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Author: Hazel Norman

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London Mayor Still To Pursue Cannabis Reform Despite Political Pushback

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Policy.

Earlier this year the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched a commission to explore London’s cannabis enforcement policies in addition to other drug enforcement policies. Taking a hard look at London’s cannabis policies was one of Mayor Khan’s campaign pledges during his re-election bid.

One of the things that Mayor Khan is essentially pushing for is cannabis decriminalization, which is not as good as outright legalization yet is obviously superior than arresting people caught with a personal amount of cannabis.

Khan’s desire to change London’s cannabis enforcement policies was condemned by other officials, including Steve Reed, the Labour’s Party’s shadow justice secretary. As we previously reported, Reed made the ridiculous claim that cannabis decriminalization would “turn London into a drug supermarket.”

It appears that London Mayor Sadiq Khan is undeterred, indicating that he will proceed with his his reform commission plans regardless of what others think. Per My London:

But Mr Khan told Labour conference there was a need to look again at the legislation. He said he meets young black Londoners every week who have a criminal record because of possession of cannabis: “That record affects them for their entire life. I meet experts who tell me the consequences of dangerous skunk being sold in an unregulated market and the psychosis it can cause.”

He added: “I’ve got a genuine open mind. I’m going to look at what the commission comes back with, follow the evidence, and decide what to do going forward…if it means going against public opinion like I did with air quality…I’ll do it.”

It wouldn’t be public opinion that Khan would be going against if/when he chooses to change London’s cannabis enforcement practices. As we previously reported, people in London support a change in cannabis enforcement practices in their city per a recent YouGov poll.

“New YouGov data finds that Londoners support decriminalising cannabis within the boundaries of the capital by 50% to 33%. However opinion is divided across party lines, with 64% of the capital’s Labour voters supporting such a move compared to only 34% of Conservative voters.” YouGov stated at the time.

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CBD Extracts Reduce Agitation In Dementia Patients According To Israeli Study

Written by Hazel Norman on . Posted in Science.

According to the World Health Organization as many as 55 million people worldwide live with some level of dementia. That number is expected to increase to 78 million by 2030 and up to 139 million by 2050.

Dementia is a syndrome that involves the deterioration of cognitive function among those that suffer from the condition. The deterioration goes beyond what is expected as a result of typical human biological aging.

The condition disturbs multiple higher cortical functions including but not limited to learning and memory, focusing, language, motor perception, and social cognition. Cases range from mild symptoms all the way to cases in which the patient is completely debilitated because of the condition.

Heightened agitation among patients suffering from dementia is common, as patients are often disoriented and become frustrated by their surroundings and interactions with people they are unfamiliar with. Fortunately, a recent study in Israel found that cannabidiol (CBD) may help. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Tel Aviv, Israel: The administration of plant-derived extracts containing high levels of CBD and low levels of THC reduces agitation in patients suffering from behavioral disturbances related to dementia, according to clinical trial data published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.

Israeli researchers assessed the safety and efficacy of CBD-dominant extracts (30 to 1 ratio of CBD to THC) compared to placebo in a cohort of seniors (mean age: 79 years) with dementia. Subjects in the trial received sublingual drops of either cannabis extracts or a placebo (olive oil) three times daily for a period of 16 weeks.

“Patients in the investigational group experienced a significantly greater reduction in sleep disturbances, and in agitation and aggression sub-score using two different measurement tools. The improvements were accompanied with non-serious side-effects,” authors reported. ”We recommend conducting a large scale randomized controlled trial on behavioral disturbances related to dementia and to compare clinical sub-types of dementia.”

The findings are consistent with those of other studies – such as those here, here, and here - reporting that the use of either cannabis flowers or extracts mitigates agitation in dementia patients.

Full text of the study, “Effects of rich cannabidiol oil on behavioral disturbances in patients with dementia: A placebo controlled randomized clinical trial,” appears in Frontiers in Medicine.