#NORML #News Source: @norml @WeedConnection Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com media :: news - Tue, 19 Jan 2016 04:20:21 PST
Study: Marijuana Decreases Migraine Frequency
Aurora, CO: Cannabis administration is associated with decreased migraine headache frequency, according to data published online in the journal Pharmacotherapy.
Investigators at the University of Colorado, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences retrospectively assessed cannabis' effects on monthly migraine headache frequency in a group of 121 adults. Study participants had a primary diagnosis of migraine headache, had been recommended cannabis by a physician for migraine treatment, and had participated in at least one follow up medical visit.
Authors reported that 85 percent of subjects reported a decrease in migraine frequency and 12 percent indicated that the use of cannabis prior to migraine onset would abort headaches.
"Migraine headache frequency decreased from 10.4 to 4.6 headaches per month with the use of medical marijuana," researchers concluded. "Further research should be performed to determine if there is a preferred delivery method, dose, and strain of medical marijuana for migraine headache therapy as well as potential long-term effects of medical marijuana."
Although case reports have previously documented the effect of cannabinoids for migraine relief, no prospective trials have yet to evaluate cannabis use in migraine patients. Nonetheless, scientists for some time have theorized that cannabinoids may play a role in migraine regulation. Writing in 2007 in the European Journal of Critical Pharmacology, Italian researchers reported that patients with chronic migraines possessed significantly lower levels of the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG) in their platelets compared to age-matched controls. "These data support the potential involvement of a dysfunctioning of the endocannabinoid and serotonergic systems in the pathology of chronic migraine and medication-overuse headaches," they concluded.
Full text of the study, "Effects of medical marijuana on migraine headache frequency in an adult population," appears online in Pharmacotherapy.
Study: Cannabis Use Not Predictive Of Lower IQ
London, United Kingdom: Marijuana use by adolescents is not associated with lower IQ or poorer educational performance once adjustments are made for potential confounders, specifically cigarette smoking, according to longitudinal data published online ahead of print in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.
British investigators assessed the relationship between cumulative cannabis use and IQ at the age of 15 and educational performance at the age of 16 in a cohort of 2,235 adolescents.
After researchers adjusted for potentially confounding variables, such as childhood depression and cigarette use, they reported, "[T]hose who had used cannabis [greater than or equal to] 50 times did not differ from never-users on either IQ or educational performance."
By contrast, teen cigarette smoking was associated with poorer educational outcomes even after researchers adjusted for other confounding variables.
Researchers concluded, "In summary, the notion that cannabis use itself is causally related to lower IQ and poorer educational performance was not supported in this large teenage sample."
A widely publicized New Zealand study published in 2012 in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that frequent use of cannabis by those under the age of 18 was associated with lower IQ by age 38. However, a separate review of the data published later in the same journal suggested that the changes were likely the result of socioeconomic differences, not cannabis use.
More recently, the results of a 2015 study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence reported that the effects of persistent adolescent cannabis use on academic performance "became non-significant after controlling for persistent alcohol and tobacco use."
ull text of the study, "Are IQ and educational outcomes in teenagers related to their cannabis use? A prospective cohort study," appears online in The Journal of Pharmacology.
Vermont: Governor, Former AG Back Marijuana Legalization Effort
Montpelier, VT: Democrat Gov. Peter Shumlin and former state Attorney General Kimberly Cheney are publicly backing legislative efforts to regulate the adult use and retail sale of marijuana.
Speaking at his State of the State address last week, Gov. Shumlin said that he intends to work with lawmakers this session to enact legislation to regulate the use of marijuana by adults. "The outdated war on drugs has failed and there is no greater example [of this failure] than our nation's marijuana laws," he acknowledged. "That's why I will work with you to craft the right bill that thoughtfully and carefully eliminates the era of prohibition that is currently failing us so miserably."
Former state Attorney General Kimberly Cheney endorsed the Governor's vision at a separate news conference, stating: "I am committed to bringing awareness to the failures of marijuana prohibition and working toward a safer Vermont. ... In a tightly regulated system, marijuana will be tested, labeled, and properly packaged. It will be sold by licensed businesses that ask for ID, sell only to adults, and do not expose consumers to other more harmful substances. Plus, law enforcement will be able to spend more time addressing serious crimes instead of enforcing failed prohibition laws."
A pair of measures seeking to regulate and tax the production and retail sale of cannabis are pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
If enacted, Vermont would become the first state to pass legislation to regulate the adult use of cannabis. Similar laws in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington were all enacted by the passage of voter initiatives.
