A newsletter about cannabis and cannabinoids as medicine
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On 25 June Brazil's highest court voted to decriminalize the possession of cannabis for personal use after nearly 10 years of deliberating, but more decisions still need to be made.
On 28 May President Cyril Ramaphosa gave his approval to Cannabis for Private Purposes Act (CfPPA). The National Assembly had passed the legislation last November, and the National Council of Provinces signed off in February.
In an online survey with 1373 patients from a tertiary headache center 56% reported the use of cannabis-based products in the past 3 years and 33% indicated current use. Investigators of Hartford HealthCare Headache Center of the Ayer Neuroscience Institute in West Hartford, USA, noted that this is the largest study to date to document cannabis product usage patterns and perceived benefits for migraine management in a clinical headache patient sample.
A survey from Germany with 1030 chronically ill patients showed, that cannabis treatment improved their quality of life regardless of the underlying illness. A standardized questionnaire was presented online nationwide over a 15-week period. Recruitment was supported by pharmacies, prescribing physicians, and patient associations in Germany.
According to a 4-arm placebo-controlled study with 92 participants cannabis reduced migraine pain. Investigators of the University of California in San Diego, USA, treated adults with migraine up to 4 separate migraine attacks, 1 each with vaporized cannabis flowers with 6% THC, with 11% CBD, with 6% THC+11% CBD, and a placebo in a randomized order. The primary endpoint was pain relief and secondary endpoints were pain freedom and most bothersome symptom freedom, all assessed at 2 hours post-vaporization.
Since the IACM conference in April 2024 cannot take place in Aberdeen, UK, as planned, we want to use this time on April 12 and 13 for an online meeting that interested parties from different time zones can attend from the comfort of their own homes. On both days, the program will last about 4.5 hours, during which we will discuss several topics in different formats, including the endocannabinoid system, effects of cannabis beyond THC and CBD, benefits and risks in psychiatric disorders.
The European Commission agreed to register a multi-national initiative to foster access to the medical use of cannabis and promote research into the therapeutic potential of the plant. That means signature-gathering can get underway. Petitioners will have six months to start the drive, then must gather one million signatures from at least seven member countries within a year to force the European Union to consider the proposal.
Investigators of the Department of Neurology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA investigated 25 participants with magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging approximately 12-weeks apart. Eight patients with treatment resistant epilepsy were imaged before receiving Epidiolex, a CBD rich cannabis extract, and after 12 weeks of CBD therapy. Treatment was started at a daily dose of 5 mg/kg, with bi-weekly titration based on response and tolerability. Seventeen healthy controls were also imaged twice.
According to a survey with 259 patients the medical use of cannabis was helpful in the treatment of back or neck pain. Investigators of the Division of Orthopedic Surgery in Kingston, Canada, and other hospitals from Canada analysed data gathered from patients treated by orthopaedic clinics in Ontario.
Pure CBD may be helpful in the treatment of about two thirds of children with treatment-resistant epileptic spasms syndrome. Investigators of several hospitals in Argentine conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical records of 28 children aged 6 to 21 months, who received CBD between 2021 and 2023. The cause was structural in 10, Down syndrome in seven, genetic in nine, and unknown in two. Initial CBD dose was 2 mg/kg/day, which was uptitrated to a median dose of 25 mg/kg/day.
According to a retrospective analysis of data from 59 patients with major depressive disorder cannabis may reduce symptom severity, investigators of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Essen, Germany, and other German institutions reported. treatment was conducted via a telemedical platform and patients were followed for 18 weeks.
investigators of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at Hassan II University in Casablanca, Morocco, compared two groups of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, 50 cannabis users and 49 non-users .
The IACM Bulletin has been published every two weeks since 2000. The number of publications has increased considerably during this time. To ensure that the information in each newsletter remains manageable, we want to increase the frequency of publication. The content will also be adapted. In future, there will be references to interesting review articles. On the other hand, there will be fewer articles on basic research, particularly on studies with few new findings. In this way, the real news will be emphasized. We hope that you find this helpful.
Ukraine’s Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) parliamentary faction has blocked the signing of a bill legalizing the use of medical cannabis, which was approved by the 248 deputies of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, on 21 December. The bill will remain blocked until mid-January when it may potentially be unblocked by the parliament and signed by the president. "And since the law will come into force only in six months, it will start working around July 2024," Member of Parliament Jaroslav Zalizniak wrote on Telegram.
According to a cross-sectional study with 252 refractory cancer-related pain patients cannabis was shown to effectively improve symptoms. Investigators of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Israel, asked participants to fill out a detailed self-report questionnaire. 126 patients were treated with medical cannabis and 105 were not.
The 13th IACM Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine, which was originally scheduled to take place in Aberdeen from 11 to 13 April 2024, will unfortunately have to be held online for various reasons. Further information on the dates and programme will follow in the coming weeks.
Ohio voters approved a ballot proposal on November 7 legalizing recreational cannabis. This makes Ohio the 24th state in the United States to permit cannabis use for non-medical purposes. While this change brings new freedoms for adults, employers in Ohio are provided broad rights and responsibilities under the new law.
In a longitudinal observational study with 108 adults suffering from anxiety or PTSD as a referring condition did the use of cannabis allow a reduction in other medications. Investigators of Public Health Management Corporation in Philadelphia, USA, asked participants to fill out a survey at baseline and after 3 months.
Investigators of the American College of Chest Physicians in Glenview, USA, analysed data of 322,214 patients with COVID-19 infection admitted to hospitals in the United States, of whom 2,603 were cannabis users.
According to a survey by investigators of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA, a large proportion of patients with early-stage breast cancer uses cannabis to treat insomnia and pain. Among 2462 patients, who answered the question on cannabis use, 14.8% reported using the drug in the last 30 days and 59.4 percent reported never having used cannabis.
The WeCann Summit 2023 is the main congress for physicians on Endocannabinoid Medicine in Latin America. It is organised in cooperation with the IACM.
In a study with 15 patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease profited from different CBD/THC products by reducing pain and improving sleep. Investigators of the Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine of the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, USA, compared 8 patients, who were prescribed CBD/THC treatments and 7 who were not prescribed cannabis.
The 13th IACM Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine will be held in Aberdeen, Scotland, from
The Health Ministry says that from December 2023, doctors will be able to prescribe cannabis to patients. The ministry publishes its reforms into the medical cannabis system, saying that it will review the system again after a year. Today, many of the about 120,000 Israelis with licenses to use medical cannabis have been facing rising costs, more bureaucracy, and more difficulties in obtaining their supply.