Tag: Canada

Insomnia, the inability to fall asleep and/or remain asleep, is a major health problem around the world. Whether patients suffer from insomnia as a primary condition, or if insomnia is caused by a different health condition, insomnia can have a massively negative impact on a person’s overall health. That negative impact can affect both physical and mental health.

When a human is sleep deprived, they become more irritable, and handling daily tasks becomes more difficult. A lack of sleep impairs brain functions such as memory and decision-making, and it can lead to depression. Physically, insomnia can impair patients’ immune systems, among other concerns.

Cannabinoids within the cannabis plant have served as a sleep aid for many insomnia patients over many years. A recent study in Canada looked at cannabis and sleep among cancer survivors specifically. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Halifax, Canada: Nearly a quarter of Canadian cancer survivors acknowledge consuming cannabis as a sleep aid, according to data published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship: Research and Practice.

Investigators surveyed over 1,400 cancer survivors. Twenty-four percent of respondents said that they used cannabis prior to bedtime, “with reported benefits including relaxation, reduced time to fall asleep, fewer nocturnal awakenings and improved sleep quality.” (Cannabis is legal for both medical and adult use in Canada.)

Over two-thirds of consumers said that they initiated cannabis use following their cancer diagnosis. Over one-third of consumers said that they used marijuana daily.

Adults frequently report using cannabis and CBD products as sleep aids. Data published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine reported that the enactment of adult-use marijuana legalization laws is associated with a significant reduction in the sales of over-the-counter sleep aids among the general public.

Full text of the survey, “A cross-sectional survey of the prevalence and patterns of using cannabis as a sleep aid in Canadian cancer survivors,” appears in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship: Research and Practice.

Cannabis use as it pertains to employment is often a sore subject with consumers and patients due to the societal stigma surrounding cannabis, and in some cases, outright discrimination towards people in the workplace.

Unfortunately, many employers around the world prohibit cannabis use during off-work hours, even when the use is medical in nature. To be clear, no one is advocating for on-the-clock intoxication. However, workplace testing policies need to be based on science and recognize how long metabolized THC stays in a person’s system after the intoxication has worn off.

Ironically, cannabis is a popular choice when it comes to treatment regimens for employees who are recovering from work-related injuries, as determined by a recent study in Canada. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Toronto, Canada: Nearly one-quarter of Canadians with a painful work-related disability use cannabis during their recovery, according to data published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health.

Researchers affiliated with the University of Toronto surveyed 1,650 adults who were disabled due to a physical work injury or illness. They reported that 22.4 percent of those who suffered from a work-related injury that involved “severe pain symptoms” used cannabis as part of their treatment. (Cannabis is legal for both medical and adult-use in Canada.)

Overall, 11.5 percent of all disabled employees reported using cannabis “to manage conditions associated with the work-related injury,” a finding that is consistent with prior studies.

Those who used cannabis products to assist in their recovery generally did not differ from their non-using peers with respect to their disability expenditures or health care benefit expenses.

Authors concluded: “This study is one of a limited number of studies [assessing] the association between cannabis use and disability benefit expenditures in a representative sample of work disability episodes. The evidence presented in this study of working-age adults recovering from a work-related injury or illness does not find a substantial association of cannabis use with disability benefit expenditures and health care benefit expenditures that would suggest either concerning harm, or significant benefit. These findings contribute information to support decision making among clinicians and disability insurance authorities on the potential benefits and risks associated with cannabis use in settings that have legalized cannabis use.”

By contrast, US data reports declines in the number of workers’ compensation filings following the adoption of either medical cannabis legalization or adult-use legalization.

State courts in the United States have issued contradictory opinions regarding whether medical cannabis-related costs are eligible for reimbursement under workers’ compensation laws. Six states — Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania — currently allow for reimbursements. By contrast, seven states (Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Florida, North Dakota, Ohio, and Washington) expressly prohibit workers’ compensation insurance from reimbursing medical marijuana-related costs. Other states are silent on the issue.

NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano recently weighed in on the issue in an op-ed. He wrote:: “Most patients, most physicians, and most state laws view cannabis as a legitimate therapeutic option. Therefore, the millions of Americans who rely upon medical cannabis products ought to be afforded the same entitlements as those who use other conventional medications and therapies. Those privileges should include insurance-provided reimbursement for medical cannabis treatment.”

Full text of the study, “An observational study of pain severity, cannabis use, and benefit expenditures in work disability,” appears in the Canadian Journal of Public Health.

Humans have used cannabis for medical purposes going back thousands of years. In the grand scheme of things, cannabis was not prohibited until fairly recently and only for a short duration of time compared to how long humans have used cannabis.

Unfortunately, even though cannabis prohibition is a blip on the human/cannabis timeline, it has had a dramatically negative impact on human healthcare as it pertains to medical cannabis. In addition to research and safe access being hindered, knowledge of the cannabis plant was suppressed within the medical community.

That dynamic can be found in the results of a recent study conducted in Canada in which researchers determined that radiation therapists are “unprepared” to even discuss cannabis with cancer patients. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Toronto, Canada: Radiation therapists working in Canada, where the use of medical cannabis has been legal for more than two decades, acknowledge being unprepared to discuss the use of medical cannabis with their cancer patients, according to survey data published in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences.

Investigators surveyed 282 radiation therapists. Just under one-fifth (19 percent) said that they frequently received inquiries from their patients about the use of medical cannabis. However, nearly 100 percent of those surveyed “believed that their radiation therapy training did not prepare them to support patients using cannabis.”

Authors concluded, “The findings of this study strongly advocate for the development of educational tools to meet Therapists clinical needs.”

Healthcare professionals in the United States and abroad – including nurses, pharmacists, clinicians, and nurse practitioners – consistently acknowledge that they are inadequately trained to counsel patients on matters specific to medical cannabis.

Survey data published in September reported that nearly one-third of US cancer patients turn to cannabis for symptom management, but most fail to inform their healthcare providers that they are using it.

Full text of the study, “Therapeutic cannabis use by patients with cancer in Canada: A national survey of the experiences, opinions, and information needs of Radiation Therapists,” appears in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences.

Getting proper sleep is vital to human health. When someone doesn’t get proper sleep, either due to not being able to initially fall asleep, or because they cannot remain asleep, it can have a significantly negative effect on a person’s mental and physical health.

Researchers estimate that as many as 1 out of every 3 adults suffer from insomnia worldwide. The condition can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and/or depression.

Researchers in Canada recently conducted a clinical trial in which they administered cannabinol (CBN) to people experiencing frequent sleep disturbances and the results were favorable. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Smith’s Falls, Canada: The oral consumption of the phytocannabinoid cannabinol (CBN) results in fewer sleep disturbances, according to placebo-controlled trial data published in the journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.

Investigators assessed the use of CBN versus placebo in a cohort of 321 participants who self-rated their sleep quality as either “poor” or “very poor.” Subjects consumed either 20 mgs of CBN, a combined dosage of CBN and CBD, or placebo for seven days. Participants consumed cannabinoids in the form of gummies 90-minutes prior to bedtime.

The study’s authors reported, “Individuals receiving 20 mg CBN demonstrated reduced nighttime awakenings and overall sleep disturbance relative to placebo.” The combined use of CBD with CBN did not positively augment CBN treatment effects. Subjects reported only mild side-effects, including headache.

“The present study provides evidence to support the use of 20 mg CBN alone for the improvement of some sleep difficulties, including nighttime awakenings and overall sleep disturbance,” authors concluded. “[F]uture studies should continue to examine this potential side effects of CBN and compare it to the side effects of other pharmacological interventions for sleep.”

Prior placebo-controlled trials have reported that the use of cannabis extracts containing THC, CBD, and CBN is safe and effective for patients with chronic insomnia. Separate data published in 2018 also reported that the inhalation of herbal cannabis prior to bedtime is associated with “clinically significant improvements” in patients with insomnia.

Full text of the study, “A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of the safety and effects of CBN with and without CBD on sleep quality,” appears in Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. Additional information on cannabis and insomnia is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.

Arguably the most popular talking point among cannabis opponents is the false claim that ‘cannabis is a gateway drug.’ Cannabis opponents have gone to great lengths and dedicated enormous resources to spreading that false narrative.

The fact of the matter is that cannabis is not a gateway drug. Numerous studies have found that people often use other substances before they ever use cannabis including alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, and the misuse of everyday household items such as aerosols.

Furthermore, a vast majority of cannabis consumers do not go on to use more harmful substances. All someone has to do is look at the cannabis consumption rate in a given jurisdiction and compare it to the usage rates for more harmful substances and it’s blatantly obvious that cannabis is not a gateway drug.

A growing body of evidence is actually finding that cannabis is an ‘exit drug,’ meaning that consumers of more harmful substances are successfully incorporating cannabis into their harm-reduction strategies. Below is information about a recent study in Canada that highlights the research surrounding this topic via a news release from NORML:

Vancouver, Canada: Polydrug users frequently engage in the use of cannabis in order to decrease their consumption of stimulants like crystal methamphetamine, according to data published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

Canadian researchers surveyed a cohort of 297 polydrug users who engaged in the use of cannabis and unregulated stimulants. Nearly half (45 percent) of those surveyed reported having consumed cannabis to manage their stimulant cravings. Of those, 78 percent “reported decreasing their stimulant use during periods of cannabis use.”

Investigators reported that cannabis was frequently associated with reductions among those who used methamphetamine. They reported no decrease in use among those who engaged in the daily use of cocaine.

Prior studies have reported inconsistent findings with respect to the use of cannabinoids as a substitute for cocaine. For example, a pair of longitudinal trials from Brazil and Canada reported that the use of cannabis is associated with the decreased use of crack cocaine in dependent subjects. By contrast, a 2021 study reported that the daily administration of CBD failed to reduce cocaine cravings any better than placebo in subjects with a history of moderate to severe cocaine abuse.

The study’s authors concluded: “These findings indicate that cannabis use to manage stimulant cravings is a common harm reduction strategy and suggest that this may be an effective strategy to reduce stimulant use among some PWUD [people who use unregulated drugs]. … In the absence of established pharmacotherapies for the treatment of stimulant use disorders, further investigation of the harm reduction and therapeutic applications of cannabis use is warranted to address the harms of stimulant use.”
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Numerous other studies have previously reported that cannabis consumers often substitute it in place of other substances, including alcohol, tobacco, and prescription opioids.

Full text of the study, “Cannabis use to manage stimulant cravings among people who use unregulated drugs,” appears in Addictive Behaviors.