Many people use cannabis for pain management, but a new study finds that people who used cannabis before surgery needed more anesthesia during surgery and experienced increased recovery pain.

There is some evidence that cannabis may be beneficial for chronic and nerve pain. However, early research suggests that this is not the case for acute pain such as for surgery of a broken leg…This study shows that it is important for patients to tell their physician anesthesiologist if they have used cannabis products prior to surgery to ensure they receive the best anesthesia and pain control possible, including the use of non-opioid alternatives…”

Dr. Ian Holmen, lead author and anesthesiology resident at the University of Colorado Hospital

Presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the study examined the painkiller needs of people who had used cannabis in some form and those who had not after surgery for a broken leg. People who reported cannabis use were given 58% more opioids per day in the hospital and reported greater levels of pain on a scale of 1 to 10. During the surgery, cannabis users needed 12.4 more milliliters of anesthesia during surgery.

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The house, which is currently under Democratic control, will vote on legalizing cannabis at the federal level for the first time in history. The house would vote on the act during the week of September 21st. The bill, which is sponsored by Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y), would remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances at the federal level while expunging some cannabis-related criminal records. It would still be up to each state to determine the regulations for cannabis sales. The bill is expected to pass in the house but fail in the Republican-controlled senate.

Marijuana is currently regulated by a patchwork of laws at the state and federal levels, and Goers said legalization at the federal level would add “normalization” for businesses and states by legalizing marijuana at the federal level.

House will vote on federal marijuana legalization for the first time, bill’s future in Senate uncertain

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An overwhelming majority (91%) of Americans support the legalization of medical or recreational cannabis usage. A majority (59%) of Americans support both recreational and medical usage, whereas 32% think it should only be legal for medical purposes. While the results vary within the major political parties, a majority of both republicans and democrats support legalization.

Over the course of their presidencies, both Obama and Trump declined to enforce federal prohibitions against states that made cannabis legal for both recreational and medicinal use. While in office, Obama supported cannabis decriminalization but not legalization. Trump has said that he respects each state’s decision on whether or not to legalize cannabis.

Current democratic nominee and former vice president Joe Biden supports the decriminalization of cannabis, as well as the expunging of criminal records for cannabis usage but has not come out in support of legalization.

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The varying laws between state and federal levels can make business for cannabis dispensaries and other related businesses complicated. In some cases, banks will not work with dispensaries due to federal regulations, making dispensaries cash only and more vulnerable to theft. Legalizing cannabis at the federal level would hopefully make it easier for cannabis businesses to operate.

A new study has been published in the American Heart Association (AHA) Journal examining how cannabis affects the heart. Data indicates that smoking cannabis can trigger cardiovascular problems like heart attacks and strokes. The data shows that heart rhythm abnormalities like tachycardia or atrial fibrillation can occur within an hour after cannabis containing THC is smoked. THC may also cause a faster heart rate, increase the heart’s need for oxygen, or disrupt artery walls.

In comparison, CBD, or cannabidiol, one of the other 80 chemicals in cannabis, does not give the “high” typically associated with THC. Nor does it appear to cause harm to the heart.

-Weed is not good for your heart, studies say

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Using cannabis in topical or oral form is better for your health than smoking it.

Research done on the effects of cannabis and the heart is observational and retrospective. Current studies identify trends but are not able to prove cause and effect. Because cannabis is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the DEA, research is limited.

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The medical group recommended cannabis to be part of the US Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco control and prevention efforts, which may mean that there would be age restrictions on who can purchase weed, retailer regulations and even excise taxes.

-Weed is not good for your heart, studies say

A new study from New Zealand shows that heavy cannabis smoking can cause a lung disease called “Bong Lung”. Research from thousands of different people shows that heavy cannabis smokers can experience bronchitis and irreversible lung damage. Research also showed that if a cannabis user quits smoking, bronchitis can improve, but oftentimes the destruction of lung tissue remains.

Photo by Esteban Lopez on Unsplash 

The bronchitis that people get, the really nasty bronchitis, does tend to improve if you stop (smoking cannabis). But as lung doctors, what we sometimes see in people who don’t stop smoking cannabis is lots of destruction of the lung tissue, and that is irreversible.

-Bob Hancox, a professor at the University of Otago 

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The abstract of the study does point out that there is a difference between the lung conditions of cannabis smokers versus the lungs of tobacco smokers. An author of the study also mentions that smoking cannabis and tobacco would not be advised as those who smoke both are like to “get the worst of both substances”.

The DEA has announced that the company Insys has produced a synthetic marijuana product and the DEA deems it medically valuable and safer than real cannabis. The announcement was made on November 22nd in the Federal Register by the DEA. The drug is called Syndros. It’s a liquid form of synthetic THC that will be classified as a schedule 2 controlled substance. At this level, the drug can be prescribed by doctors legally, at the federal level.

On March 23, 2017, the DEA published an interim final rule to make FDA-approved products containing dronabinol in an oral solution a schedule II controlled substance. 82 FR 14815. The interim final rule provided an opportunity for interested persons to file written comments as well as a request for hearing or waiver of hearing, on or before April 24, 2017.”

Meanwhile, marijuana will continue to be listed as a “Schedule 1 controlled substance”. Schedule 1 is reserved for drugs like heroin, deemed to have “no currently accepted medical use” and have “a high potential for abuse.” As Politico says, “Jeff Sessions Isn’t Giving up on Weed. He’s Doubling Down.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaVTqyuuSMI

The FDA has cleared Syndros for Synthetic Marijuana Approval

Synthetic marijuana will be hitting the market soon. Insys Therapeutics is based out of Arizona. This is not the kind of company marijuana advocates want involved in the cannabis industry.

A pharmaceutical company that manufactures the prescription painkiller fentanyl repeatedly misrepresented its product and the patients using it in order to boost sales, according to a blistering report released Wednesday by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).” – Mother Jones

We found a story on Collective Evolution:

Twenty-nine states and Washington, D.C. have now legalized some form of medical marijuana; however the DEA and the FDA still maintain their stance that cannabis is not medicine. Last year, the FDA even rejected a petition to have marijuana removed from the Schedule 1 category.”

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