Tag: World
World Drug Report 2019
6/30/19--The World Drug Report 2019 is presented in five separate parts that divide the wealth of information and analysis contained in the report into individual reader-friendly booklets in which drugs are grouped by their psychopharmacological effect for the first time in the report’s history. As in previous years, the World Drug Report 2019 is aimed at improving the understanding of the world drug problem and contributing towards fostering greater international cooperation for countering its impact on health, governance and security. Read NHS is forced to open Britain’s first clinic for cannabis psychosis to treat addicts of the mind-altering drug
6/30/19--Cannabis-induced psychosis has reached crisis levels, forcing the NHS to open the first clinic specifically treating addicts of the mind-altering drug. The clinic has been launched by a leading psychiatrist who warns that psychosis among users of skunk – a very strong strain of cannabis flooding the streets – has become ‘a crisis that we can simply no longer ignore’, with tens of thousands of people affected. Read
Canadians now less enthusiastic about the prospect of legalized edibles
5/9/19--Marijuana-infused edibles will be legal to purchase for recreational use in Canada in October 2019. A new study from Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Senior Director at the Dalhousie University Agrifood Analytics Lab, shows that Canadians aren’t as eager to embrace them as they were two years ago. Read Can medical marijuana help kids with autism?
5/10/19--According to a new Israeli clinical trial reports, medical marijuana extracts appear to help children with autism, reducing their disruptive behavior while improving their social responsiveness. However, parents of children with autism should still wait for more data before trying to treat them with medical marijuana, warned lead researcher Dr. Adi Aran, director of the pediatric neurology unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. Read Italy’s interior minister declares war on cannabis, but stakeholders expect limited impact
5/10/19--Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini vowed to close all “cannabis light” shops in the country. “Cannabis light” is defined as cannabis with THC levels below 0.2%. Three shops were reportedly closed the day after the minister’s declaration, a move Salvini celebrated before issuing a new directive to intensify controls. Read Seeking a safe place: Vancouver’s story
5/12/19--As American cities, including Boston, debate whether to allow injection sites — clean rooms where people use illicit drugs, watched by trained staffers who can rescue them from overdoses — Vancouver is often held up as an example by both sides of the argument. According to an observation outlined in an article by Boston Globe staff writer Felice J. Freyer, the safe-injection site doesn’t cause the street drug use that surrounds it. But it doesn’t eliminate the problem, either. Read For cannabis stock Tilray (TLRY), marijuana oversupply could be a good thing
4/25/19--Finding sufficient high quality marijuana to use in its products “has been a challenge” for Tilray. In response to the challenge, the company has added about 15,000 kilograms of production capacity to its High Park Gardens facility in Canada, and is building out production capacity in Portugal to support its move into the European market. Tilray believes that oversupply will be the big trend in the Canadian cannabis market — and it doesn’t want to sink too much of its capital into expanding production of a commodity that will one day end up in oversupply. Read ICCI Announces Steph Sherer as President
4/25/19--International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI) announces its co-founder, Steph Sherer, as President. Sherer has made medical cannabis available to patients worldwide. During her time as Executive Director of ASA, Sherer was responsible for the drafting of some of the first distribution laws in the United States and has been a leader in bringing patients to the table with lawmakers. Read Health warnings, cannabis marketing and perceptions among youth and young adults in Canada
4/22/19--An increasing number of jurisdictions are legalizing recreational marijuana, including Canada. One of the primary goals under the Cannabis Act is to adequately inform Canadians about recreational marijuana and risks related to its use. According to the findings of a recent study, brand imagery on cannabis packaging can promote lifestyle associations and influence the appeal of cannabis products among young people. Read Large reduction in psychiatric admissions after head-shop ban
4/8/19--There was a significant and immediate reduction in admissions to psychiatric facilities after the strict laws banning head shop drugs were introduced, new research shows. Read United Nations unanimously agrees to indefinitely postpone cannabis vote
3/20/19--The United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) opted to indefinitely postpone a vote on the World Health Organization’s recommended changes to the scheduling of cannabis in international drug control conventions. The recommendations, prepared by the WHO’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence, call for cannabis and cannabis resin to be deleted from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs. Read
E-cigarettes are effective at helping smokers quit, a study says
1/30/19--A study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that e-cigarettes were nearly twice as effective as conventional nicotine replacement products, like patches and gum, for quitting smoking. The success rate was still low, but many researchers who study tobacco and nicotine said it gave them the clear evidence they had been looking for. Read
Sorry, Professor McLuhan. It’s not the medium. It really is the (neurotransmitter) message.
2/4/19--A yearlong, randomized trial in England showed that e-cigarettes were almost twice as successful as products like patches or gum for smoking cessation. A sample of 886 participants were randomized to standard nicotine replacement therapy or electronic cigarette (vaporizer) use for this study. Read Marc Emery’s #MeToo moment: The dark side of cannabis culture
1/22/19--Cannabis Culture has announced that three of its Vancouver dispensaries will close on January 31, 2019. The closures have been forced by a British Columbia Supreme Court decision affecting 53 dispensaries in the city of Vancouver. Cannabis Culture and its founder, Marc Emery, have long been seen as a foundational element of Canada’s legalization movement. Yet, the dark side of Emery and Cannabis Culture has been a story waiting for its moment. Read The scent of London has changed: all I can smell now is cannabis
1/26/19--The Spectator writer Mary Wakefield says marijuana is everywhere in London. She says this because the smell of the city has changed. A decade ago, the dominant scent was diesel and tobacco, but now the smell of London is marijuana. Research from the University of York examined the number of people accessing drug treatment services over the past ten years and found, not a rise in overall users, but a dramatic rise in the number of people over 40 smoking marijuana, nearly 120 percent. Read Pot stocks, ETFs, top news and data from the cannabis industry this week
1/25/19--Benzinga reports news items in the marijuana industry this week. Just to name a few, Acreage Holdings submitted a cannabis-focused PSA to CBS Corporation for the Super Bowl and was rejected. NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana was part of a group of investors that provided $75 million in venture capital to Caliva. U.S. surgeon general Jerome Adams faced backlash from an anti-marijuana tweet, and speculation about a potential decriminalization of marijuana in the U.S. hit new highs as the government shutdown lingered. Read Mental health expert warns of ‘significant increase’ in cannabis-induced psychosis
1/1/19--Schizophrenia Society of Canada's Chris Summerville discusses the dangers of cannabis-induced psychosis. According the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), 373 people were discharged from hospitals across the country – excluding Ontario and Quebec – after receiving treatment for cannabis-induced psychosis in the 2012/13 fiscal year. That number increased to 723 cases in 2016/17. Read Increased risk of harm from cannabis across Europe
12/31/18--Cannabis resin and herbal cannabis have significantly increased in potency and in price, according to the first study to investigate changes in cannabis across Europe. The study, published on Sunday, December 30 in the journal Addiction by researchers from the University of Bath and King's College London, draws on data collected from across 28 EU Member states, as well as Norway and Turkey by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Read Cannabis-based drug in combination with other anti-spasticity
12/13/18--Oral spray containing two compounds derived from the cannabis plant reduced spasticity compared with placebo in patients already taking anti-spasticity drugs. Read Barclays is making bigger bets in marijuana stocks
12/10/18--Barclays, one of the biggest banks in the world, disclosed that it initiated a position in the Canadian marijuana company, Tilray, in the third quarter. It owned 26,319 shares of Tilray stock as of Sept. 30. The company went public in July, and the stock is listed both in Canada and the U.S. Read Say what? A marijuana stock buying back its shares
12/10/18--The newly public Curaleaf Holdings is attempting to show the world that not all marijuana companies will throw their shareholders under the bus during a rapid expansion process. Between Dec. 12, 2018, and Dec. 12, 2019, it plans to commence share repurchases totaling as much as $50 million, albeit the timing and amount of shares to be repurchased will depend on market conditions and other variables. Read Canada’s message to teenagers: Marijuana is legal now. Please don’t smoke it.
11/11/18--Held less than a week before Canada was set to legalize marijuana, the public health session had a message for parents: Marijuana would be legal for adults, but it was not safe for young people. And parents needed to instill in their children the idea that pot could be dangerous. Last month, Canada became the second country to make it legal for adults to buy, grow, and consume small amounts of marijuana. But it also made it a crime to give it to anyone younger than 19 or 18, depending on the province, and set a penalty of up to 14 years in prison for doing so. Read
Ahead of Canada’s big day, forecast for cannabis industry gets a boost
10/16/18--On the eve of Canada’s historic launch of its recreational marijuana program, the global marijuana industry appears poised for explosive growth due to the confluence of a host of market developments. According to Wall Street analyst Vivien Azer of Cowen, Canada’s move to legalize marijuana across its 10 provinces “is the first step” in establishing marijuana as “a key functional ingredient” that will disrupt a group of consumer product categories collectively worth up to $500 billion. This perspective lands as the legal marijuana industry continues to log record rates of growth. Read Opinion: Quebec should do all it can to resist onslaught of cannabis
10/16/18--In an editorial published in Montreal Gazette, Benjamin Anson, president of Superchute, a Montreal-based manufacturer of construction safety products, openly expresses his views about recreational marijuana legalization fundamentally changing Canada for the worse, and the normalization of pot having the hallmarks of a fiasco in the making. Read The day Canada goes to pot
10/16/18--As Canada moves toward legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, the federal government, led by Justin Trudeau, breaks with long-standing international drug prevention partners, including the United States. Canada walks away from the three UN Drug Conventions, as it violates articles within the Rights of the Child Treaty. In response, concerned citizens are rallying under the banner ‘A Grey Balloon Day For Canada – Legal Marijuana is Nothing To Celebrate’. Read Pot 101: Everything you need to know about Canada’s marijuana legalization
10/17/18--Free Press cannabis reporter Dale Carruthers has spent the past six months focused on marijuana legalization -- an issue that becomes reality on Wednesday when Canada becomes the world’s second country (after Uruguay) to legalize pot. Carruthers presents the basics of marijuana and addresses key questions. Read Pamela McColl: Canadians are going to need to force government to protect kids from smoking
10/13/18--Children exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to develop health problems, and this should be of grave concern to Canadians as they move to legalization. Pamela McColl, an anti-smoking and anti-cannabis activist, launched a petition to convince the provincial government to ban smoking in all condominiums and apartment buildings. Smoke-free housing is needed to protect the non-user’s health. The Cannabis Act fails to preserve the rights of non-users of marijuana; therefore it rests with citizens to stand up for their rights and those of children. Read Week in Review: 5 business takeaways from the launch of Canada’s recreational marijuana market
10/19/18--The groundbreaking launch of Canada’s recreational cannabis market occurred on October 17. The world watched how marijuana businesses around Canada handled sales both online and at physical stores, potential product shortages, and other challenges tied to regulations and illicit-market competition. Marijuana Business Daily presents five notable takeaways from the nation’s historic day. Read Smoking cannabis may boost your risk of stroke scientists fear
10/19/18--Research suggests that smoking cannabis may boost the risk of having a stroke. Researchers analyzed hospitalizations of more than two million marijuana users between 2010 and 2014. Rates of stroke among non-marijuana users didn't change, but rates among recreational users jumped by 15 percent. However, the research was only conducted on adult cannabis users, leaving the scientists unsure if the same risk of stroke applies to children. Read
Man credited with decriminalizing drugs in Portugal not sure legal cannabis is the right move
10/12/18--Joao Goulao, the person who helped Portugal decriminalize all drugs, isn’t sure if Canada’s plan to legalize cannabis is the right one. Goulao says he will be keeping an eye on Canada as it legalizes cannabis next week, but doesn’t know if the move is a good idea. Read Pot postcards: Feds look to educate ahead of marijuana legalization
10/5/18--The federal government is sending out marijuana information postcards to every household in the country. The marijuana post cards will include information about legal age, penalties for selling to youth, a series of health facts, cautions about drug impaired driving, and warns not to travel internationally with pot. Read B.C. marijuana rules say where you can’t smoke or vape
10/6/18--The B.C. government has released its marijuana use and licensing details. The rules are similar to those restricting tobacco use in the province, with no smoking or vaping cannabis within six meters of doorways, windows, bus stops, and shelters or air intakes for public buildings. Read Everything you need to know about investing in Canadian marijuana stocks
9/27/18--The marijuana industry in Canada has exploded, with many Canadian marijuana stocks skyrocketing as well. What's going on now with marijuana in Canada? What threats exist for the marijuana industry? What are the best ways for investors to profit from the rapidly growing marijuana market? The Motley Fool presents everything you need to know about investing in Canadian marijuana stocks. Read Uncertainty over effectiveness of test for marijuana impaired driving
9/26/18--With marijuana legalization less than a month away, uncertainty remains around the effectiveness of a drug testing device called the Drager DrugTest 5000 used to test for marijuana impaired driving. Although it has been approved by the federal government, there are reports showing the machine gives inaccurate readings in other countries where it’s currently in use. Read Concerns raised over lack of guidelines for medics regarding use of substances like cannabis oil
9/13/18--The lack of guidelines to assist medical and nursing staff with the safe use of potentially psychogenic substances, like cannabis oil, has been highlighted by the authors of the Irish Medical Journal (IMJ). Read Canadian military seeks to reassure allies as legalized marijuana draws near
9/11/18--The Canadian Armed Forces is seeking to reassure allies about the military's new policy on recreational marijuana, which a senior commander says has so far elicited significant curiosity. The policy limits all consumption to within Canada and puts time restrictions on when service members can use marijuana. Read How medical marijuana is opening the door to recreational cannabis
9/12/18--Marijuana for medical use seems to be the path by which societies have been normalizing the use of marijuana. Forbes contributing writer Jordon Waldrep points out in his article that the legalization of marijuana for medical use and marijuana-derived drugs represents a significant change in thinking for the societies that have chosen to allow its consumption by patients. As patients see benefits and more research is done, the concerns on the potential for high abuse or severe safety concerns come into question as well, thus opening a path to recreational marijuana over time. Read Scientists explore how marijuana may fight psychosis
9/9/18--British scientists have found how a substance in the marijuana plant acts in the brain to reduce abnormal activity in patients at risk of psychosis. Their findings suggest that the substance could be used in a possible treatment for the condition. Read Better Buy: Aphria Inc. vs. Aurora Cannabis Inc.
9/9/18--Although Canadian marijuana stocks, Aphria Inc. and Aurora Cannabis Inc., have soared over the past month, both stocks are still lower than their levels at the beginning of 2018. Aphria stock has performed better than Aurora so far this year and over the last few weeks. The Motley Fool outlines what needs to be known about how Aphria and Aurora Cannabis stack up against each other in three key areas. Read Cannabis PhD takes higher education to a new level
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9/8/18--Deron Caplan’s, a casual, infrequent marijuana user, has received Canada’s first PhD in cannabis production from the University of Guelph in late August. Caplan’s interest in cannabis science stemmed from the horticultural courses he took as an afterthought during his time as an undergraduate in environmental sciences at Guelph. “They offered a number of plant courses, and I took some on a whim and fell in love with it,” the North York native says. Read As legalization nears, the hardest marijuana question for universities is edibles
9/1/18--Cannabis isn’t a novelty on Canadian campuses, but with legality comes the need for rules that are more complicated than when it was simply illegal. Universities could ban pot, on paper, and treat it with varying levels of tolerance in practice. Read Charlotte’s Web and the $100 million IPO
8/31/18--Charlotte’s Web, the producers and distributors of the hemp-based wellness products, went public August 30 with a projected $100 million initial public offering in the Canadian exchange (CWEB). Charlotte’s Web Holdings, Inc. is the producer of Charlotte’s Web, created by Stanley Brothers. While it is certainly not the only high-CBD breed of cannabis on the market, it is the one that’s best known and has garnered a sort of infamy. Read Food businesses look to cash in on post-pot cravings with weed-free munchies
7/5/18--Undeterred by a ban on edibles in Canada's initial rollout of legal recreational marijuana, food companies have found a way to cash in on the buzz by catering to post-consumption cravings with marijuana-free munchies. Cannabis-free products are not subject to the strict marketing rules governing the marijuana industry, which is essentially banned from advertising in Canada, with some exceptions. Sensing the dawn of huge marketing opportunity without the complications that come with strict licensing of marijuana itself, other companies are also jumping on board the munchie wagon. Read Content of illicit cannabis extracts used to treat children with epilepsy revealed
7/5/17--A pioneering study has found Australian parents who turned to medicinal cannabis to treat children with epilepsy overwhelmingly (75 percent) considered the extracts as "effective." Contrary to parental expectations, extracts generally contained low doses of cannabidiol (CBD) -- commonly considered to be a key therapeutic element and that has been successfully used in recent clinical trials to treat epilepsy. Read
Israel may be first country to approve marijuana vaporizer for medical use
3/13/18--The Ministry of Health recently gave its stamp of approval to an Israeli company producing marijuana vaporizers, possibly becoming the first country in the world to certify the piece of paraphernalia for medical purposes. Tel Aviv-based Kanabo Research, a medical cannabis R&D firm, announced that the ministry certified the company’s VapePod vaporizer product for the use of medical cannabis extracts and formulations, reportedly breaking international precedent. Read Police probe of Brazilian marijuana researcher sparks protests
3/8/18--A police investigation targeting Brazil’s most prominent marijuana researcher Elisaldo Carlini, a retired professor of psychopharmacology at the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), has ignited a wave of protest among scientists. They say that the move by authorities from the state of São Paulo threatens research freedoms at a time when science in the country faces severe problems because of draconian budget cuts. On March 1, researchers, students, and staff at Unifesp gathered on campus to express their support for Carlini and to protest against what they perceived to be an attack on the university. Read Ministers to decide on marijuana cultivation trials by the summer
3/12/18--Ministers will publish their proposals for the planned experiment with legal marijuana cultivation by the summer. The new government pledged to experiment with cultivating marijuana in an effort to remove the grey area between illegal supply and licensed cannabis cafes or coffee shops, where small amounts of marijuana can be bought for personal use. Read Health Canada criticized over different ‘plain packaging’ for marijuana, tobacco
6/29/18--Health Canada's differing requirements for “plain packaging” on cigarette and marijuana products are upsetting some interest groups who say there needs to be more of a “consistent approach” to the matter. In a press release, Imperial Tobacco Canada said Health Canada’s proposed changes to how cigarettes are packaged don’t align with the requirements they recently announced for marijuana products. Read Stronger cannabis linked to rise in demand for drug treatment programmes
1/31/18--Study drawing on data from the Netherlands is the first to show how admissions to treatment centres rise and fall in line with cannabis strength. Furthermore, it found that changes in demand for treatment typically lagged five to seven years behind changes to cannabis strength. Read Yukon Government Gives In to Liquor Industry on Warning Label Experiment
1/6/18--The Yukon government stopped affixing health risk warning labels on bottles and cans of beer, wine, and liquor in a government-owned store in Yukon Territory after several alcohol industry lobbying groups challenged both the research study and the legality of the government’s participation. Read Legal marijuana deadline may be up in smoke as Tory senators stall bills
12/11/17--Conservative senators are threatening to hold up passage of the two bills that would legalize cannabis consumption and toughen rules against abuse. Unless these senators yield, the bills are unlikely to become law in time for the Canada Day deadline. The political question is who will suffer more if the July 1 deadline is missed: The Liberals, for trying to force through legislation legalizing recreational marijuana use, or the Conservatives, for blocking the legislation in the Senate. Read Legal pot: Canada will sell marijuana in liquor stores
12/9/17--One province in Canada has decided to sell its marijuana in liquor stores. Nova Scotia, a province on Canada’s eastern shore, announced on Thursday that the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp., its sole alcohol distributor, would sell the drug in its stores and on its website once Canada legalizes weed in July of next year. Read Meet the ‘father of marijuana research’
12/8/17--Raphael Mechoulam started his first marijuana project by walking into a police station and asking for some confiscated weed—for research purposes. Decades later, the 87-year-old Israeli chemist is known widely as the “father of marijuana research,” after he used those 5 kilos to discover THC (marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient) in the 1960s, and then later discovered the structure of CBD. Read Recreational drug users not what we think
12/7/17--A study lead by David Plummer, a professor from James Cook University in Queensland, investigates why Australians are among the top users of illegal drugs in the world. New facts have been revealed about the motivations of recreational drug users. Research shows almost 40% of Australians aged 15 years and over have used one or more illicit drugs at some stage in their life, and approximately 17% within the past 12 months. Read Rates and predictors of conversion to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder following substance-induced psychosis
11/28/17--The authors investigated the rates of conversion to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder after a substance-induced psychosis, as well as risk factors for conversion. The study concludes that substance-induced psychosis is strongly associated with the development of severe mental illness, and a long follow-up period is needed to identify the majority of cases. Read Cannabis use in youth is linked to bipolar symptoms in young adults, finds new research
11/30/17--Researchers from Warwick Medical School found that adolescent cannabis use is an independent risk factor for future hypomania -- periods of elated mood, over-active and excited behaviour, and reduced need for sleep that are often experienced as part of bipolar disorder, and have a significant impact on day-to-day life. The Warwick research is the first to test the prospective association between adolescent cannabis use and hypomania in early adulthood, whilst controlling for important other factors that might explain this connection. Read Using cannabis just twice a week as a teenager increases the risk of bipolar disorder in later life
12/1/17--Teenage cannabis use may increases a person's risk of suffering from bipolar disorder in later life, new research suggests. People who used cannabis at least two-to-three times a week at 17 years old are more likely to experience hypomania in their earlier 20s, according to the first study of its kind. Read Marijuana advent calendar sales soar despite health warnings
11/26/17--Lorilee Fedler of Coast to Coast Medicinals has been overwhelmed by the response since launching marijuana-filled advent calendars packed with only marijuana flowers, only edibles, such as weed-infused gingerbread men and snowflake cookies. The company, which is unlicensed, has sold 150 calendars, with 300 more orders ready for processing on top of a waiting list of about 1,500 people. Read GW Pharma made an important move with its promising epilepsy treatment Epidiolex
11/6/17--GW Pharma's drug Epidiolex, a treatment that, in the company's words, "is a pharmaceutical formulation of purified cannabidiol (CBD), which is in development for the treatment of several rare childhood-onset epilepsy disorders," has completed its FDA New Drug Application to be marketed in the U.S. Additionally, it has been granted the FDA's rare pediatric-disease and orphan-drug designations, plus the potentially very helpful Fast Track designation. Read Business groups urge government to consider workplace safety in marijuana rules
11/4/17--New rules for legalized marijuana need to consider the impact on workplaces and clarify the rights of both employers and employees, say some business groups. Ottawa has set July 1 as the deadline for regulations to be in place and many provinces and territories are still working to craft legislation, including British Columbia, where a public consultation on legal pot wrapped up this week. Read