January 19, 2021 With the advent of the legalization of marijuana by some U.S. states, there has been a noted increase in use rates in recent years. One subgroup that has received attention is the use rates in older adults, ages 60 and older. The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (January 2021, Vol.69, No1) […]
Psychiatry Online released a study on November 3rd, 2020 concerning the negative impacts that substance use disorders (SUD) has on adults that have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The authors (Baillargeon, J. et.al.) provide information on over 54,000 COVID-19 patients as it relates to the outcomes of (1) hospitalization, (2) ventilator use and (3) death. Within […]
Read Time: <10 minutes Date: November 5, 2020 The journal “Addictive Behaviors” (109, (2020), 106479, May 2020) released a study, “What is the prevalence and risk of cannabis use disorders among people who use cannabis? A systematic review and meta-analysis” by authors J. Leung (et.al.). The recent meta-analysis sought to examine the prevalence and risks […]
September 24, 2020 According to a recent study (Wang, Kaelber, Xu and Volkow) published in Molecular Psychiatry, nearly 11 percent of the U.S. population has a substance use disorder (SUD). Additionally, those individuals with a current SUD are at increased risks for COVID-19 as well as its adverse outcomes. This study examined over 73 million health records […]
Date: August 25, 2020 Read time: 5 Minutes Quest Diagnostics, a leader in workplace drug testing, reported that positive drug tests reached a 16-year high in 2019. Notable increases were seen in positive test results for cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Marijuana continues to be the most commonly detected drug in U.S. workplace drug testing. Dr. […]
Association Between Youth Smoking, Electronic Cigarette Use, and Coronavirus Disease 2019 In July 2020, researchers from Stanford University (Gaiha, Cheng, et.al.) published the results of a study of over 4,300 people (youth to young adults) in the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study examined the association between the use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes and frequency of […]
The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) just released a report focused on examining THC concentrations in Colorado and the implications to public health. Contained in this report is a primer on marijuana in Colorado and the evolution of THC concentration levels of products available in the open marketplace. Also found in the […]
Marijuana still remains of concern when addressing youth use, access and health impacts. To help bridge that gap the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) program, a federally funded drug prevention and education program since 1997, focuses on reducing substance use in both youths and adults. The DFC program just released their annual report and cited these key […]
The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) has just issued the twelfth edition in their ongoing educational “Practical Theorist” series. The “Practical Theorist 12” focuses on the current state of marijuana in America. This document provides the reader a wide range of information on a variety of topics with findings based in current research. The impressive […]
Released in the June 22, 2020 version of JAMA Internal Medicine (doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1769 ) comes research from Kamer (et.al) that examines the fatal motor vehicle collision rates in the original four states that legalized marijuana for “recreational” use. Three of the four states did record increases in their fatal collision rates post legalization. The authors did report […]
