#NORML #News Source: @norml @WeedConnection Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com media :: news - Tue, 11 May 2021 04:20:21 PST
Analysis: Marijuana Use Data Fails to Support "Gateway Hypothesis"
Boise, Idaho: Claims that the initiation of marijuana use is independently linked to the later use of other controlled substances are not supported by longitudinal data, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology.
A pair of researchers affiliated with Boise State University in Idaho analyzed the relationship between self-reported marijuana use in late-adolescence and the use of other illicit substances later in life in a nationally representative sample.
Authors reported: "[P]olitical discourse advocating marijuana prohibition commonly hinges on the assumption that marijuana causes hard drug use. The MGH [marijuana gateway hypothesis] is by far the most common justification for prohibiting the use of cannabis. However, the current study provides further evidence that common liability arguments are more in line with substance use patterns observed in the USA."
They concluded: "In sum, the findings from the current study ... provide further support of previous research questioning the causal claims of the MGH. While there is strong support for correlation and sequencing in marijuana and hard drug use, correlation and sequencing alone cannot provide sufficient evidence for causality. Factors other than marijuana use such as genetic predisposition, peer associations, or access to the illicit drug market could be the primary causes of hard drug use instead of marijuana use itself. As such, any public policy that prohibits the use of marijuana in an attempt to curb hard drug use is unlikely to succeed."
Full text of the study, "Is marijuana really a gateway drug? A nationally representative test of the marijuana gateway hypothesis using a propensity score matching design," appears in the Journal of Experimental Criminology. Additional information is available from the NORML fact sheet, "Marijuana and the 'Gateway Theory'."
Study: Cannabis Consumers More Likely to Engage in Physical Activity
San Diego, CA: Adults who report frequently consuming cannabis are more likely to engage in physical activity than are to those who abstain from the substance, according to data published in The Harm Reduction Journal.
A team of investigators affiliated with the University of California, San Diego and with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver assessed the relationship between cannabis use and physical activity in a nationally representative cohort of 2,092 participants (ages 20-59). Study participants wore a battery-operated activity monitor for seven days. Subjects were classified as light, moderate, frequent, or non-current cannabis users depending on how often they used cannabis in the previous 30 days.
Researchers reported, "Frequent cannabis users engaged in more physical activity than non-current users. Light cannabis users had greater odds of self-reporting physical activity compared to non-current users."
Authors concluded: "To our knowledge, this is the first study to use objective accelerometry measures to assess the relationship between cannabis use and physical behavior in a population-based sample of US adults. The results suggest that frequent cannabis users engaged in more PA (physical activity) than non-current users but spent similar amounts of time in SB (sedentary behavior). ... Findings tended to be stronger among adults over 40 and those who did not smoke cigarettes. ... Our findings do not support the mainstream perception of cannabis users as living sedentary lifestyles."
The team's findings are consistent with those of several other recently reported studies. For instance, a study involving nearly 16,000 US adults, published in March in the journal Public Health, similarly reported, "[T]hose who had ever used cannabis had higher odds of being physically activity compared with those who had not." Another recent study involving over 12,000 participants concluded, "Marijuana users are equal to or more likely to exercise than non-users."
A third study, published last year in the American Journal of Health and Behavior, reported an especially strong correlation between cannabis use and physical activity among older subjects. Investigators determined: "Compared to older adult non-users, older adult cannabis users had lower BMI at the beginning of an exercise intervention study, engaged in more weekly exercise days during the intervention, and were engaging in more exercise-related activities at the conclusion of the intervention. Although preliminary, these findings suggest that it may be easier for older adults who endorse using cannabis to increase and maintain their exercise behavior."
Full text of the study, "Cannabis use, sedentary behavior, and physical activity in a nationally representative sample of US adults," appears in The Harm Reduction Journal.
Study: Cannabis Consumers More Likely to Engage in Physical Activity
San Diego, CA: Adults who report frequently consuming cannabis are more likely to engage in physical activity than are to those who abstain from the substance, according to data published in The Harm Reduction Journal.
A team of investigators affiliated with the University of California, San Diego and with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver assessed the relationship between cannabis use and physical activity in a nationally representative cohort of 2,092 participants (ages 20-59). Study participants wore a battery-operated activity monitor for seven days. Subjects were classified as light, moderate, frequent, or non-current cannabis users depending on how often they used cannabis in the previous 30 days.
Researchers reported, "Frequent cannabis users engaged in more physical activity than non-current users. Light cannabis users had greater odds of self-reporting physical activity compared to non-current users."
Authors concluded: "To our knowledge, this is the first study to use objective accelerometry measures to assess the relationship between cannabis use and physical behavior in a population-based sample of US adults. The results suggest that frequent cannabis users engaged in more PA (physical activity) than non-current users but spent similar amounts of time in SB (sedentary behavior). ... Findings tended to be stronger among adults over 40 and those who did not smoke cigarettes. ... Our findings do not support the mainstream perception of cannabis users as living sedentary lifestyles."
The team's findings are consistent with those of several other recently reported studies. For instance, a study involving nearly 16,000 US adults, published in March in the journal Public Health, similarly reported, "[T]hose who had ever used cannabis had higher odds of being physically activity compared with those who had not." Another recent study involving over 12,000 participants concluded, "Marijuana users are equal to or more likely to exercise than non-users."
A third study, published last year in the American Journal of Health and Behavior, reported an especially strong correlation between cannabis use and physical activity among older subjects. Investigators determined: "Compared to older adult non-users, older adult cannabis users had lower BMI at the beginning of an exercise intervention study, engaged in more weekly exercise days during the intervention, and were engaging in more exercise-related activities at the conclusion of the intervention. Although preliminary, these findings suggest that it may be easier for older adults who endorse using cannabis to increase and maintain their exercise behavior."
Full text of the study, "Cannabis use, sedentary behavior, and physical activity in a nationally representative sample of US adults," appears in The Harm Reduction Journal.
DEA: Marijuana-Related Seizures, Arrests Increase In 2020
Washington, DC: Federal law enforcement agents and their partners seized over four-and-a-half million marijuana plants and made nearly 5,000 marijuana-related arrests in 2020, according to annual data compiled by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
According to figures published in the DEA's Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program Statistical Report, agents and their partners confiscated approximately 4.54 million cannabis plants last year - a nearly 20 percent increase over 2019's totals. Law enforcement also reported 4,992 marijuana-related arrests, up slightly from 2019 (when agents reported 4,718 arrests).
Both figures are down significantly from a decade ago, when the DEA seized over 8.7 million marijuana plants and made over 8,500 annual arrests as part of its nationwide Eradication/Suppression activities. Annual figures have largely been declining since that time.
Commenting on the data trends, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, "While marijuana enforcement is arguably not the same priority that it once was for the DEA - likely because of changes in state policies and in federal budgetary guidelines - this does not mean that the agency is content to look the other way at violations of federal marijuana law. There are still several thousands of Americans arrested for federal marijuana violations each year - even at a time when some seven in ten Americans believe that the plant ought to be legal for adults to use and possess."
As in past years, the overwhelming percentage of plant seizures (82 percent) and arrests (40 percent) nationwide took place in California. Agents seized over $41 million in assets related to marijuana-related eradication efforts in 2020.
The DEA's 2020 totals are available online.
Philadelphia: Mayor Signs Law Prohibiting Pre-Employment Screenings for Cannabis
Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed municipal legislation into law last week prohibiting certain employers from requiring prospective hires to pass a pre-employment drug screen showing that they have not used marijuana.
The measure, Bill No. 200625, "prohibits employers from requiring prospective employees to undergo testing for the presence of marijuana as a condition of employment, under certain terms and conditions." Employees in certain safety sensitive positions, such as police officers and/or those who supervise children or medical patients, will be exempt from the policy, as will those employees who are mandated to be drug tested under federal drug testing guidelines.
Members of the Philadelphia City Council had previously decided 15 to 1 in favor of the legislation. Testifying in support of the measure, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano told members of the Council, "There's no evidence to support the claim that those who consume cannabis in the privacy of their own home away from the job pose a unique workforce safety threat or risk."
The new law takes effect on January 1, 2022.
Philadelphia's measure is similar to other municipal laws that have recently been enacted in several other cities, including Atlanta, New York, and Washington, DC, limiting employers' abilities to drug test certain employees for off-the-job marijuana exposure.
Armentano said: "Suspicionless marijuana testing in the workplace is not now, nor has it ever been, an evidence-based policy. Rather, this discriminatory practice is 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 and to cease punishing employees for activities they engage in during their off-hours that pose no workplace safety threat."
A study published in November in the journal Occupational Medicine of 136,000 employees in various occupations identified "no association between past-year cannabis use and work-related injury" for employees in any occupation, including those who worked in high injury risk occupations. Authors concluded: "To the best of our knowledge, this was the largest population-based cross-sectional study examining the association between past-year cannabis use and work-related injuries. ... We found that workers reporting using cannabis more than once in the past year were no more likely to report having experienced a work-related injury over the same time period in a large cohort of the ... working population.
Survey: Patients with Parkinson's Disease Frequently Report Benefits From Medical Cannabis
New York, NY: Parkinson's disease (PD) patients who acknowledge using cannabis frequently report that it provides them with symptomatic relief.
Researchers affiliated with The Michael J. Fox Foundation surveyed nearly 1,900 PD patients regarding their use of cannabis. More than half of the survey's respondents said that their cannabis consumption provided them with therapeutic benefits. Specifically, respondents said that it improved their sleep, reduced their pain, and elevated their overall mood. Over 30 percent of respondents said that they had not discussed their medical cannabis use with their physician.
Separate survey data published in March by the Parkinson's Foundation reported that nearly 25 percent of US patients with PD report having consumed cannabis within the previous six months. In that survey, the majority of cannabis consumers reported that it provided them with either "moderate or considerable improvement" in their symptoms, particularly in addressing anxiety, pain, sleep disorders, stiffness, and tremors.
Observational trial data has previously reported that cannabis inhalation is associated with improvements in tremor, rigidity, pain, sleep, and bradykinesia (slowness of movement) in patients with Parkinson's.
Alabama: Majority of State-Licensed Physicians Support Medical Cannabis Legalization
Birmingham, AL: Seven in ten state-licensed physicians support the legalization of cannabis for therapeutic purposes, according to polling data compiled by the Lester Hill Center for Public Policy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Investigators surveyed opinions of 450 physicians of various specialties. Seventy percent of respondents endorsed the use of medical cannabis when recommended by a physician. Support was slightly higher among pediatricians, with 72 percent endorsing medicalization.
Whole-plant cannabis is not permitted for medical use in Alabama. Legislation to establish a limited program permitting the production and distribution of non-smoked cannabis products has passed the Senate, but has faced resistance in the House.
Surveys of practicing physicians in other states, such as in New York and Minnesota, have similarly shown majority support among health professionals for medicinal cannabis access. A WebMD/Medscape survey of over 1,500 health professionals nationwide reported that two-thirds of health professionals believe that cannabis should be a legal option for patients.
