#NORML #News Source: @norml Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com media :: news - Sat, 21 Dec 2013 04:20:21 PST
Study: Cannabis Use Unlikely To Cause Schizophrenia
Boston, MA: Family genetics, rather than adolescent cannabis use, increases risk of schizophrenia, according to a case control study published online in the journal Schizophrenia Research.
Investigators from Harvard Medical School compared the family histories of 108 schizophrenia patients and 171 individuals without schizophrenia to assess whether youth cannabis consumption was an independent factor in developing the disorder. Researchers reported that a family history of schizophrenia increased the risk of developing the disease, regardless of whether or not subjects consumed cannabis as adolescents.
"There was an increased morbid risk for schizophrenia in relatives of the cannabis using and non-using patient samples compared with their respective non-psychotic control samples," authors reported. "There was no significant difference in morbid risk for schizophrenia between relatives of the patients who use or do not use cannabis."
They concluded: "The results of the current study, both when analyzed using morbid risk and family frequency calculations, suggest that having an increased familial risk for schizophrenia is the underlying basis for schizophrenia in these samples and not the cannabis use. While cannabis may have an effect on the age of onset of schizophrenia it is unlikely to be the cause of illness."
Previous studies have reported that rates of schizophrenia have remained steady for decades despite changing patterns in cannabis use among the population.
Commenting on the study's findings, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "Concerns regarding cannabis' potential impact on psychiatric illnesses arguably warrant further study. However, such concerns - even if confirmed - are not persuasive justifications for continuing cannabis criminalization. Just the opposite is true. There are numerous adverse health consequences associated with alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs, all of which are far more dangerous and costlier to society than cannabis. It is precisely because of these consequences that these products are legally regulated and their consumption is restricted to specified consumers and settings. This same principle ought to apply to cannabis."
Full text of the study, "A controlled family study of cannabis users with and without psychosis," appears in Neuropsychopharmacology.
Study: Cannabidiol Holds Promise For Treating Psychosis
Utrecht, The Netherlands: Cananbidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic cannabinoid, alleviates psychotic symptoms and may hold promise as an alternative antipsychotic treatment, according to a review published in the November issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
Investigators in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom reviewed preclinical and clinical data on the use of CBD as an antipsychotic agent. Authors reported that both animal and human studies document the ability of CBD to mitigate symptoms of psychosis. Specifically, CBD administration is associated with improved symptoms in clinical evaluations of patients with schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and ketamine-induced dissociative and psychotic symptoms.
Investigators also highlighted a 2012 double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial assessing CBD versus the prescription anti-psychotic drug amisulpride in 42 subjects with schizophrenia and acute paranoia. Authors reported that both CBD and the prescription drug were associated with "equally significant clinical improvement" in this patient population, but that cannabidiol "possessed significantly less side effects."
They concluded: "[E]vidence from several study domains suggests that CBD has some potential as an antipsychotic treatment. ... Given the high tolerability and superior cost-effectiveness, CBD may prove to be an attractive alternative to current antipsychotic treatment."
Previous human trials assessing the administration of CBD in healthy human subjects report that the cannabinoid is "safe and well tolerated."
Separate investigations of CBD, primarily in animal models, have documented the cannabinoid to possess a variety of therapeutic qualities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-epileptic, anti-cancer, and bone-stimulating properties. Recently, the FDA approved the experimental use of CBD extracts for the treatment of a rare form of intractable pediatric epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome. Preliminary clinical trials assessing the safety and tolerability of the compound in children are scheduled to begin imminently.
Full text of the study, "Cannabidiol as a potential treatment for psychosis," appears in Neuropsychopharmacology.
Teens' Alcohol, Tobacco Use Falls To Historic Lows, Annual Survey Finds
Ann Arbor, MI: Adolescents' consumption of alcohol and tobacco fell to historic lows while self-reported annual use of cannabis held steady, according to survey data released Wednesday by the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The University's 'Monitoring the Future' study has been sampling adolescents' consumption of various licit and illicit substances since the mid-1970s.
Use of both alcohol and tobacco among all grades surveyed has fallen consistently since the mid-1990s. Self-reported annual use of marijuana held relatively stable from 2011 to 2012, after having increased among all grade levels each year since 2007. Reported marijuana use levels for 2012 mimic levels previously reported in the late 1990s.
Teens' perceptions of cannabis' risk potential continued to dip, continuing a trend that first began in the early 1990s. Approximately 8 out of 10 12th graders surveyed said that marijuana was "fairly easy" or "very easy" to obtain, a percentage that has remained largely unchanged since 2009.
Full text of the Monitoring the Future study is available online at: https://www.monitoringthefuture.org//pressreleases/13drugpr_complete.pdf
