The author’s note, ” These findings suggest that large, longitudinal studies are needed to assess the causality of cannabis use toward altering brain function and the duration over which these effects persist.”

Read Time: 10 minutes 

Photo: Unsplash.com/Day, S.

Among their findings included, the enactment of state medical cannabis laws (MCL) was associated to a 42.7% increase in the diagnosis of cannabis use disorders (CUD) and an 88.6% increase in cannabis poisonings (CPs). In those states that implemented “recreational cannabis laws” (RCL), the rates of cannabis poisonings (CP) increased by 31.6% in the adult population.

The authors caution that the implementation of cannabis legalization at the state level for, medical or “recreational” use, is associated to greater health risks for the adult population, increased impacts to the health care system and final costs associated to the treatment for (CUDs) or (CPs). 

Read Time: <10 minutes

Photo: Pixabay.com/stock 

This study used patient data (deidentified), over a ten-year period comparing the occurrence of HNC in patients with a diagnosed CUD (N=116,076 patients) to those who did not use cannabis (N=3,985,286 patients) to arrive at relative risks factors. The authors (Gallagher, T. et.al.) found that when comparing non-users to those with a CUD, the risk of developing “any” HNC was 3.49 times greater in the CUD group. For location specific cancers in the CUD group, risk of oral cancer was 2.51 higher, oropharyngeal cancer (back of mouth and throat) was nearly 5 times higher, and laryngeal cancer (throat) was more than 8 times the risk, when compared to non-cannabis user group.

While the authors identify several potential relationships common to tobacco and cannabis use to adverse health outcomes, the call for more research to better understand this issue is clear. 

Abstract Read Time: < 5 minutes

Image: MIG 

These are among some of the findings of researchers (Myran, D. et.al.) out of Ontario Canada. This study examined medical records in Ontario Canada from 2008 – 2019 for individuals without prior anxiety disorder (N=12,099,144) and who had a hospital visit due to a cannabis related incident (N=34,822). This data set accounts for medical treatments, outpatient data and hospital admissions for an estimated 97 precent of the population of the Canadian providence of Ontario. 

According to the authors, “We found that individuals with an ED visit for cannabis use were at over 3-fold increased risk of having an incident ED visit, hospitalization or outpatient visit for an anxiety disorder within 3-years of the visit relative to the general population.” They further cited that once they excluded persons with a prior history of mental health issues or substance use disorders (SUD), a cannabis related ED visit was associated to a 9-fold risk of requiring treatment for an anxiety disorder.   

Read Time: <10 minutes.

Photo: Unsplash.com/ Spratt, A.

The researchers (Levey, D. et.al.) note that a person with a CUD has an increased “genetic liability” risk for adverse mental and physical health outcomes. A genetic liability that an individual consumer would have no way of knowing that they are at risk. This was concerning to the authors given the continued increases in cannabis use and expanded legalization. 

Read time: 20+ Minutes (Technical / Scientific) 

Photo: MTH