Tag: New Zealand

More countries are now home to medical cannabis legalization, to some degree, than countries that still prohibit medical cannabis. Laws in legal medical cannabis countries range from being very limited to permitting robust commerce and home cultivation options for suffering patients.

An emerging area of medical cannabis policy, regulation, and research goes beyond humans and extends to medical cannabis therapies for pets and other animals. A recent example of this can be found in New Zealand, where researchers are recruiting dogs for a clinical trial examining medical cannabis and its potential to treat pain.

“More than 100 dogs are being recruited for a world-first cannabis clinical trial to help canines suffering from osteoarthritis.” reported The New Zealand Herald in its local coverage. “A New Zealand veterinary pharmaceutical company behind the “groundbreaking” medicine is seeking dogs across Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Christchurch for the six-week experiment.”

Medical cannabis for animals is an underrated sector of the emerging legal cannabis industry and possesses tremendous profit potential for innovative entrepreneurs and savvy cannabis industry investors.

Industry analysts at Research and Markets recently projected that the CBD pet market size alone is expected to reach $1.72 billion by 2030 and increase at a compound annual growth rate of 32.47% between now and then. This, of course, does not take into account other cannabinoids and non-pet animals like farm livestock.

Researchers estimate that there are over 900 million pet dogs globally, and another 370 million pet cats. In the United States alone, pet owners spend an estimated $136 billion on pet products annually. Add to the mix tens of billions of cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, and other livestock around the world, and the potential market for medical cannabis wellness products for animals is off the charts.

In separate dog and medical cannabis research news, the results of a study focusing on medical cannabis therapies and dogs with osteoarthritis and conducted by the Federal University for Latin American Integration in partnership with the Santa Cannabis Association, will reportedly be featured in the scientific journal Frontiers in Pharmacology soon.

“The research showed that the plant extract relieves pain, improves mobility and the quality of life of animals — and most importantly, without serious side effects.” reported Sechat about the research effort (translated from Portuguese to English).

A recent survey of more than 23,000 New Zealanders found that 60% of respondents reported that they consumed less alcohol after beginning cannabis use. The survey also found that of people who report using cannabis and other substances, 60% of respondents reported consuming less synthetic cannabinoids, 44% reported using less morphine, and 40% reported using less methamphetamine.

“To explore the co-use of cannabis with alcohol and other drugs within demographic subgroups of a large sample of people who use cannabis. Specifically: (1) whether cannabis is being substituted for other drugs, and (2), whether cannabis use leads to more, less or the same level of other drug use.” the survey’s authors stated about the aim of their research. The findings of the survey were originally published in the Harm Reduction Journal.

“Online convenience survey promoted via Facebook™ completed by 23,500 New Zealand respondents. Those who had used cannabis and any of eight other substances in the same six-month period were asked if their use of cannabis had any impact on their use of each other substance (“a lot more”, “little more”, “no impact/same”, “little less”, “a lot less”). Frequency and quantity used of each other drug was compared by co-use group. Generalised logistic regression models were developed to predict co-use categories.” the researchers stated about their methodology.

“Young adults (21–35-years) were more likely to report cannabis use led to “less” drinking and methamphetamine use.” the researchers reported. “Māori were more likely to report cannabis use resulted in “less” alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamine, and LSD use.”

“Cannabis and other drug co-use patterns are moderated by life stages, lifestyles, cultural perspectives, and urbanicity. Harm reduction initiatives and policy reforms should take account of these moderating factors.” the investigators concluded.

The results of the New Zealand survey add to a growing area of research that is finding that cannabis can be an ‘exit drug’ for many consumers. For example, according to data from Health Canada, nearly one-quarter of surveyed Canadians report that they are consuming less alcohol after consuming cannabis.

Separate survey data from the U.S. found that 36 percent of U.S. consumers report consuming less alcohol following state-level cannabis legalization. Polling data previously published by Gallup found that most U.S. adults believe that cannabis use poses fewer risks to health than alcohol. A study conducted in 2015 found that alcohol is 114 times more harmful to humans than cannabis.

Just because someone has consumed cannabis and suffers from mental health struggles, that does not automatically mean that the cannabis consumption caused the mental health issues that the person is unfortunately experiencing.

That may seem like a logical statement, however, cannabis opponents do everything that they can to try to skirt that fact. To make matters worse, the reefer madness mental health propaganda efforts that cannabis opponents pursue is often assisted by mainstream media coverage that echoes their talking points without any context, which is a huge disservice to society.

Mental health is a very serious issue, and it should be treated as such. Facts and science should lead the way, and with that in mind, the results of a new study out of New Zealand further debunks the ‘cannabis makes you crazy’ talking point of opponents. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Christchurch, NZ: Those with a history of cannabis consumption do not exhibit more severe symptoms of psychosis than do those with no history of regular use, according to longitudinal data published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.

A team of New Zealand researchers assessed the relationship between marijuana use and the severity of psychotic symptomology in a cohort of over 1,200 subjects born in 1977. Investigators compared the symptom profile of cannabis consumers and non-consumers at age 18, 21, and at age 25.

Researchers reported that cannabis-consuming subjects were more likely than non-users to report experiencing a greater variety of psychotic symptoms overall. However, investigators acknowledged that consumers were not more likely to report experiencing severe symptoms.

Authors reported: “The present analyses sought to determine whether there was a qualitative difference in the kind of symptoms being reported by the two groups. … Both groups tended to report common, low-level symptoms (such as “having ideas or beliefs that others do not share”), and neither group was likely to report what would be considered as more severe positive symptoms of psychosis.”

They concluded: “Collectively, the results suggest that while those who were regular cannabis users reported a significantly greater number of symptoms than non-users, the symptom profile between the two groups did not differ, showing that there was no evidence of greater ‘severity’ among regular cannabis users.”

Although the use of cannabis and other controlled substances is more common among those with psychotic illnesses, studies indicate that lifetime incidences of marijuana-induced psychosis are relatively rare among those who do not already have a prior diagnosis of a psychiatric disease.

Full text of the study, “Cannabis use and patterns of psychotic symptomology in a longitudinal birth cohort,” appears in the New Zealand Medical Journal.