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Title
Unapproved CBD products may not be as safe as they seem
05/26/2019

Many producers of products containing CBD are making unfounded medical claims regarding their products’ ability to cure or alleviate many diseases and conditions.
The FDA has very strict regulations on such activity and has issued warnings to some organizations that are selling CBD products. Unfortunately, enforcement is rare. And products with very high CBD concentrations are widely available.


CBD, Doctors, Finn
Why Marijuana Will Not Fix the Opioid Epidemic
01/20/2019

In 2017 Colorado had a record number of opioid overdose deaths from any opioid, including heroin and Colorado has had a medical marijuana program since 2001.
There are several reasons as to why any reported benefit will be outstripped by lack of benefit and increased risk of harm, and why cannabis is contributing to ongoing opioid use, and subsequently, the opioid epidemic.

  1. There is evidence in animal models showing adolescent rats exposed to THC will develop enhanced heroin self administration as adults which may be due to activation of mesolimbic transmission of dopamine by a common mu opioid receptor mechanism.,
  2. More than 90% of heroin users report a prior history of marijuana use compared to a prior history of painkiller use (47%).13
  3. Prospective twin studies demonstrated that early cannabis use was associated with an increased risk of other drug abuse. This particular study was conducted when the THC content was much lower than todays products which can reach 95% THC.
  4. Currently there is no widely available or accepted medical literature showing any benefit for pain with dispensary cannabis in common pain conditions. 

There is currently a large and growing body of evidence showing that cannabis use increases, rather than decreases non-medical prescription opioid use and opioid use disorder, based on followup of more than 33,000 people. Concurrent use of cannabis and opioids by patients with chronic pain appears to indicate a higher risk of opioid misuse. Closer monitoring for opioid-related aberrant behaviors is indicated in this group of patients and it suggests that cannabis use is a predictor of aberrant drug behaviors in patients receiving chronic opioid therapy.
There is sufficient and expanding evidence demonstrating that medical marijuana use will not curb the opioid epidemic. There is further evidence that marijuana is a companion drug rather than substitution drug and that marijuana use may be contributing to the opioid epidemic rather than improving it.


opioid, Finn, ncbi
LETTERS: Marijuana's impact on developing brain;
01/31/2018

Over time, the substance most often found in completed teen suicides is marijuana. Most of these suicides have toxicology results available. It is unclear as to why marijuana is most often present.


Colorado, Teen, suicide, Finn
The Clinical Conundrum of Medical Marijuana
01/06/2017

Detailed Information
. Patients freely share their “medicine” with family and friends, and parents are self-diagnosing, and subsequently dosing their children with high-concentration marijuana products for conditions that may simply not exist (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, etc.); or allow their medical cards to expire and continue to grow their own.
The use of marijuana for medical conditions, including pain, needs robust studies, and subsequent products need more regulation and consistency for public consumption. Colorado is an example of the societal effect across a wide spectrum of arenas that comes with rampant cannabis use, particularly in youth use and impaired driving fatalities. The problems Colorado is seeing completely transcend “responsible use” or “marijuana as medicine.” 

 


Potency, Studies, driving, Finn, MD, 2017 Legislation
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