#NORML #News Source: @norml @WeedConnection Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com media :: news - Tue, 22 Nov 2016 04:20:21 PST
Study: Medical Cannabis Associated With Improved Cognitive Performance, Reduced Opioid Use
Boston, MA: Medical cannabis administration is associated with improved cognitive performance and lower levels of prescription drug use, according to longitudinal data published online in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology.
Investigators from Harvard Medical School, Tufts University, and McLean Hospital evaluated the use of medicinal cannabis on patients' cognitive performance over a three-month period. Participants in the study were either naïve to cannabis or had abstained from the substance for at least ten years. Baseline evaluations of patients' cognitive performance were taken prior to their cannabis use and then again following treatment.
Researchers reported "no significant decrements in performance" following medical marijuana treatment. Rather, they determined, "[P]atients experienced some improvement on measures of executive functioning, including the Stroop Color Word Test and Trail Making Test, mostly reflected as increased speed in completing tasks without a loss of accuracy."
Participants in the study were less likely to experience feelings of depression during treatment, and many significantly reduced their use of prescription drugs. "[D]ata revealed a notable decrease in weekly use across all medication classes, including reductions in use of opiates (-42.88 percent), antidepressants (-17.64 percent), mood stabilizers (-33.33 percent), and benzodiazepines (-38.89 percent)," authors reported - a finding that is consistent with prior studies.
Patients in the study will continue to be assessed over the course of one-year of treatment to assess whether these preliminary trends persist long-term.
Full text of the study, "Splendor in the grass? A pilot study assessing the impact of marijuana on executive function," appears in Frontiers of Pharmacology.
Maine: Legalization Opponents Request Recount
Augusta, ME: Marijuana legalization opponents in Maine are formally challenging the results of Question 1: The Marijuana Legalization Act, a statewide ballot initiative that received slightly over 50 percent of the vote on Election Day.
On Wednesday, legal counsel for the No on 1 campaign turned in petitions to the Secretary of State's office formally requesting a recount. If the recount goes forward, the process is expected to take approximately 30 days and cost taxpayers nearly $500,000.
If the vote is upheld, the measure will become law by January 7, 2017.
The Act permits adults who are not participating in the state's medical cannabis program to possess personal use quantities of marijuana (up to two and one-half ounces and/or the total harvest produced by six plants). The measure also establishes regulations for the commercial cultivation and retail sale of cannabis to adults. Regulations governing marijuana-related businesses are scheduled to be in place by August 8, 2017.
Denver: Voters Approve Social Use Marijuana Measure
Denver, CO: Denver voters approved a municipal measure on Election Day to permit licensed establishments to allow for the consumption of cannabis on site.
Voters decided 53 percent to 47 percent in favor of I-300. The local measure creates a four-year pilot program regulating businesses that wish to allow adults to consume marijuana on their premises. Business would not be able to sell or provide marijuana to patrons, nor would customers be permitted to smoke cannabis indoors. (Vaping cannabis or consuming edibles indoors is permitted.) Smoking cannabis will be permitted in licensed outdoor venues.
Proponents of the measure, including the Denver Post's editorial board, argued that rules governing marijuana's social use are necessary to accommodate the needs of tourists, many of whom purchase cannabis legally while visiting the state but are forbidden from consuming it in their hotels or in public.
In the county of Pueblo, Colorado voters rejected a local ballot measure (Issue 200) that sought to prohibit commercial marijuana businesses. If passed, the measure would have shut down over 150 licensed establishments. Fifty-six percent of voters rejected the measure. Voters within the city of Pueblo also rejected a similar citywide measure, Question 300.
Tennessee: Attorney General Says Cities Cannot Enact Marijuana Decriminalization
Nashville, TN: Recently approved marijuana decriminalization ordinances in Memphis and Nashville conflict with Tennessee state drug laws and therefore may not be enforced, according to an opinion issued this week by the Office of the Attorney General.
City council members in both cities voted this fall to impose local ordinances providing municipal police the option of issuing citations for minor marijuana offenses in lieu of making a criminal arrest.
The opinion reads, "[T]he ordinance[s] cannot stand because [they] impede the inherent discretion and responsibility of district attorneys general to prosecute violations of the Drug Control Act."
Republican state senators Brian Kelsey and Ron Lollar requested the opinion.
Under state law, first-offense marijuana possession violations are classified as a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.
