where it becomes absolutely imperative to either celebrate the good times or drown out the bad. But no matter how tightly the bottle is woven into the puke-stained fabric of civil society, alcohol remains one of the most savage serial killers of any inebriating substance, legal or not.

The nation’s affinity for all things beer, wine, and spirits snuffs out roughly 95,000 diehard drinkers from ills such as liver failure and cancer every year. Meanwhile, the most horrendous consequence that the average cannabis fan might endure, at least as far as we can tell, is perhaps putting on a few extra pounds after stuffing their face with everything in the kitchen once the munchies kick in. But we digress. Considering what we know about both substances, the plant does appear to be a safer alternative to alcoholic beverages. A legion of advocates even claim that legalization may assist in pulling the great, slobbering drunkard out of the nation’s gutter of destitution and despair, ultimately putting them on the path of the straight and narrow.

Fast forward some years, and cannabis legalization for adults 21 and older has taken hold across more of the country. Yet, alcohol-related harms continue to increase. In Colorado, one of the first states to legalize the leaf in a manner similar to alcohol, booze continues to wreak havoc.

A recent study from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) finds that alcohol-related deaths increased by nearly 30% in the Centennial State during 2020. Despite having the option of using cannabis as opposed to alcohol for the past eight years, Colorado residents are evidently still drinking themselves to death at alarming numbers. Liver disease, alcohol poisoning, unsafe behavior under the influence, mental health conditions, and alcohol-induced damage to other organs are turning up on coroner’s reports like wildfire. This uptick in booze-related death isn’t just happening in Colorado either. In other legal states, the statistics are similar. Overall, with or without pot, people are still drinking in excess and paying the price.

Nevertheless, some cannabis supporters still believe that legal weed could be a saving grace for an inebriated nation.

“Bliss,” “Bombay Blue,” “Genie,” “K2,” “Spice” — those aren’t fragrances or happy hour cocktails. They’re names for synthetic cannabis, or marijuana or weed. While products like K2 synthetic marijuana are often marketed as safe alternatives to natural marijuana, they’re anything but.

How dangerous is synthetic marijuana and what can it do to your body? Psychiatrist and addiction specialist Akhil Anand, MD, explains what synthetic marijuana is and answers those questions.  

What is synthetic weed? 

Before we get into that, Dr. Anand says it’s important to understand one thing: Your body already has cannabis-like molecules called “endocannabinoids” that mainly work on the “endocannabinoid system” (ECS), which is a very important brain system.

“We need the ECS because it helps with things like fertility, appetite, memory, pain and inflammation,” says Dr. Anand.

“There are two primary endocannabinoid receptors as well. They’re known as cannabinoid receptor one (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor two (CB2).”  

For those that end up unproductive with THC, even at small doses, you can also try CBD products which has been shown in studies to fight daytime sleepiness.

Adults are extremely prone to fatigue. With so many things that cause it in our daily lives, ranging from lack of sleep to parenting, lack of exercise, stress, and much more, it’s not uncommon for people to constantly seek more ways we can get more energy in our daily lives. In fact, a study shows that up to 45% of the general population struggle with fatigue.

For this reason, it isn’t surprising to see that coffee has become our number one drug. Coffee is the substance most of us look for upon opening our eyes to give us that much-needed jolt of alertness both physically and mentally. There is also a growth of energy-boosting products on the market ranging from beverages to pills and everything in between.

However, the answer to fatigue may have been lying in front of our very eyes: cannabis.

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of New Mexico involved using a mobile software application to gauge the real-time effects of various common marijuana flower on fatigue levels. The study, entitled, “The Effects of Consuming Cannabis Flower for Treatment of Fatigue”, was the first large-scale experiment and it revealed that people have a good chance of seeing improvements in fatigue after smoking cannabis flower.

For the study, the researchers studied data taken from 3,922 self-administered cannabis sessions from 1,224 participants. The app, called Releaf, is a renowned mobile application that is designed to help individuals take note of the effects of the different cannabis types they buy while being able to record real-time changes in their symptoms. It’s a common issue for cannabis consumers to struggle with identifying which strains help them feel their best or which may have undesirable side effects for them, due to changing chemical compositions and availability of strains and batches, which is what the app aims to solve.

CBD of Denver, Inc. (OTC Pink: CBDD), a distributor of CBD and unique CBD products sold in Switzerland and throughout Europe, is pleased to announce its expansion into the German medical cannabis market with the hiring of Bijan Hezarkhani to lead CBD of Denver's growth in this fast growing European market. Bijan has extensive experience in the cannabis industry, including building out a medical cannabis franchise in Germany. He was the business development manager for Khiron Life Sciences for the last three years, visiting doctors and pharmacies in Germany to build Khiron's medical cannabis business. Previously, he spent time at Canopy Growth as a business analyst covering Europe. Bijan will be the head of the Company's medical cannabis sales in Germany and will be based in Frankfurt.

Germany officially approved medical cannabis in 2017. Germany is the largest medical cannabis market in Europe at 15 tonnes annually and generated approximately US$300 million of revenue in 2021. According to Forbes Magazine, over a million patients in Germany will have access to medical cannabis by 2024, with the German medical market worth €7.7 billion by 2028.

The German market appears to be moving closer to adult-use legalisation, a market estimated at 400 tonnes annually, making it critical to have the infrastructure in place in country. With 83 million people, Germany is the most attractive market in Europe for cannabis. CBD of Denver believes the leaders in the German adult-use market will be those companies already having exposure to the legal market.

The medical market in Germany is import driven and requires an experienced sales force to facilitate the education process around different products.

"This is a seismic moment in the history of our company. Our expansion into the German medical cannabis market is a key part of our new strategy to diversify our revenue streams. This gives our company exposure to the largest cannabis market in Europe and allows us to expand out of our core in Switzerland," said CBD of Denver CEO Paul Gurney.

Products like wax and shatter can have THC levels up to 90 percent, and states like Washington and Colorado are looking at potency caps and product warnings.

With national cannabis legalization poised to be introduced in the Senate, states that legalized recreational marijuana 10 years ago are now studying the public health implications of a variety of new high-potency products amid questions about a possible link to psychosis.

The newer products are called marijuana concentrates and are commonly known as wax and shatter. They can have levels of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, as high as 85 percent to 90 percent. By comparison, researchers say, the marijuana level in a typical joint 20 years ago was closer to 5 percent. States like Washington and Colorado are now considering product warnings or potency caps to limit access.

At a January forum, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Nora Volkow, raised concerns that teens are increasingly vaping high-potency cannabis.

Volkow said she worries that “huge concentrations” of THC could have serious consequences.

“We are seeing a very significant rise in psychosis associated with the consumption of marijuana,” she said.

No matter how old you are, cannabis is a fantastic aid that will help make the aging process much simpler for both men and women.

Seniors are part of the fastest growing demographic of cannabis consumers. The growing population of older cannabis users find great relief in the natural benefits offered by cannabis, whether they choose CBD products or those with THC. It makes sense, as cannabis is a wonderful natural solution for many ailments that afflict the elderly.

According to a study conducted by researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, seniors use marijuana mainly for treating medical conditions such as insomnia, anxiety, depression, and pain. “Surprisingly, we found that nearly three-fifths of cannabis users reported using cannabis for the first time as older adults. These individuals were a unique group compared to those who used cannabis in the past,” explains the study’s co-author, Kevin Yang.

“New users were more likely to use cannabis for medical reasons than for recreation. The route of cannabis use also differed with new users more likely to use it topically as a lotion rather than by smoking or ingesting as edibles. Also, they were more likely to inform their doctor about their cannabis use, which reflects that cannabis use is no longer as stigmatized as it was previously,” he adds.

Aside from that, cannabis use can also help you age gracefully. It can also be part of a holistic wellness regimen that will keep inflammation and disease at bay, or at least slow it down the way it works with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Whether you choose to get high or not, use it as medicine or for recreation, there are some things that seniors should keep in mind when using cannabis for the first time:

From a strictly prohibited substance to a so-called ‘miracle drug’, clinical and cultural interest in CBD is on the rise.

As the data in favour of its healing power continues to trickle in, the list of the medical conditions in which CBD could offer therapeutic relief is only getting longer.

Some researchers even believe that CBD could help to manage one increasingly prevalent and potentially life-threatening condition: diabetes. The hard evidence is lacking, but the testimonials are there; could CBD really help people living with diabetes?

Diabetes: an overview

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects blood sugar levels. It occurs when the body doesn’t make enough (or any) insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas that helps the body to break down sugar for energy. This results in the blood glucose levels being too high, which causes a range of uncomfortable symptoms, including:

Diabetes affects over 4.9 million people in the UK. There are two major types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks the cells that produce insulin, meaning the body is unable to produce insulin. Around 8% of people with diabetes in the UK have type 1.  

Type 2 diabetes is far more common; it accounts for over ​​90% of UK diabetes cases. With type 2 diabetes, the pancreas still releases insulin, but it either isn’t enough or doesn’t work properly. According to the NHS, you can manage type 2 diabetes with healthy eating, regular exercise and achieving a healthy body weight.

A medical marijuana company has filed a lawsuit against the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission alleging the evaluations and scoring of medical cannabis bid applications was clouded by "conflicts of interest" and licenses were "bought and sold through closed door politics and back room deals."

"If there is no wrong doing or corruption, then why not turn these applications, evaluation sheets, etc. over to the public," said Cumberland Curative President Charlie Arnold.

Arnold believes his company was cheated out of an honest chance to win one of the first ever licenses to legally grow and produce medical marijuana in Georgia.

Cumberland Curative filed a lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court against the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission claiming essentially – where there is smoke there is fire.

The lawsuit claims the scoring of bids was "clouded by substantial conflict of interest" and that licenses were "bought and sold through closed – door politics and back-room deals."

And the Cumberland Curative president said he can back it up.

Studies continually show great potential for cannabis as an effective treatment for autism. Determining the right dose, however, is proving difficult.

Fewer and fewer places in the US remain where it’s still a criminal act for adults 21 and older to use cannabis. Even fewer places deny sick Americans (with the right sickness to qualify them as medical marijuana patients) some accommodation to use cannabis lawfully. But even these 14 cannabis legalization holdouts agree that it’s OK to give marijuana extracts to kids, as long as those kids have been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. And with good reason. Miraculous stories are all over the internet, such as children speaking their first words after using cannabis oil, or autistic adults with severe anxiety and near-total social isolation rejoining society after smoking cannabis. So, this begs the question, “Can cannabis ‘treat’ autism?”

A definitive final answer is elusive. However, as a review authored by researchers led by Mariana Babayeva, a professor at the Touro College of Pharmacy in New York and recently published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Bioscience found, a growing number of “clinical studies have shown promising results of cannabis treatment in” autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

How Cannabis Helps Autism

This makes practical and scientific sense. CBD and THC activate the network of receptors called the endocannabinoid system. “Due to its vital role in regulating emotion and social behaviors, the endocannabinoid system represents a potential target for the development of a novel autism therapy,” the study states.

Cannabis does help autism, as this latest review, prior studies and loads of compelling, convincing anecdotal stories say. But what cannabis treatment would work best for each individual case of autism, and how much cannabis should be given in those instances?

“It’s too early for anyone to recommend cannabis as a validated, well-studied type of a substance,” said Dr. Nathan Call, director of clinical operations at the Marcus Autism Center in North Druid Hills, Georgia, in a recent interview.

Lawmakers are trying to expand the use of medical cannabis in Tennessee with one saying he can personally benefit from its use.

House Bill1747 adds quadriplegia as a qualifying medical condition for the lawful possession of cannabis oil.

“Members, I live with this diagnosis every day,” said the bill’s sponsor Representative Darren Jernigan (D-District 60) whose district includes the Old Hickory community of Davidson County.

The proposed legislation allows the Medical Cannabis Commission to study the effects and give lawful possession of cannabis oil to Tennesseeans who are quadriplegic. The current diagnoses on the list include Alzheimer’s, ALS, cancer, epilepsy, HIV, and sickle cell.

Representative Jernigan said adding quadriplegia to the list can help with the most common side effects like severe muscle spasms, chronic pain, overactive bladders, and insomnia.

“I’m in a chair sometimes 12 to 14 hours a day. At that point in time I can receive severe muscle spasms that are really stressful on my body that leads to insomnia,” Jernigan said. “I’ve exhausted all conventional treatments that are out there. I don’t smoke marijuana. I don’t get high. That’s not the intention of this. Law enforcement is deferred on this bill and with that explanation Mr. Speaker I renew my motion.”

Kyle Trivisonno is one of the brains at Human Plant Solutions. He's currently working on a project that uses hemp to make prosthetic limbs.

“Having something that moves and kind of transitions with their gate cycle is kind of an ideal property," Trivisonno said.

There are more than 2 million Americans who have lost an arm or a leg or were born without one of their limbs. Millions more have health issues, such as diabetes, that could lead to amputation in the future.

Trivisonno and Sam Spallita have devoted their new business to providing an alternative to high-cost options.

“In general, I think that there are a lot of ways for a company like mine that really wants to provide solutions, especially customized solutions with innovative materials. I mean the door is wide open for us to make water foots, swimming adapting thing and we really want to do that and make it cost-effective," Spallita said.

“Everybody hates carbon fiber. You’ve got to wear a suit and full respiration and still with all that PPE on. I don’t care what ventilation you have you’re still going to be covered in that carbon dust which is extremely dangerous to work with and really just not comfortable," Trivisonno said.

A botanical drug based on an extract of Cyathus striatus fungus and a cannabinoid extract from the cannabis plant has eliminated 100% of pancreatic cancer cells—relatively selectively and without damaging normal cells—in experiments conducted on a cell model.

The fungus has been the subject of research to test its anti-cancer efficacy in Professor Fuad Fares’ laboratory at the University of Haifa for about eight years.

It was selected as the preferred candidate for the development of a drug for pancreatic and colon cancer after showing better anti-cancer results than a variety of other fungi tested.

A few months ago, the biomedical company Cannabotech received global and exclusive rights of use for patents created in Prof. Fares’ research and began leading an accelerated process of developing a botanical drug as defined by the FDA.

A new milestone

The first milestone in the botanical drug development process was defined as the adaptation of fungal growth and extraction methods to the FDA protocol for botanical drug development, which the company expects to be significantly cheaper and shorter than the development process of a standard ethical drug.

Hey Bud specializes in hemp-based skincare—a godsend for combination skin like mine.

Anyone who's been within five feet of me recently has had the absolute pleasure of hearing me complain about my stress acne. About a month ago, I began an arduous move from Boston to New York City, and, having moved around frequently during my adult life, I knew exactly what that transition meant for my skin: Lots of stubborn blemishes on my cheeks, forehead, and chin that take ages to go away and result in hyperpigmentation. At first, I resigned myself to this inevitability, and when I received Hey Bud Skincare's Glow Up Bundle, I thought, "Why not? These products can't possibly make my skin any worse." Lo and behold, they did not make it worse—they made it unbelievably better.

Hey Bud is a vegan, organ, cruelty-free, and gluten-free brand whose products are based in hemp oil, which is derived from the cannabis sativa plant. The brand promises that its products help smooth aging skin and control oil production without stripping skin of its moisture. In short, hemp-based skincare is meant to be the ideal cure-all for combination skin like mine, because it seeks restore balance by moisturizing dry spots and curbing the excess sebum production that results in acne.

Filled with tentative hope, I started by trying the Daily Hemp Gel Cleanser. The lightweight formula definitely made my face feel clean and relieved of its greasiness, particularly after coming back from a workout, but I also didn't feel too dry in the way I sometimes do after using products heavy in salicylic acid. Similarly, the Hemp Moisturizer felt light and dried matte on my face, but also provided substantial moisture. 

The next product in the bundle—and the one I was most nervous about trying—was the face oil. Being that I tend to break out when I'm stressed, I didn't want to add any more oil to my skin, but I also know that ultra-dry skin can worsen breakouts by causing skin to ramp up oil production. Plus, the spot treatment I'd been using on my zits was starting to make certain areas of my skin flake, so I needed a moisture boost fast.

Speaking of the mask, it is very much a clay mask in that it's thick, creamy, and oil-reducing. I recommend ensuring that your face is nice and moisturized before using the mask, or your skin will sting, but when your face (or back, or chest, or anywhere) is feeling particularly oily, this mask is an excellent option. I felt like I was giving my skin a fresh, clean new start after wiping it off. The mask also comes with a cute little brush so that I don't have to poke at my face with my fingers when I apply the formula once a week. 

Medicare users are over the age of 65, a demographic that coincides with a lot of medical marijuana users.

A new report shows that Medicare users and medical marijuana patients have a lot in common. According to a survey reported by U.S. News, 1 in every 5 Medicare patients use medical cannabis. Cannabis is not covered by Medicare in any state. The survey, which was conducted on 1,250 Medicare recipients, also found that 23% of them had used cannabis in the past. Out of all recipients, 21% of them use medical cannabis to treat an ailment.

According to the survey, patients used medical marijuana primarily to treat anxiety, closely followed by chronic pain. Other conditions that were submitted include depression, glaucoma, symptoms of HIV, like nausea, depression, and more. Two-thirds of respondents said they agreed with a statement that said that medical marijuana should be covered by Medicare.

Interestingly enough, current medical marijuana users aren’t too keen on having Medicare cover cannabis. They believe Medicare coverage could increase the price of the product, resulting in them paying more in the long run for the product they want to consume.

Lastly, 31% of Medicare users oppose Medicare’s coverage of marijuana, quoting a lack of research and knowledge on the drug as the main reason for their reticence.

Medicare is federal health insurance for people over the age of 65, a demographic that includes a lot of medical marijuana users. In recent years, seniors have increased their medical marijuana use steadily, coinciding with the legalization of cannabis across the country.

Legalization of recreational marijuana reduces demand for costly prescription drugs through state Medicaid programs, according to an analysis by a Cornell researcher and a collaborator.

When states legalize marijuana, the volume of prescriptions within the drug classes that align with the medical indications for pain, depression, anxiety, sleep, psychosis and seizures significantly decline, the researchers found.

Shyam Raman, a doctoral student in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, and Indiana University doctoral student Ashley Bradford conducted the research. Their article, “Recreational Cannabis Legalizations Associated with Reductions in Prescription Drug Utilizations Among Medicaid Enrollees,” published April 15 in the journal Health Economics.

Most cannabis research has focused on the impact of medical marijuana on demand for prescription drugs or the impact of recreational use legalization on opioid demand. This is among the first studies to focus on the impact of legal personal-use cannabis on a broad range of prescription drugs.

“These results have important implications,” Raman said.

Alopecia areata is a type of autoimmune disorder resulting in severe, unpredictable hair loss. In many cases, hair falls out in clumps and sometimes large volumes.

It affects everyone differently; for some, they only lose hair in certain parts of the head while others lose much more, sometimes causing them to go bald. Then again, there are those patients who can grow it back only for it to fall out later on while for others, hair can regrow for good.

There are several different types of alopecia areata: the primary condition as well as other rarer types, such as alopecia areata totalis, which causes people to lose all the hair on their head; alopecia areata universalis involves hair loss all over the body; diffuse alopecia areata involves sudden thinning of the hair instead of losing hair in patches; last but not least, there is ophiasis alopecia areata, which results in hair loss through a band pattern on the back and side of the head. Hair loss is the primary symptom of alopecia. Additionally, people may also experience brittleness and redness in toenails and fingernails.

According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, 147 million people around the world will develop this condition. Mild cases may end up resolving on its own without treatment, but it may recur several more times. For those individuals who suffer from more extreme cases, patients may need to undergo steroid injections in the areas where hair is shedding; topical applicants may also be applied.

However, it’s difficult to predict how patients would react to various treatments. There are many cases where patients find it difficult to regrow hair even after taking conventional treatments and medications.

There is also the grave emotional distress that alopecia areata brings on. While the condition itself isn’t fatal or harmful, it can bring on serious psychological consequences including depression and anxiety.