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Cannabis Use Is Not Linked To Anxiety Disorders After All

February 19, 2016 By Jason Leathers Leave a Comment

Quit-Smoking-Weed

Study shows marijuana is not a benign drug.

It turns out that cannabis use is not linked to anxiety disorders after all. New research found that using marijuana as an adult is not associated with a variety of mood and anxiety disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder.

Of course, this is quite a challenge to some previous research that has shown that marijuana use is associated with depression and anxiety.

In order to come to a conclusion, the researchers examined the records of nearly 35,000 U.S. adults who participated in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. They examined the prevalence of marijuana use among the study participants in 2001 and 2002. The experts checked on the participants’ rates of mental-health problems three years later.

Then, after controlling for a variety of confounding factors, such as socio-demographic characteristics, family history and environment, and past and present psychiatric disorders, they finally discovered their answer. Cannabis use was definitely not associated with increased risk for developing mood or anxiety disorders.

It may sound like good news, but don’t get enthusiastic just yet – there is a downside to this discovery. The same study did find, however, an association between marijuana use and later substance use disorders, such as abuse of and dependence on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and drugs.

Specifically, at the three-year follow-up, marijuana users were about six times more likely to have any substance use disorder; nearly three times as likely to have an alcohol disorder; and about 10 times as likely to report any marijuana use disorder. This isn’t necessarily surprising: it’s fairly obvious that if you use a substance, you’re putting yourself at risk of a substance-use disorder.

In short, people who use one drug often use others. This is as true of marijuana as it is of alcohol.

The findings concerning cannabis raise the question of whether alcohol use also contributes to the risk of subsequent substance use disorders.

lead author Mark Olfson of Columbia University said in an email. But that issue is beyond the scope of the current study, he added.

On the other hand, the findings on mental health are more interesting, given the conflicting picture portrayed by previous research. Olfson and his colleagues think some prior evidence of links between marijuana and psychiatric disorders could be due more to confounding factors than anything else.

The new study adds to prior research discrediting the connection between marijuana and common mental-health disorders. And it’s important, because much of the federal government’s current literature on marijuana includes claims about links between marijuana and depression that are inaccurate in light of the latest findings.

For example, the Drug Enforcement Administration makes these claims in its official fact sheet on marijuana. And in its 2014 publication, the DEA mentions ‘depression’ no fewer than 14 times, claiming that pot is linked to depression among teens, adults and even dogs.

Also, given that these documents are used to inform policy at the federal level and below, it is crucial that they reflect the best, most accurate research. This is especially true given the rapidly changing marijuana-policy landscape today.

All in all, this particular study is a step forward and the message coming out of it is that marijuana is not a benign drug.

Image Source: cooleasymagictricks.com.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: alcohol abuse, anxiety, anxiety disorders, benign drugs, cannabis, DEA, depression, Drug Enforcement Administration, Marijuana, marijuana use, Mark Olfson, mental health disorders, new findings, research, substance use, weed

New Marijuana Legalization Initiative In California

February 2, 2016 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

California Medical Association endorses marijuana legalization initiative.

     California Medical Association endorses marijuana legalization initiative.

Sources say that The California Medical Association is having a new marijuana legalization initiative in California, as we speak. The California Medical Association, representing more than 41,000 physician members statewide, is the largest professional association of doctors in the state.

The state of California is well-known for its former initiative of allowing the use of this drug, as being the first state to legalize medical marijuana.

That was in the past. Now, two decades later, the voters are in the position of answering whether the recreational use of the drug should be legalized or not.

Supporting this initiative, the medical group has released a declaration, stating that the most effective way to protect the public health is to tightly control, track and regulate marijuana and to educate the public on its health impacts, not through ineffective prohibition.

Now, there are a few questions in line regarding this matter.

First of all, who is behind this effort? The official proponents are Donald Lyman, a retired physician, and Michael Sutton, a conservationist. Among the project’s financiers is billionaire venture capitalist Sean Parker. The initiative’s highest-profile political supporter is Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Secondly, who would be in charge of this decision? Licensing and regulation of marijuana would be handled by a Bureau of Marijuana Control within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The Department of Food and Agriculture would be charged with licensing and overseeing marijuana cultivation, while Department of Public Health would license and oversee manufacturing and testing.

Thirdly, what’s going on in other states? The answer is that all the four states – Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, and the District of Columbia – have legalized recreational pop already.

Another aspect, could one grow weed in their own home? Personal cultivation is allowed, but no more than six plants could be cultivated, harvested, dried or processed in each home or apartment, or on its grounds.

And finally, would legal marijuana cost more? On this matter, some proponents say they actually expect the prices will drop some once the licenses are issued and after the first harvest.

Taking all of the above information into consideration, Dr. Steven Larson, CMA president, issued a statement that The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana offers a new, modern perspective. In this statement he points out the measure as being comprehensive and thoughtfully constructed.

The opinions are, of course, divided.

It remains to see if this new initiative will come into force or not.

Image Source: foxnews.com

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: california, drugs, health, initiative, legalization of marijuana, Marijuana, new law, The California Medical Association

Study suggests Regular use of Marijuana during Adolescence may even lower your IQ

November 11, 2014 By Jason Leathers Leave a Comment

regular-use-of-marijuana

Using marijuana at an early age could have long-term consequences on your brain and it may even lower your IQ, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers found that compared to nonusers, people who smoked marijuana starting as early as age 14 have less brain volume, or gray matter, in the orbitofrontal cortex. That’s the area in the front of your brain that helps you make decisions.

Dr. Francesca Filbey, the study’s principal investigator and associate professor at the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas said “Adolescence is when the brain starts maturing and making itself more adult-like, so any exposure to toxic substances can set the course for how your brain ends up.”

Researchers also found increased brain connectivity in chronic users. Connectivity, when different parts of the brain connect to each other, is important for adaptive learning abilities. It also helps your mind make associations. This wiring of the brain starts to deteriorate with chronic marijuana use.

“Too much or too little of anything isn’t good. There needs to be an equal balance,” said Filbey.

Filbey said the people who regularly used marijuana had IQ’s that were five points lower, on average, than the nonusers in the study, although there is no definitive proof that marijuana alone was to blame for the lower IQ.

“While our study does not conclusively address whether any or all of the brain changes are a direct consequence of marijuana use, these effects do suggest that these changes are related to age of onset and duration of use,” Filbey said.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: Dr. Francesca Filbey, Lower IQ in Pot users, Marijuana, Marijuana during Adolescence may hinder brain development, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences University of Texas Dallas

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