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. […]
Date: 08-19-2020 A new report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Network) examined the changes in marijuana use rates in adults with depression from 2005 to 2016. The study, “Association of Depression With Past-Month Cannabis Use Among US Adults, Aged 20 to 59 years, 2005 to 2016” (Gorfinkel, Stohl and Hasin) […]
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 is one of the most common illicit drugs used by patients with schizophrenia. Recent research into marijuana’s adverse role for people dealing with psychosis and schizophrenia is concerning. The author, Dr. Brian Miller (MD, PhD, MPH), has complied a series of research studies and their key findings that outline the numerous risks associated with 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 […]
With the passage of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the “2018 Farm Bill”, hemp (part of the Cannabis Sativa L. plant) became a legal agricultural commodity. The caveat to this designation is that hemp, by definition, is to have a potency level of Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) of not greater than .3 percent. […]
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 […]
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) just issued guidance to financial institutions doing business with hemp-related businesses. “Hemp” is a part of the Cannabis Sativa L. family that contains no more than .3 percent potency level of Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Hemp was removed from the controlled substances list and reclassified as an agricultural commodity as […]
