
ARTICLE SUMMARY
⢠Cannabis has drug-like effects, some of which may be useful in medicine, but it is not a cure-all.
⢠Cannabis potency has been increasing over the past seventy years.
⢠After tobacco and alcohol, cannabis accounts for more dependence than any other drug or drug group, and cannabis use carries considerable risk of psychiatric illness and other serious outcomes.
⢠The THC in marijuana increases the release of dopamine from the brain and, over time, can lead to serious neurotransmitter imbalances.
⢠Our bodies produce natural cannabinoids from animal fats in our diet. When well-regulated, these endocannabinoids are āfeel-good chemicalsā that ensure production of the proper amount of dopamine and cortisol.
⢠The research on cannabis outcomes for seizure-afflicted individuals is mixed. Seizure disorders often respond well to a diet very high in fats and low in sugar and refined carbohydrates.
⢠The evidence for marijuana as a pain reliever is also weak.
⢠Thus far, cancer studies have reached mixed conclusions. Marijuana users exposed to the drugās potent THC component may be more at risk for cancer, while results for CBD are inconclusive.
⢠Advocates for medical marijuana often uncritically credit all forms of marijuana and all methods of consuming marijuana as having therapeutic benefits, but patients and providers need to carefully consider dosing, potency, purity, potential adverse effects and other factors before entering this new medical frontier.
These days, many voices in social media are lauding cannabis as the cure for almost any ailment. Decades ago, however, the notion of āmedical marijuanaā was so far-fetched that when the editor of High Times magazine jokingly stated at a conference that he smoked pot to prevent glaucoma, the crowd roared with laughter.1
Keith Stroup, founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), seized on the idea of āmedical potā because of its political value. In a 1979 interview he gave at Emory University, he stated, āWe are trying to get marijuana reclassified medically. If we do that, weāll be using the issue as a red herring to give marijuana a good name.ā2 Richard Cowan, another leader at the same organization, openly referred to medical marijuana as a āscamā that would help legalize recreational use.1
MODERN-DAY CANNABIS
Cannabis contains two chemical compoĀnents of medical interest: tetrahydrocannabiĀnol (THC)āthe plantās famous psychoactive componentāand cannabidiol (CBD), which is considered non-psychoactive. Both compounds are extracted from the plantās cannabinoid acĀids through exposure to heat or other forms of āactivationā (called decarboxylation).3
The highly fat-soluble cannabinoids in marĀijuana are stored in the fat (lipid) portion of our cells. While stored in fatty tissue, cannabinoids can continue to affect mental performance, the immune system and other cellular activity after initial exposure. Unlike alcohol, which leaves the bloodstream in four to five hours, the psychoactive components of marijuana can remain in the body for days or weeks, impairing neurological function and reaction times.4 Thus, daily or weekly users never completely detox from the drug and may be at risk for poor judgĀment and slowed reactions leading to automobile accidents long after use.
Todayās marijuana is a far cry from the native weed that 1930s jazz musicians used for relaxation. Cannabis potency has been increasĀing over the past seventy years.5 In the 1960s, cannabis had a THC content in the range of 0.5 to 3 percent. By the 1990s, the THC content had risen to around 6 to 8 percent, and today most cannabis flowers sold in dispensaries contain 20 percent or more THC.6 In fact, cannabis concentrates such as THC butter or hash oil and āshatterā (oil extractions that use butane as a solvent) can reach a THC content of more than 90 percent.7 High Times magazine even sponsors a breeding competition called the Cannabis Cup (āthe worldās leading marijuana trade showā), which has taken the 1960s term āflower powerā to a whole new level.8
A writer for stoppot.org describes the ominous implications of todayās highly potent cannabis (nicknamed āskunkā), which has risen in THC potency from 0.5 percent to 95 percent: āCalling skunk āmedical marijuanaā in itself is a joke. CBD, the potentially beneficial compound has been largely bred out in favor of THC, the psychoactive ingredient. . . . That is not mediĀcine. It is a lethal weapon. The result has been psychotic episodes. . . and suicides from coast to coast. . . . It is happening to enough young people that Congress should take note and deĀfer to medical science and the FDA as to what constitutes a safe and efficacious medicine.ā9
DRUG, NOT A CURE-ALL
Cannabis has drug-like effects, some of which may be useful in medicine, but it is not a cure-all, andālike all drugsāit has side effects, including addiction. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continĀues to classify cannabis as a Schedule I drug (along with heroin and LSD) precisely because of marijuanaās āhigh potential for abuseā and its addictive qualities (described by the DEA as the āpotential to create severe psychologiĀcal and/or physical dependenceā).10 Although cannabis advocates have been pushing hard for a drug schedule change or even complete de-schedulingāarguing that the DEA āhas it all wrongāāa federal court reaffirmed marijuanaās Schedule I classification in 2015, opining that medical marijuana had not yet proven its safety and efficacy.11
Bertha Madras, PhD, a professor of psychoĀbiology at Harvard Medical School who studies how drugs affect the adolescent brain, gave testimony that convinced the federal judge not to reschedule marijuana. Madras later told Time, āWealthy investors and fierce user-advocates have orchestrated a political campaign to mediĀcalize, legalize and normalize an intoxicating, psychoactive, addictive drugā¦in the absence of unbiased scientific evidence or adherence to rigorous drug approval processes.ā12 Dr. Madras was appointed to the presidentās commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis in 2017.
The late Gabriel Nahas, MD, also actively campaigned against the medicalization of canĀnabis as a result of his research with populations where use of the drug was widespread and problematic. Dr. Nahas visited isolated cultures with a high degree of cannabis use and studied the downregulation of the immune system by cannabis. In his 1979 book, Keep Off the Grass,13 he described a colleagueās interaction with a high-ranking public health official in Morocco who expressed the belief that cannabis āmakes a bed for tuberculosis.ā Dr. Nahas also wrote about Egyptās request that the United Nations include marijuana in international drug control treaties because of the scourge the drug had become in Egypt.14
ADDICTIVENESS
In 1994, researchers at the National InstiĀtute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a division of the National Institutes of Health, analyzed drug dependence data from a large national survey conducted with over eight thousand participants aged fifteen to fifty-four years.15 After tobacco and alcohol, the NIDA authors found that ācanĀnabis accounted for more dependence than any other drug or drug group,ā with almost one in ten cannabis users reporting (and perhaps under-reporting) dependence. Men were more than twice as likely to become addicted as women (12 versus 5.5 percent).
Other research shared by NIDA indicates that about one in six (17 percent) of those who start using marijuana in adolescence become habitual users, and that 25 to 50 percent of daily users are addicted.16 Analysis of two waves of longitudinal data from approximately thirty to forty thousand individuals participating in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) used a structured diagnostic interview to determine cannabis dependence in 25 percent of those who reported using cannabis on a weekly basis in the previous year.17 Again, men were more likely to be cannabis-dependent than women.
CANNABIS RISKS
Dopamine is a neuro-compound that signals reward and enhances motivation. Much like other addictive drugs, the THC in marijuana increases the release of dopamine from the brain. Over time, this can lead to serious imbalĀances of this important neurotransmitter, with excessive cannabis intake adversely resulting in lower dopamine levels in the striatum part of the brain.18 (The striatum coordinates multiple aspects of cognition, including both motor and action planning, decision-making, motivation, reinforcement and reward perception.) For the cannabis-dependent person, dopamine deficits in the striatum result in cognitive impairment and memory and learning difficulties. DeĀcreased striatal dopamine release also is predicĀtive of subclinical psychopathology.18
Research indicates that cannabis use carries considerable risk of psychiatric illness and other serious outcomes. Summarizing ten years of epidemiologic, clinical and laboratory research, a 2009 report in The Lancet described a high probability of adverse effects from cannabis use, including ādependence syndrome, increased risk of motor vehicle crashes, impaired respiĀratory function, cardiovascular disease, and adverse effectsā¦on adolescent psychosocial development and mental health.ā19 Contrary to the notion that cannabis use exerts a calming efĀfect on all users, cannabis also can cause violent behavior20 and death (see sidebars).21 Perhaps even more troubling, one study found that canĀnabinoids can introduce epigenetic changes that can be passed on to future generations.22
Some people are aware that marijuana can cause paranoia during or after use, but many do not realize that the drug is associated with the onset of other disorders and symptoms such as anxiety, depression, social impairment, psychoĀsis and schizophrenia,23,24 as well as lowering inĀhibitions to experiment with other substances.25 The previously cited NESARC survey found that regular cannabis use āuniquely predicted the development of bipolar disorder, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and social phobiaā as well as overall declines in mental health.26
The Harvard Medical Schoolās Family Health Guide discusses two longitudinal studies that found a link between marijuana and depresĀsion.27 First, a survey of sixteen hundred teenagĀers in Australia found that young women who had smoked marijuana weekly as teens were twice as likely as non-users to report depression when surveyed seven years later.28 The second study collected data from nearly two thousand young people in Baltimore in 1980 and followed up with the same respondents from 1994 to 1996.29 Young women who reported using mariĀjuana daily were five times more likely at follow-up to struggle with depression and anxiety. The study found that cannabis users who showed no signs of depression at the first encounter were four times more likely than initial non-users to report depression fifteen years later.
Scientists know that the introduction of hallucinogenic substances to the brain and bloodstream carries a risk of psychosisāand the higher the level of use, the greater the hazard. Psychosis can entail hallucinations, hearing voices, seeing people who are not there and other breaks with reality, as well as agitation and violent behavior toward oneself or others.
Unfortunately, with the rise of ever more potent forms of cannabis, the risk of psychosis is increasing. A 2015 study in Lancet Psychiatry examined first-episode psychotic incidents in over four hundred adults age eighteen and older in south London and found that 24 percent of the cases were related to use of high-potency cannabis (with āhigh potencyā defined as a THC content of around 25 percent).30 The authors also noted the ready availability of high-potency cannabis in the London area. Other United Kingdom researchers have reported an associaĀtion between high-potency cannabis and āan increased severity of dependence, especially in young people,ā with āmarked effects on memory and paranoia.ā31
Marijuanaās links to schizophrenia are also under-recognized by the general public, even though science on the topic is accumulating.32 A longitudinal study in Finland tracked more than eighteen thousand patients over a sixteen-year period (1987-2003) after their discharge from the hospital for a first diagnosis of substance-induced psychosis; the researchers found that cannabis-induced psychosis led more often to a subsequent schizophrenia diagnosis (46 percent) compared to psychosis resulting from other substances such as amphetamines (30 percent), āhallucinogensā (24 percent) or opioids (21 percent).33 The substance least likely to lead to schizophrenia was the one most widely used by Finnish patients: alcohol-induced psychosis resulted in schizophrenia in only 5 percent of the cases.
Alan Clough of James Cook University in Australia is a leading expert on substance abuse among Aborigines and other remote populaĀtions. In 2009, Clough and fellow researchers reported on their five-year study of heavy mariĀjuana use in three remote Aboriginal communiĀties,34 describing cannabis use by indigenous Aborigines as āendemic yet neglected.ā35 When Clough spoke about the study with the newspaĀper The Australian, he shared several sobering observations about mental health, noting that āAfter 15 years of a cannabis epidemic weāre really starting to see the chronic mental effects appearing. Weāve seen acute psychosis that is irreversible, as well as depression and depenĀdence. Unfortunately, we also have the situation where suicide is linked not just with cannabis use but also through withdrawal.ā36
In August 2018, researchers published the results of the largest known brain scan study in the Journal of Alzheimerās Disease; the study involved over thirty-one thousand participants (ages zero to over one hundred) and over sixty-two thousand scans.37 The researchers, led by Daniel G. Amen, MD, founder of the Amen Clinics, found that cannabis use, along with schizophrenia and alcohol abuse, were imporĀtant factors related to accelerated brain aging. āThe cannabis abuse findĀing was especially important, as our culture is starting to see marijuana as an innocuous substance,ā said Amen, adding that āThis study should give us pause about it.ā38 In January of 2019, the Journal of NeurosciĀence published a report indicating higher grey matter volume (GMV) in fourteen-year-old adolescents with very infrequent marijuana use, comparing them to nonusers.39 Higher GMV is associated with lower performance on the Perceptual Reasoning Index and with future generĀalized anxiety symptoms.
CANNABIS AND SUICIDE
The risks of cannabis use for adolescents are particularly worrisome. As Dr. Bertha Madras at Harvard has stated, āThis is not a war on drugs: it is a defense of childrenās brains.ā A study in Lancet Psychiatry confirms the importance of protecting young peopleās brains to safeguard their future health and well-being. The researchers examined the association of cannabis use before age seventeen with seven different developmental outcomes up to age thirty. They found āclear and consistent associations and dose-response relations between the frequency of adolescent cannabis use and all adverse young adult outcomes.ā40 Youth who had regularly used marijuana were nearly seven times more likely to attempt suicide.
Some of those who start using cannabis as adolescents go beyond attempting suicide to actually succeeding. Lori Robinson, a California parent grieving the loss of her son by suicide, read about Alan Cloughās work with Australian Aborigines and cannabis and took special note of the researcherās comments about suicide. Gaining immediate insight into the cause of her own sonās death, Robinson coined the term ācannabis withdrawal suicide.ā41 Her son Shane had begun using marijuana and exĀperienced two separate psychotic incidents. He was able to recover from the first episode, but when he later relapsed into further marijuana use, he experienced a second psychotic episode with more lasting consequences to his career and his marriage. Tragically, seven months after his parents got him into rehab and he stopped using the drug, they lost him to suicide.
Andy Zorn, described by his family as āhandsome and funny,ā began using cannabis in high school out of a desire to fit in socially. He managed to function at a high level for a time, graduating from high school, earnĀing a college associates degree and serving three years in the military. However, his adolescent drug use became an adult addiction that he could not conquer. When he killed himself at age thirty-one, he left a suicide note that read, āMarijuana killed my soul [and] ruined my brain.ā42
CANNABIS AND THE HEART
Marijuana can raise both blood pressure and heart rateāsometimes even causing the heart to beat more than one hundred fifty times per minute.43 In the early 2000s, M.A. Middleman, a Harvard heart disease researcher, studied heart patients to determine possible triggers of acute cardiovascular events like arrhythmias and stroke. Publishing a study in Circulation, the researcher noted the rising rate of marijuana use āin the age group prone to coronary artery diseaseā and concluded, based on research with almost four thousand patients, that marijuana could trigger acute myocardial infarction.44 A more recent 2017 review reiterĀated the association between cannabis and symptoms such as ventricular tachycardia (increased heart rate), high blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension.45 The authors of the review also noted the potential for sudden death.
In fact, stories of cardiac deaths triggered by cannabis have appeared in the scientific literature. For example, a report by German forensic scientists identified cannabis as the cause of two fatal cardiac-related deaths in otherwise healthy young men.46 The researchers warned that the public is not adequately aware of marijuanaās potential to cause rapid increases in heart rate or blood pressure.
A New Jersey mom, Kristina Ziobro, has gone public with the story of her son, who began self-medicating by smoking cannabis, thinking it might help his irritable bowel symptoms. After becoming an avid advocate for cannabis, the young man died at age twenty-two of heart arrhythmia. The coroner initially told the family that their sonās death was likely caused by the cannabis but omitted that opinion from his final report. The Ziobro family believes that cannabis played a significant role in their sonās untimely death and is fighting to have the official report reflect the coronerās initial assessment.47
In a case in Colorado, poison control docĀtors attributed an eleven-month-old babyās death from myocarditis (inflammation of the heart tissue) to probable ingestion of cannabis as the babyās blood and urine tested positive for cannabis.48 The related news report described a fourfold increase in emergency room (ER) visits by young people who obtain cannabis āediblesā and show up in the ER with ādrowsiness, dizziĀness, vomiting, agitation, dangerous heart rates and seizures.ā49
MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOR SEIZURES
Pediatric seizures are one of the most comĀmon reasons parents turn to medical marijuana; indeed, many stories on the Internet describe children with intractable seizures who have experienced relief from using CBD products. However, parents need to know that the research on cannabis outcomes for seizure-afflicted inĀdividuals is mixed.
For example, a research team at the UniverĀsity of Colorado studied seventy-five pediatric patients (ages six months to eighteen years) who were using oral cannabis extracts to control epilepsy.50 Publishing their results in Epilepsy & Behavior in 2015, the investigators reported that only one third (33 percent) of the patients responded to treatment (defined as experiencing a greater than 50 percent reduction in seizures), whereas 44 percent experienced adverse events, including increased seizures and one death. (Conventional treatment for seizures typically brings relief to two out of three patients.51) Eight of the children had adverse events ordinarily deemed ārare,ā including developmental regresĀsion, new movement disorders, transient weakĀness on one side of the body (hemiparesis) and epileptic seizures requiring intubation.
A 2017 clinical trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine shared similarly mixed findings. Studying a specific form of childhood epilepsy called Dravet syndrome (which is characterized by seizures resistant to most other drugs), the researchers found that CBD use decreased seizure frequency to a greater extent than placebos but also was associated with higher rates of adverse events, including serious adverse events in ten of sixty-one patients in the CBD group (versus three of fifty-nine in the placebo group).52 Eight patients in the CBD group withdrew from the trial due to the adverse events, and another ten reduced their CBD dose. Twelve patients in the CBD group (compared to one in the placebo group) displayed an elevated biomarker indicative of liver damage.
In both studies, the authors concluded that additional data are needed to determine long-term efficacy and safety of CBD for epileptic seizures. Nonetheless, the FDA is moving forward on this front, having reviewed and approved prescription-only Epidiolex, the first CBD pharmaceutical, in June 2018.53 However, the FDA approval pertains solely to Dravet syndrome and one other rare and severe form of epilepsy.
Seizure disorders often respond well to a diet very high in fats and low in sugar and reĀfined carbohydrates, the so-called āketogenicā diet, especially when short- and medium-chain fatty acids (the kind found in coconut oil) are included. Unfortunately, specialists in seizure disorders recommend this diet only āfor children whose seizures have not responded to several different seizure medicines.ā54 Since both conĀventional seizure medications and CBD treatĀments can have side effects, it makes sense to try dietary intervention first, before resorting to any drugs.
LITTLE EVIDENCE OF PAIN RELIEF
Pain is another common reason that people give for medicating with cannabis. A humorous quip often heard from drug prevention activists is that āanyone who can fake an ache qualifies for a medical marijuana card.ā
What does the science show in terms of cannabisā effectiveness as a medicine for chronic pain? A 2017 review published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggested that the evidence for marijuana as a pain reliever is weak.55 The author concluded from the limited data available that cannabis may possibly help with neuropathic and cancer pain but not with other common pain conditions; commenting on the association of long-term cannabis use with adverse mental health effects, the author concluded, āit is not certain that the benefits of medical marijuana are greater than its risks.ā A 2018 systematic review of medical cannabinoids in Canadian Family Physician reached a similar conclusion, reporting that adverse events are the most consistent effects of medical cannabiĀnoids, and that adverse events can have a greater magnitude of effect than the potential benefits for the conditions targeted.56 The authors also noted that their methodology underestimated the risk of long-term and serious adverse events, including the risk of psychosis.
A third review, published in 2018 in the journal Pain, looked at cannabis extractions used in addition to other pain medications to treat chronic noncancer pain (CNCP). The researchers found that the ānumber needed to treat to benefit is high, and the number needed to treat to harm is low⦠. It seems unlikely that cannabinoids are highly effective medicines for CNCP.ā57
Dr. Ken Finn, a pain medicine expert in Colorado, has stated, āThe public has embraced that marijuana can treat all pain conditions and state governments have followed suit, without scientific evidence, and have allowed an indusĀtry to prosper on the thin ice of what is currently and scientifically available.ā58 Dr. Finn sees many new patients who come to him already using high doses of opiates plus marijuana. He explains, āIn most cases, the patients admit cannabis does nothing for the pain.ā Because opioids and cannabinoids have synergistic effects, Finn counsels his patients that it is dangerous to use them together. A 2018 Australian study published in Lancet Public Health found that most patients using opioids who added cannabis were unsuccessful in reducing pain or weaning off opioids.59
CANNABIS AND CANCER
Does cannabis use protect against cancer, or does it cause cancer? A 2016 literature review found that the assoĀciation of cannabis smoking with lung cancer is inconclusive,60 but a 2015 study found that marijuana does appear to increase the risk for chronic bronchitis.61 In a 2012 case-control study, marijuana users had a twofold increased risk of developing testicular cancer compared to nonusers.62 Assessing cannabinoids as anti-cancer agents, a 2016 review found that THC and CBD induced both regression and progression of breast cancer in mice.63 And in 2004, researchers found that risk for glioma (a brain cancer) was increased 2.8-fold in those who smoked marijuana at least once per month, after correcting for cigarette smoking and other factors.64
A 2007 study found that THC was a very potent activator of certain cancer-promoting receptors, while CBD gave modest protection.65 These findings may explain the mixed concluĀsions of cancer studies so far.
THE WILD WEST
While marijuana remains illegal according to the U.S. federal government, a frenzied proĀmotion has taken over the marketplace, targeting not just patients and the alternative health comĀmunity but businesses and various marketing models, including multilevel and mail-order marketing. In California, with its open recreĀational marijuana market, cafes and bars are offering CBD-infused smoothies and cocktails, while California wineries are adding cannabis into their wines and selling them through disĀpensaries. Two Los Angeles restaurants and pop-up venues serve CBD- and THC-containing food and cocktails, and CBD concentrates are used in the manufacture of āediblesā such as cookies and candy. Oprah Magazine even ran a colorful feature story in which the author swooned over a trendy California ladiesā tea party featuring THC-infused teas.66 Cannabis is also having āa serious moment in the skin care space,ā with the promise of cannabis beauty treatments that āget you high.ā67 One beauty salon offers marijuana-infused manicures and pedicures.67
Typically, an approved drug will come with dosing instructions as well as warnings about contraindications and side effects, so that both doctors and patients can understand the paramĀeters and risks of the medication. In the Wild West environment in which medical marijuana products and dispensaries are proliferating, however, dosing instructions and warnings are absent.
Advocates of medical marijuana often uncritically credit all forms of marijuana and all methods of consuming marijuana as having therapeutic benefits, whether smoking a joint, downing a THC-infused soda, eating a mariĀjuana brownie or vaping or ādabbingā highly concentrated THC resin. The average marijuana dispensary lumps all of these together under the mantle of āmedicine.ā68 The online cannabis marketplace also lacks standardization and quality control, with a high rate of mislabeling CBD and THC content.69
Contamination represents another serious concern. Recent laboratory tests of retail canĀnabis products in California found that 80 to 90 percent of the products contained pesticides, fungus and moldāpotentially dangerous toxins, especially if inhaled.70 Voters in the state ushĀered in licensed medical marijuana dispensaries two decades ago, yet these recent tests prove that the state is incapable of protecting consumĀers from contaminated products. In fact, even after media reports of the lab tests, California allowed dispensaries to continue selling the conĀtaminated products for six months rather than forcing a recall. Even if CBD does turn out to hold promise as a medicine for those with rare seizure disorders, users should have access to purified preparations that do not contain harmĀful contaminants.
Because the side effects of CBD can potenĀtially be serious, parents should not strike out on their own on this new medical frontier. It is important to work under a doctorās superviĀsion so that treatment with CBD can be altered or terminated if necessary. As new informaĀtion emerges about the patient characteristics (whether genetic or physiological) that may increase the risk of adverse events, the responĀsibility for evaluating the research and advising physicians regarding cannabis use for medical purposes should remain at the federal level rather than playing out in piecemeal manner state by state.
William Bennett, MD, wrote the followĀing to the FDA: āIn 1986, we lost a 22-year-old son at the University of Oregon due to a dose of cocaine taken in a fraternity. We hope that the Food and Drug Administration will use the same criteria with crude marijuana as medicine that they use for any other therapeutic substance. We need scientific proof of efficacy and safety in well-controlled clinical trials. Further, insistence on exact dosing, standardization of preparation, avoidance of contaminants, and evaluation of the smoking method of drug delivery needs to be done. Clearly crude cannabis contains many ingreĀdients, and this will be almost impossible to standardize for clinical use.ā
THE PUSH FOR LEGALIZATION
Groups like the Drug Policy Alliance and Marijuana Policy Project continue to lobby state officials to legalize cannabis. However, policyĀmakers, voters and health-conscious consumers would be well-advised to become better informed about the personal, economic and social costs related to cannabis legalization and thoroughly analyze the medium-range and long-term consequences. Moreover, many of the assertions put forth by pro-pot organizations (such as āit is not addictiveā and āit never killed anyoneā) are so patently false that they should call into question the orgaĀnizationsā sweeping medical claims. Itās true that laws against marijuana use have unnecessarily targeted minorities and the poor, often resulting in unjustly harsh prison sentences. But legislators and citizens need to consider carefully the possible effects of removing all laws against the sale and use of marijuana.
Colorado is a revealing test case that may help legislators evaluate the wisdom of allowing similar policies to spread throughout North America. Commercialization of medical marijuana exploded in Colorado beginning in 2009, with favorable health board and legislative rulings allowing the emergence of over five hundred approved dispensaries by 2012 (and hunĀdreds of unlicensed dispensaries) as well as over one hundred and eight thousand registered medical marijuana ācardholdersā as of that year.71 A report from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (RMHIDTA) extensively describes the downside of Coloradoās rush to embrace commercial cannabis, covering many adverse impacts. These include statistics on impaired driving, traffic fatalities, youth and adult use, emergency department and hospital admissions and diversion of Colorado marijuana to other states.71 Health care providers interviewed for the report describe ādebilitatingā symptoms, lives that have been ācompletely disruptedā and well-documented cases of psychosis. There has also been a 65 percent increase in first-time marijuana use among Colorado youth since legalization.72
In California, the āSilent Poisonā73 website describes a neglected aspect of the stateās booming marijuana cultivation, outlining widespread devastation of the stateās ecology. Environmental hazards include heavy use of agricultural chemicals and pesticides and massive pollution of waterways. Other problems described on the website include grower ties to transnational criminal organizations and increased risks of violent robberies and other crimes.
One advocacy group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), enĀcourages medical research into cannabis but discourages outright legalizaĀtion. Concerned with the potential for negative public health outcomes, SAM has lobbied for caution in embracing cannabis as a āwonder drugā and recreational substitute for alcohol. SAMās March 2018 report LesĀsons Learned from Marijuana Legalization in Four U.S. States and D.C. says on the first page that ātodayās highly potent marijuana represents a growing and significant threat to public health and safety, a threat that is amplified by a new marijuana industry intent on profiting from heavy use.ā72 The report also notes that in the four states (and the District of Columbia) that have legalized cannabis, āpast-month use of the drug has continued to rise above the national average among youth aged 12-17.ā
CAUTION ADVISED
Like opium and cocaine, marijuana and similar psychoactive plants have played a role in traditional culturesāopium gum, taken directly from the poppy flower and not manipulated in any way, soothed the pains of the elderly in the Middle East, and a tea of coco leaves helped the peoples of the Andes Mountains survive in the rarified altitude. But these forms of the plants are a far cry from the concentrates and extracts that cause so much havoc today. Todayās marijuana, bred to have a highly concentrated level of THC, demands caution. These plants all have mediĀcal usesāas anyone who has taken morphine to relieve the pain of kidney stones or a gallbladder attack can attest. However, many of the conditions that cannabis is said to helpāfrom anxiety to insomniaāoften disapĀpear with improved nutrition (see āNutrition and Our Endocannabinoid System,ā page 32). If psychoactive drugs, including cannabis, are truly needed, they require supervision by a qualified health professional well aware of the potential dangers.
SIDEBARS
CBD
The cannabis industry has aggressively promoted CBD products to naturopaths, health coaches and consumers, claiming that the products can cure everything from cancer to seizures to digestive distress. The increasing availability and apparent popularity of over-the-counter CBD products at health food stores have persuaded many consumers that cannabis is a āgo-toā product with fantastic health benefitsāwhich people are taking as a supplement rather than a drug. A typical promotion is CBD softgels given freely as a thank-you gift for help in an online event with the promise of ābetter mood stability, improved sleep, increased mental sharpness, a generally enhanced sense of well-being, and fewer aches and painsāall without the āhigh.āā
While CBD oil taken orally may not be āpsychoactive,ā it definitely has effects on the brain and is associated with side effects. Epidiolex, the first cannabis drug, is a purified form of CBD for the treatment of seizures. The drug comes with precise instructions as to dosage and use, with specific warnings against abrupt discontinuation. āWhen discontinuĀing Epidiolex, the dose should be decreased gradually. As with all antiepileptic drugs, abrupt discontinuation should be avoided when possible, to minimize the risk of increasing seizure frequency and status epilepticus.ā The package insert lists the following side effects: hepatocellular injury, somnolence and sedation, suicidal behavior and ideation, hypersensitivity reactions and withdrawal of antiepileptic drugs.74
The findings of K. Watanabe and his research team in Japan indicate further dangers of CBD oil. The team found that when CBD comes in contact with an artificial gastric juice, it is converted into the psychoactive THC.75 When people ingest cannabis in cakes or cookies containing sugar, or in beverages containing alcohol, the stomach becomes more acidic and more likely to convert relatively benign CBD into more powerful and dangerous THC. Given these findings, it seems that the safest way to use CBD is as an oil on the skin for localized treatmentāwhile always being on the alert for possible side effects.
CANNABIS, VIOLENT BEHAVIOR AND PTSD
Dr. Christine Miller, a molecular neuroscientist who studied the causes of psychosis for twenty-five years, offers a download of scientific studies linking marijuana to violence on MomsStrong.org.76 Author Alex Berensonās new book, Tell Your Children the Truth about Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence exhaustively details the research from around the world proving the link (see page 34). For instance, a study in inner-city Philadelphia in the early 2000s āunexpectedlyā found that marijuana users were as likely to engage in violent behavior as crack users, including reckless endangerment, weapons offenses and attempted homicide.77
However, two American professors who are often cited by the Drug Policy Alliance (a nonprofit seeking the legalizaĀtion of all drugs) dispute the scientific consensus and criticize Berenson.78 Carl Hart of Columbia University and Charles Ksir professor emeritus of the University of Wyoming, in their 2016 review of the science on psychosis concluded that, āEvidence reviewed here suggests that cannabis does not in itself cause a psychosis disorder. Rather, the evidence leads us to conclude that both early use and heavy use of cannabis are more likely in individuals with a vulnerability to psychosis.ā79 They note a variety of other problem behaviors (e.g. early or heavy use of cigarettes or alcohol and poor school performance) are associated with violent and aggressive behavior in later years.
On the other hand, Norwegian researchers analyzed data on cannabis use and violent behavior in over two thousand young people in the Norway Longitudinal Study, using statistical methods to determine to what extent the association was causal. Their results imply that a 10 percent increase in cannabis use frequency is associated with a 0.4 percent increase in frequency of violence. Their conclusion: āAnalysis of panel data on Norwegian youths reveals a statistically significant association between cannabis use and violence.ā20
Veterans afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)āwho already suffer from flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety and depressionāare particularly susceptible to alcohol and drug abuse. The cannabis industry, which views veterans with PTSD as a lucrative market for their products, is actively lobbying state and federal legislators to persuade them that PTSD should be a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. However, a study of cannabis use in PTSD sufferers found that the drug made their PTSD symptoms worse, not better, and was associated with more violent behavior and more alcohol use.80
Finally, self-harm and violent suicide are other unfortunate results of acute cannabis intoxication in veterans and non-veterans alike. A 2018 study of over three hundred veterans who had deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan proĀvided evidence that āheavy cannabis use may be a unique risk factor for post-deployment suicide attempts among veterans.ā81
MomsStrong.org provides a forum where parents can share stories of their childrenās addiction challenges and cannabis-related deaths.82 These parents represent the most serious pushback against this emerging industry, and we would do well to hear them out.
DONāT FEED YOUR BABIES PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
PREGNANCY
The use of marijuana during pregnancy is contraindicated, and leading health institutions point to a sizeable body of scientific evidence to substantiate such warnings for both mother and child. Unfortunately, many unsuspecting women hear that marijuana is a more ānaturalā way to deal with the normal symptoms of pregnancy. Marijuana-toking mommies are found in chat groups describing their use of marijuana for morning sickness as preferable to using pharmaceutical drugs. But are there better options? Maureen Diaz, a Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) nutrition activist who has given birth nine times, explains how WAPF recommends handling morning sickness: āLots of high-quality protein, such as grass-fed meat, raw milk and juice from fermented foods and sauerkraut.ā
Because THC passes through the placenta into the child, it can interfere with brain development and set a child up for addiction later in life. A study of maternity ward data from thirty-eight states found that over thirty thousand newborns had extended neonatal hospital stays related to maternal substance use in 2012.83 Most of the babies were going through drug withdrawal.
Proponents of marijuana for morning sickness often cite a Jamaican ethnographic study,84 but the study has been refuted by a blogger who is staunchly against any drugs during pregnancy.85 According to the blogger, the Jamaican study was flawed because the researchers did not follow the children long enough; recognizing the cognitive damage done to āmarijuana babiesā requires observing children in the early primary grades. The blogger goes on to outline her reasons why not to be a āstoner with child.ā
BREASTFEEDING
A motherās milk is naturally high in fat, and this fat is critical for the babyās brain development. Out of concern for avoiding contamination of breast milk with THC, hospitals counsel women not to smoke pot while breastfeeding. Since THC is fat-soluble, it accumulates in the breast milk (and organs of the body) and is slow to exit, interfering with brain development.86
BIRTHWEIGHT
Like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana can increase the risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes.87 Marijuana-smoking mothers are 77 percent more likely to have an underweight baby.88 Low birthweight can compromise babiesā ability to breastfeed by affecting their ability to suckle and is a significant risk factor for infant mortality. Low birthweight also can have longer-term health consequences. The Aboriginal Cohort Study, a decades-long research project that is monitoring the health of Aborigines who were born low-birthweight, has noted the disproportionate emergence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity in the participants by their mid-to-late twenties.89 British researchers likewise have found that chronic health problems later in life (as well as premature mortality) are associated with unĀderweight at birth.90 Pam McColl, a Canadian doula and coauthor of Baby & Me Tobacco Free,91 has stated, āThe other harms to children (as they grow) observed by scientific researchers are in these areas: brain maturity, cognitive abilities, executive functioning, short-term memory, verbal outcomes, attention problems, hyperactivity, impulsivity, abstract visual skills, visual reasoning, abstract reasoning, goal setting, planning.ā
PARENTS-TO-BE
The best thing that female marijuana users who want to conceive can do is to stop using the drug, seeking profesĀsional help if needed. Prospective fathers also need to consider the risks of marijuana use to their future offspring. The government of Canada says that men who wish to start a family should not use marijuana for any purpose, citing increased risks of testicular cancer and abnormal sperm morphology as well as other reproductive problems.92 Damage to sperm can result in possible birth defects and an increased risk of childhood cancer.
NUTRITION AND OUR ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM
Our bodies produce cannabinoids from animal fats in our diet. When well-regulated, these endocannabinoids are āfeel-good chemicalsā that ensure production of the proper amount of dopamine and limit the overproduction of cortisol.
In an article in Wise Traditions Winter 2008 issue āThe Pursuit of Happiness,ā Chris Masterjohn details the way that arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid found in animal fats in our diet, converts to endocannabinoids.93 The fat-soluble vitamins A and D work together with arachidonic acid to help humans handle stress and retain the motivation to achieve long-term goals. Masterjohn also explains that when we rely on a drug to address one isolated component of the human bodyās complex interacting systems, the drug āoften works for a time, but eventually stops working or produces adverse effects.ā
External sources of cannabinoids like cannabis are referred to by scientists as āexogenousā cannabinoids. Nora Volkow, a neuroscientist with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), explained at a 2015 drug prevention conference in Atlanta that exogenous cannabinoids overwhelm the brainās cannabinoid receptors and can shut down the bodyās natural production of endocannabinoids. In 2016, Volkow and colleagues published a review article in Nature that detailed the variable effects of cannabis on the dopamine system from both animal and human studies.94 While the āhighā created by THC initially releases a flood of dopamine, long-term use of the drug actually blunts dopamine response and reduces dopamine synthesis. The effects vary based on the amount of the drug consumed and the part of the brain affected. When cannabis interferes with the dopamine system in this way, the resulting behavioral effects include increased appeĀtite, memory problems, executive dysfunction, decreased motivation, impaired educational and occupational outcomes, negative emotions and severe addiction. Dr. Volkow also has written about the sixfold increase in the risk of schizophrenia associated with abuse of high-THC cannabis, noting that āaberrant dopaminergic function in the midbraināāa hallmark feature of schizophreniaāāmay underlie this association.ā95
It is so much better to stay balanced, motivated and happy by eating a lot of butter and other animal fats, and by consuming good sources of vitamin A such as cod liver oil, liver and other organ meats! The glycine in nourishing bone broths also helps to regulate dopamine levels. These foods keep us ānaturally highā without any need to resort to canĀnabis and other drugs.
MORE STUDIES ON CANNABIS AND MENTAL ILLNESS
āThe association between level of cannabis consumption and development of schizophrenia during a 15-year follow-up was studied in a cohort of 45,570 Swedish conscripts. The relative risk for schizophrenia among high consumers of canĀnabis (use on more than fifty occasions) was 6Ā·0 (95 percent confidence interval 4Ā·0ā8Ā·9) compared with non-users. Persistence of the association after allowance for other psychiatric illness and social background indicated that cannabis is an independent risk factor for schizophreniaā¦ā www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(87)92620-1/fulltext
āCannabis use is associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia, consistent with a causal relation. This association is not explained by use of other psychoactive drugs or personality traits relating to social integration.ā www.bmj.com/content/325/7374/1199
This population-based prospective study showed that a baseline history of cannabis use increased the risk of a follow-up psychosis outcome for subjects with a lifetime absence of psychosis, with a dose-response relation between exposure load and psychosis outcome. https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/156/4/319/112397
āOur findings show the importance of raising public awareness of the risk associated with use of high-potency canĀnabis. . . especially when such varieties of cannabis are becoming more available.ā www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/ PIIS2215-0366%2814%2900117-5/fulltext
āMultiple linear regression analyses showed that cannabis users by age 15 and by age 18 had more schizophrenia sympĀtoms than controls at age 26. These results remained significant after psychotic symptoms at age 11 were controlled for. The effect was stronger with earlier use.ā www.bmj.com/content/325/7374/1212
āAfter adjustment for age, sex, socioeconomic status, urbanicity, childhood trauma, predisposition for psychosis at baseline, and use of other drugs, tobacco, and alcohol, cannabis use at baseline increased the cumulative incidence of psychotic symptoms at follow up four years later.ā www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15574485
āThese data indicate that Delta-9-THC produces a broad range of transient symptoms, behaviors, and cognitive defiĀcits in healthy individuals that resemble some aspects of endogenous psychoses.ā www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15173844
āCannabis use is likely to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychoses; the higher the use, the greater the risk.ā www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2017/health-effects-of-cannabis-and-cannabinoids.aspx
After correcting for history of mood disorders like depression, researchers found that adolescent cannabis use increased the odds of suicide attempts 7-fold. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25273309
āDaily [cannabis] use before age 17 substantially increased odds of later suicide attempts (odds ratio 6.83).ā
www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(14)70307-4/fulltext
āStatistical significant associations were found between physical aggression and alcohol and/or marijuana use.ā
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0886260512468234
A 2016 paper in Psychological Medicine examined marijuana use and criminal behavior among over 400 boys in LonĀdon, who were followed for more than 40 years beginning in 1961. The boys were surveyed when they were 18, 32, and 48 years old. Researchers found that marijuana at all three ages was associated with a 9-fold increase in violent behavior, even after adjusting for other variables. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/continuity-of-cannabis-use-and-violent-offending-over-the-life-course/F8E66EC005BDA73865872BD1F398A567
Individuals meeting the diagnostic criteria for marijuana dependence were 3.8 times more likely than control subjects to be violent. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/3928/d437180cb086857cc665fbbebb4ba185d624.pdf
Note: These research studies are from the work of Dr. Christine Miller and author Alex Berenson. See: http://momsstrong.org/honorary-advisor/ and http://www.alexberenson.com/.
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This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly journal of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Spring 2019
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Thank you for this very thorough review. What I didn’t see much of was research on CBD or hemp oil without THC. Can you shed more light on this? Thanks.
What about products that do not contain the THC or very low levels? Or will that be addressed in another article?
Thanks for your questions about CBD which was beyond the scope of this article. Here is a blog post by WAPF former board member Sarah Pope which highlights the risks and dangers of CBD.
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/cbd-oil-dangers/
Thank you for such a thorough and comprehensive analysis. It is so important for all to recognize these risks when a well funded industry promotes its products while minimizing or even denying its harms.
Before even getting through the introduction I notice: halfway into the paragraph you switch from cannabis to marijuana.
Cannabis articles in my town are very detailed on dosage and types of effects. The most memorable recent articles were on CBD and a pesto dish that perfectly balanced food-writing with medical writing. They are not uncritical.
This article seems one sided. I am afraid that because WAPF is against the use of cannabis they have sought out evidence against it. There is a very good documentary called the Sacred Plant that covers the benefits. Although, i am in agreement that the cannabis plant has been bred to include way more THC than nature possibly intended and this carries some risks. I am also in agreement about the lack of quality control. For this reason, i typically avoid it. However, there are a number of compelling evidence and cases showing its efficacy and benefit to cancer patients, especially those undergoing chemotherapy. Unfortunately, this is article does not depict the full picture.
Agreed. This is an unfortunate, one-sided write-up and what I would except from WAPF detractors regarding traditional diets.
I know Iām late, but what do you mean by āWAPF detractorsā? I would like to understand the whole picture.
This article is focused on the risks and harms of cannabis. The ones that are not disclosed on the products currently for sale at dispensaries. Much of the science into these side effects and contraindications is being suppressed or is taking place in other parts of the world. Hopefully this article balances the scale of what you think you know about the drug.
I appreciate this other look into cannabis. The sentence about the rise in THC resonates with me. It nods to wheat, in which the gluten content has increased due to breeding for easier harvesting shape/height. When we change the food, we process it differently. I wish however, the that the author had given more attention to the the medicinal benefits one may find from a cannabis that is .5 – 3% THC, as she said was the percentage in cannabis in the early part of the last century.
This article contains MANY true cautions. However it casts a casual or sloppy light on the entire industry which is totally false. In agreement, the industry has yet to be fully guided by dosage study and testing and actual breakdown of different terpenes. However, there are companies doing this! There are THC free products created from hemp, which still contain CBD and other beneficial terpenes. There are companies that certify the purity and lack of THC if that is what a customer is looking for. So please continue to do your research and educate yourselves! I do think it is wise to caution folks about careless unbridled use of all available cannabis products, but there is proven efficacy, and likely much more coming, for quite a few conditions.
Wow, was this article written from concepts from the 60’s & 70’s scare against marijuana , because I see many of the same content and so called research evidence. I will read and research before using any product, because there are plus and minuses with everything, but I am actually sad that this article is even on Weston A Price website, I always felt the organization was about revealing truth as much possible. Not so with this content. Then to say that we are getting the same chemical compounds from the animal fats in our diet. Don’t know if you noticed or not, but everyday more and more people are take meat out of their diet, so the research is like comparing Apples to Oranges in that part.
Pharmaceuticals/Medical companies will push against CBD/Hemp oil cause they cannot patent the product (they tried) and make trillions of dollars. So they will fund projects to be in the favor of bad results, and keep their drugs on the market. Which many have had way less research on public health than they have spent trying to discredit Cannabis/Hemp.
Just like anything else in life, it is about moderation and responsibility, if you take to much of anything you may end up with some type of health issue.
Agree!
There are so many health benefits from the Hemp plant which has over 100 cannabinoids (which is the male counterpart to the female marijuana plant that has 0% THC) . This article has the energy of FEAR. I give full spectrum organic hemp to my grandchildren and my animals. yes my animals. To my cat for anxiety and my dog for pain. I also take it for pain management and my liver and kidneys are very healthy since I am not polluting them with DRUGS/pain killers and opioids. Such an amazing herbal remedy made by God and is recognized by our bodies for our bodies.
I am all in favor of informed consent for all medical interventions, so it is good to know about risks associated with cannabis use.
The one thing that really concerns me when I read articles such as this is that they could be used to block legalization efforts. Whatever risks there might be with cannabis, they are only compounded when it, and other drugs, are restricted or prohibited by law.
If cannabis had been legal for the last several decades, we would know a great deal more about what its risks and benefits are than we do today. Also, we would not have seen the large increase in THC content that we have seen, that may have a lot to do with the adverse effects that we are seeing today. When cannabis (and other substances) are outlawed, it provides an economic incentive to increase potency on the black market. And so we end up with an imbalanced product, with less CBD to counteract the THC effects.
I stay up on current Cannabis research and have for many years. This article is as stated above extremely one sided.
This organization is the last one I would expect to have such a narrow minded view of the information which does not match the majority of current research. How shocking and disappointing.
I have to say after being a supporter of Weston Price has caused me to question the information received overall.
To anyone reading this article, please do your own research. This reminds me of the “Reefer Madness” skits that the Alcohol and Beverage agency used to terrorize people years ago out of using a substance that is more harmless than alcohol, cigarettes and many prescription pills. They did not have the resources to enforce illegality of a substance that could grow easily in everyone’s backyard so created a scare campaign to make the people pushing the agenda happy. This is well documented.
Our people do need protection over all these companies claiming unrealistic results and potentially harmful additions due to the strength of “Big Business” but the buyers need to drive that accountability by accepting no less that safe products with honest claims.
Well said.
I wonder what they have to gain by it
By making it illegal they forced people to make it more concentrated.
They need to require everyone to grow it to pay taxes again.
Hemp For Victory”was not made by our government for nothing.!
In early 1600’s citizens were required to grow cannabis.
They paid their taxes in Hemp.
Now it’s backwards.
Hard working successful farmers are ruined
It’s probably Genetically Modified now.
GMO destroys organs
We know it’s risks.
It was legal from 1630 to 1939
300 years and it was fine.
A valued medicine and crop for making paints.
It didn’t need petroleum based pesticides to grow, thus it didn’t make petroleum companies rich until it was banned.
Such an invasion of privacy to ban farmers from this useful crop.
It’s a trap now.
I won’t grow it.
God forbid I become successful and go to jail losing all my land.
These views are certainly not from Weston Price!
When he was working cannabis was growing everywhere legally
and he didn’t make any note of it being a threat to health.
Quite the opposite.
Now there is a whole series about the benefits of CBD and Cannabis:
https://hiddenwithindocuseries.com/episode-5-your-hidden-brain-healer/
I think that her article does a service to balance the extensive hype today, but it is one-sided. So many people claim benefits from its use.
The risk for teens could be the most important finding as they are perhaps the most vulnerable, especially with the much higher THC contents today.
This is a great article, and much-needed! However, to be fair, we must include the other side of the story. Dr. Jody Noe has been working with Cannabis since before it was illegal, and has found it to have a much more complex biochemistry than this article indicates. She has also found it to be healing for AIDS and cancer and many other maladies, as a good herb will be. Since this article is now on the WAPF website, I think it’s only fair to include her wisdom also.
Both Sally Fallon Morell and Jody Noe will be speaking at the SE Women’s Herbal Conference in October 2019!!