Unlike hospice, long-term drug safety is an important issue in palliative medicine. Opioids may produce significant morbidity. Cannabis is a safer alternative with broad applicability for palliative care. Yet the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) classifies cannabis as Schedule I (dangerous, without medical uses). Dronabinol, a Schedule III prescription drug, is 100% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the...

The effects of cannabis and alcohol on simulated car driving were studied. Cannabis resin containing 4 percent Delta(1)-tetrahydrocannabinol was administered orally in three doses equivalent to 8, 12, and 16 milligrams of that component. Alcohol was given orally in one standard dose of 70 grams. Both cannabis and alcohol increased the time required to brake and start, whereas alcohol increased ...

Abnormalities in hippocampal morphology are characteristic of schizophrenia and have also been reported in chronic cannabis users. There is a paucity of research investigating potential additive effects of cannabis use on brain pathology associated with schizophrenia. In this study, we performed hippocampal shape analysis in cannabis-using and non-using patients with schizophrenia, healthy cann...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to describe the patterns of cannabis use and the associated benefits reported by patients with fibromyalgia (FM) who were consumers of this drug. In addition, the quality of life of FM patients who consumed cannabis was compared with FM subjects who were not cannabis users. METHODS Information on medicinal cannabis use was recorded on a specific questionna...

Although there is emergent evidence illustrating neural sensitivity to cannabis cues in cannabis users, the specificity of this effect to cannabis cues as opposed to a generalized hyper-sensitivity to hedonic stimuli has not yet been directly tested. Using fMRI, we presented 53 daily, long-term cannabis users and 68 non-using controls visual and tactile cues for cannabis, a natural reward, and,...

AIMS To compare the prevalence of mental disorders between frequent cannabis users with and without dependence and the general population. DESIGN Cross-sectional comparison of interview data. SETTING Enriched community sample of frequent cannabis users and a representative sample of non-users and non-frequent users from the general population. PARTICIPANTS A total of 521 young adult (aged...

Background Despite the current shift towards permissive cannabis policies, few studies have investigated the pleasurable effects users seek. Here, we investigate the effects of cannabis on listening to music, a rewarding activity that frequently occurs in the context of recreational cannabis use. We additionally tested how these effects are influenced by cannabidiol, which may offset cannabis-r...

BACKGROUND/AIMS We assessed to what extent adolescents use alcohol and cannabis simultaneously and expanded previous research by estimating the proportion of all events of cannabis use that had occurred in relation to drinking. How the prevalence of this form of polysubstance use co-varied with the overall level of alcohol and cannabis use in different countries was also examined. METHOD We a...

Introduction The proliferation of electronic devices, such as vape-pens, has provided alternative means for cannabis use. Research has found cannabis-vaping (i.e., vape-pen use) is associated with lower perceived risks and higher cannabis use. Knowledge of these products may increase likelihood of subsequent use. As policies for cannabis shift, beliefs that peers and family approve of this subs...

OBJECTIVE Cannabis use is associated with a younger age at onset of psychosis, an indicator of poor prognosis, but better cognitive function, a positive prognostic indicator. We aimed to clarify the role of age at onset and cognition on outcomes in cannabis users with first-episode schizophrenia as well as the effect of cannabis dose and cessation of use. METHODS Ninety-nine patients without ...