#NORML #News Source: @norml @WeedConnection Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com media :: news - Tue, 10 Nov 2020 04:20:21 PST
Past-Year Marijuana Use Not Associated with Elevated Risk of Workplace Injury
Toronto, Canada: Employees with a history of cannabis use over the past year are no more likely than non-users to experience an injury at work, according to data published in the journal Occupational Medicine.
A team of investigators affiliated with the University of Toronto, Department of Occupational Medicine, assessed the relationship between past-year cannabis use and work-related injuries in a population-based sample of over 136,500 Canadian workers.
Researchers 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. By contrast, being male and being under 39 years of age was positively associated with possessing a higher risk of workplace injury.
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 Canadian working population."
Their conclusions are similar to those of other studies - such as those here, here, here, and here - finding that adults who consume cannabis in their off-hours are no more likely to suffer injuries at work than are those employees who abstain from the substance.
Commenting on the study's findings, NORML's Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "Suspicionless marijuana testing in the workplace is not now, nor has it ever 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 and to cease punishing employees for activities they engage in during their off-hours that pose no workplace safety threat."
In recent months, lawmakers in several large 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, "Cannabis use and work-related injuries: A cross-sectional analysis," appears in Occupational Medicine. Additional information is available from the NORML fact sheet, "Marijuana Legalization and Impact on the Workplace."
Study: Cannabis Extracts Mitigate Symptoms of Burning Mouth Syndrome
Turin, Italy: The daily administration of plant-derived cannabis extracts significantly reduces pain and other symptoms in patients with a primary diagnosis of Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS), according to data published in the journal Pain Medicine. BMS is a neuropathic pain condition of unknown origin that can impact the roof the mouth, as well as the tongue, gums, lips, and side of the cheeks.
A team of Italian researchers treated subjects with extracts (1 gram of cannabis in 10grams of olive oil) over a period of four weeks.
Investigators reported: "Subjects showed a statistically significant improvement over time in terms of a clinical remission of the oral symptoms. Levels of anxiety and depression also changed statistically, displaying a favorable improvement. No serious reactions were detailed. None of the patients had to stop the treatment due to adverse events."
Authors concluded: "To date, no studies have provided evidence of a reliable and safe treatment for long-term management of BMS both in terms of symptom relief and quality of life. ... This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study analyzing the role of cannabinoids in the management of unresponsive BMS. ... In this pilot evaluation, the C. [cannabis] sativa oil provided was effective and well tolerated in patients with primary BMS. Further bigger and properly defined randomized controlled trials, with different therapeutic approaches or placebo control, are needed, however."
Full text of the study, "Evaluating the suitability and potential efficacy of cannabis sativa oil for patients with primary Burning Mouth Syndrome: A prospective, open-label, single-arm pilot study," appears in Pain Medicine.
Review: No Scientific Basis for Concerns that CBD May Be Converted to THC Following Ingestion
Karlsruhe, Germany: Available science does not provide support for the possibility of in vivo conversion of CBD into either THC or its primary metabolites, according to data published in the journal Toxics.
A team of German researchers reviewed the relevant literature on the subject. They concluded: "[T]he in vivo conversion of CBD to Delta 9-THC [is] not supported by the majority of the animal studies, where neither Delta 9-THC nor one of its metabolites 11-hydroxy-THC and 11-COOH-THCA were detected in blood or in brain tissues. Adding to this, neither Delta 9-THC nor any of its metabolites were detected after oral CBD administration in any of the human studies."
Authors concluded that instances of subjects testing positive on a urine drug test for THC following the consumption of commercially available CBD products are a result of the products being tainted with THC - not because CBD is transformed in vivo to THC.
Their conclusions are similar to those of prior studies - such as those here and here - reporting "no indication of human bioconversion of CBD to THC."
Full text of the study, "Conversion of cannabidiol (CBD) into psychotropic cannabinoids including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC): A controversy in the scientific literature," appears in Toxics.
Ohio: Four More Cities Depenalize Marijuana Possession Offenses
Glouster, OH: Voters in four Ohio towns (Adena, Glouster, Jacksonville, and Trimble) passed municipal initiatives on Tuesday depenalizing low-level marijuana possession offenses.
The policies amend local laws to reduce marijuana-specific offenses to the "lowest penalty allowed by the state." Under current state law, possession is classified as a minor misdemeanor.
The villages join over a dozen other Ohio towns and cities - including Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton - that have enacted local ordinances significantly reducing marijuana possession penalties.
Additional information is available from NORML Appalachia, which assisted in coordinating the campaign. NORML's municipal decriminalization report is available online.
