#NORML #News Source: @norml @WeedConnection Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com media :: news - Tue, 25 Aug 2020 04:20:21 PST
Study: Medical Cannabis Use Associated with Fewer Hospitalizations Among Patients with Sickle Cell Disease
New Haven, CT: Medical cannabis use is associated with less frequent hospitalizations among patients living with sickle cell disease (SCD), according to clinical data published in the journal Blood Advances.
A team of investigators affiliated with Yale University in Connecticut and the Sackler School of Medicine in Israel assessed the relationship between cannabis use and hospitalization rates in patients with SCD over a six-month period.
They reported, "The patients who obtained medical marijuana showed a reduction in median six-month hospital admissions compared with the patients who ... did not obtain medical marijuana."
Their findings are consistent with a pair of prior studies - one from 2018 and one from earlier this year - similarly reporting reduced rates of hospitalization among SCD patients who initiate cannabis therapy.
Survey data indicates that the use of medicinal cannabis for symptom management is relatively common among SCD patients. Clinical trial data published in July reported that the short-term use of vaporized cannabis in SCD patients is associated with improved mood and may also mitigate symptoms of SCD-related pain. That study's authors concluded: "People with SCD are often using multiple medications. Since no significant adverse effects were observed, this proof of principle study has the potential to encourage and guide future larger and longer investigations into the potential use of cannabis-based interventions."
Full text of the study, "Medical marijuana certification for patients with sickle cell disease: A report of a single center experience," appears in Blood Advances.
Study: After-Hours Marijuana Use Doesn't Negatively Impact Job Performance
San Diego, CA: Cannabis consumption while away from the job is not associated with any lingering adverse effects on workplace performance, according to data published in the journal Group & Organization Management.
A pair of researchers from San Diego State University in California and Auburn University in Alabama compiled data from 281 employees and their direct supervisors on the topic of marijuana use and job performance. Authors reported that an employee's cannabis use either immediately before or during work hours was associated with "counterproductive work behaviors," whereas "after-work cannabis use was not related (positively or negatively) to any form of performance as rated by the user's direct supervisor."
Authors concluded, "[C]ontrary to commonly held assumptions, not all forms of cannabis use harmed performance. In fact, after-work cannabis use did not relate to any of the workplace performance dimensions. This finding casts doubt on some stereotypes of cannabis users and suggests a need for further methodological and theoretical development in the field of substance use."
Commenting on the study's findings, NORML's Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "Suspicionless marijuana testing never has been an evidence-based policy. Rather, these discriminatory practices are a holdover from the zeitgeist of the 1980s 'war on drugs.' But times have changed; attitudes have changed, and in many places, the marijuana laws have changed. It is time for workplace policies to adapt to this new reality."
The study's authors acknowledged that despite the widespread implementation of workplace drug screening programs, "there is virtually no empirical research exploring cannabis use in relation to the modern workplace."
The study's findings are similar to those of a recent literature review published in the journal Substance Use and Misuse which concluded, "[T]he current body of evidence does not provide sufficient evidence to support the position that cannabis users are at increased risk of occupational injury." A prior literature review, published in 2017 by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, also concluded, "There is no or insufficient evidence to support ... a statistical association between cannabis use and ... occupational accidents or injuries."
In recent months, lawmakers in several municipalities - including New York City, Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, DC - have enacted legislation limiting the use of marijuana-specific pre-employment drug screening.
Both Maine and Nevada have enacted state-specific legislation barring certain employers from refusing to hire a worker solely because he or she tested positive for cannabis on a pre-employment drug screen.
Full text of the study, "Altered states or much to do about nothing? A study of when cannabis is used in relation to the impact it has on performance," appears in Group & Organization Management.
States' Legalization Laws Have Had "Little Effect on Marijuana Prevalence Among Adolescents"
Irvine, CA: Neither the enactment of statewide adult-use marijuana legalization laws nor the passage of marijuana medicalization laws has significantly impacted youth use patterns over the past two decades, according to data published in The American Journal of Public Health.
A team of investigators affiliated with the University of California, Louisiana State University, and Temple University compared cannabis use patterns among justice system-involved adolescents in California in the years immediately following the implementation of adult-use legalization with those of similarly matched controls residing in a non-legalization state (Pennsylvania).
Authors reported, "California JSI youths did not demonstrate a significant increase in marijuana use after [adult-use] legalization or implementation." In fact, marijuana consumption rates among young people in California were lower than those reported by young people in Pennsylvania over the same time period.
The study's findings are consistent with numerous other papers similarly concluding that liberalized marijuana policies are not independently associated with upticks in cannabis use by young people. An accompanying editorial in the Journal emphasized this point, stating: "Taken as a whole, these studies suggest that marijuana legalization has not had much overall effect on marijuana use by children and adolescents, at least during the past two decades. From 2000 to 2019, marijuana legalization changed substantially. ... Despite these changes, adolescent marijuana prevalence has varied little, with the national percentage of US 12th graders who have ever used marijuana hovering within a narrow window of 42 percent to 49 percent during this time period. In 2019, it was at 44 percent, toward the lower end of this range."
The editorial concluded, "In summary, prevalence of marijuana use among adolescents has remained remarkably steady over the past 20 years despite substantial changes in its legality across the United States during this period."
Full text of the study, "Marijuana use among justice-involved youths after California statewide legalization, 2015-2018," appears in the American Journal of Public Health. The accompanying editorial, "Marijuana legalization and marijuana prevalence among adolescents," appears in the same issue. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, "Marijuana Regulation and Teen Use Rates."
Montana: Adult-Use Legalization Initiatives Qualify for November Ballot
Helena, MT: Montanans will join voters in Arizona, New Jersey, and South Dakota this November to decide whether to legalize the adult-use marijuana market.
The Secretary of State has confirmed that campaign proponents, New Approach Montana, collected the required number of signatures from registered voters to a pair of complimentary measures on the ballot.
Statutory initiative I-190 allows adults to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and to cultivate up to four mature plants for personal use. The state would impose a twenty percent tax on retail sales, and revenue from those sales would be directed toward substance abuse treatment, veterans' services, health care, and other programs.
The second ballot measure, CI-118, amends the state's constitution so that only those age 21 or older may patronize the legal cannabis market.
Adult-use ballot initiatives have already qualified for the ballot in Arizona, New Jersey, and South Dakota. Initiatives to legalize medical access to cannabis are certified for the ballot in Mississippi and South Dakota. Proponents of a medical initiative in Nebraska are awaiting certification.
Survey: Most Americans in Legal States Express "Positive Perceptions" of the Cannabis Marketplace
Ontario, Canada: Adults residing in states where retail marijuana sales are legally regulated tend to hold positive impressions of the marketplace, according to data published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
Investigators affiliated with the University of Waterloo, School of Public Health in Canada surveyed 5,530 respondents residing in Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Authors reported: "The current findings suggest generally positive perceptions of the legal cannabis market. Most respondents, including frequent cannabis consumers, perceived legal cannabis to be of equal or greater quality and convenience, and as safer to buy and use than cannabis from illegal sources."
Commenting on the study's findings, NORML's Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "This data once again affirms that most voters do not experience 'buyer's remorse' following marijuana legalization. In the minds of most Americans, these laws are operating as voters intended and in a manner that is consistent with their expectations."
Although some of the study's respondents expressed concerns that legally sold cannabis products tend to be more expensive than those available in the illicit market, most also acknowledged that prices typically fall over time as the market matures. Overall, respondents were likely to think most favorably about the marketplaces in the jurisdictions where cannabis had been legal the longest.
The findings are consistent with prior studies finding that most Americans believe that the enactment of marijuana legalization policies has been successful.
Full text of the study, "Consumer perceptions of 'legal' and 'illegal' cannabis in US states with legal cannabis sales," appears in Addictive Behaviors.
Survey: Most Americans in Legal States Express "Positive Perceptions" of the Cannabis Marketplace
Ontario, Canada: Adults residing in states where retail marijuana sales are legally regulated tend to hold positive impressions of the marketplace, according to data published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
Investigators affiliated with the University of Waterloo, School of Public Health in Canada surveyed 5,530 respondents residing in Alaska, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
Authors reported: "The current findings suggest generally positive perceptions of the legal cannabis market. Most respondents, including frequent cannabis consumers, perceived legal cannabis to be of equal or greater quality and convenience, and as safer to buy and use than cannabis from illegal sources."
Commenting on the study's findings, NORML's Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "This data once again affirms that most voters do not experience 'buyer's remorse' following marijuana legalization. In the minds of most Americans, these laws are operating as voters intended and in a manner that is consistent with their expectations."
Although some of the study's respondents expressed concerns that legally sold cannabis products tend to be more expensive than those available in the illicit market, most also acknowledged that prices typically fall over time as the market matures. Overall, respondents were likely to think most favorably about the marketplaces in the jurisdictions where cannabis had been legal the longest.
The findings are consistent with prior studies finding that most Americans believe that the enactment of marijuana legalization policies has been successful.
Full text of the study, "Consumer perceptions of 'legal' and 'illegal' cannabis in US states with legal cannabis sales," appears in Addictive Behaviors.
Retail Cannabis Sales Continue to Surge to Record Highs
Denver, CO: Sales of retail cannabis products continue to surge in several states.
In California, sales of adult-use marijuana products totaled $348 million in July, the highest amount ever reported in the state in a single month. Similarly, marijuana-related sales in Colorado totaled just under $199 million in June, also a record high. Recent sales data in other states - including Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Florida - also show record high monthly totals.
According to a recent economic analysis of 24 state-legal cannabis markets by New Frontier Data, "One unanticipated effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the growth acceleration of legal cannabis markets (and erosion of the illicit markets) in those states which have activated both medical and adult-use sales."
Numerous state and local regulators have designated marijuana-related dispensaries as "essential" businesses during the pandemic - allowing them to provide uninterrupted, and in some cases, expanded services during the pandemic.
For more information, see the NORML Fact Sheet, "Marijuana Regulation: Impact on Health, Safety, and Economy."
Maine: State Regulators Announce Adult-Use Cannabis Sales to Begin in October
Augusta, ME: Adult-use retail cannabis sales are anticipated to begin in October, according to new guidance issued by the state's Office of Marijuana Policy.
According to a statement posted by the agency on Friday, "The Office intends to issue the first active licenses to recreational businesses on Tuesday, September 8, 2020." Recreational sales are slated to begin on October 9, 2020.
State officials previously granted conditional approvals to applicants in March. Officials then announced that they were delaying the licensing process in April as a result of the COVID pandemic.
Because of an ongoing legal battle, retail sales will likely face additional delays in Portland.
Maine voters initially approved the legalization of cannabis sales in November 2016 by passing a statewide initiative, but lawmakers - led by former Republican Gov. Paul LePage - repeatedly took steps to delay the law's implementation. Rules governing adult-use cannabis production and sales were not ultimately finalized until 2019.
