The California Cannabis Health Information Initiative California public health authorities recently release a handout to help educate parents about how to deal with youth cannabis us: What Parents and Mentors Need to Know About Cannabis Use.
American Society of Addiction Medicine: “ASAM asserts that cannabis, cannabis-based products and cannabis delivery devices should be subject to the same standards that are applicable to other prescription medications and medical devices, and that these products should not be distributed or otherwise provided to patients unless and until such products or devices have received marketing approval from the Food and Drug Administration. ASAM rejects smoking as a means of drug delivery since it is not safe. ASAM rejects a process whereby State and local ballot initiatives approve medicines because these initiatives are being decided by individuals not qualified to make such decisions.”
(It is important to note that the brain is developing until about age 25 and is especially vulnerable to addiction in that time. The American Society of Addiction Medicine recently revised its policy statement regarding marijuana. In addition to opposing the drug’s legalization, the organization recommended that states that have sanctioned the drug’s use discontinue sales of marijuana to anyone under the age of 25.)
American Cancer Society: “The ACS is supportive of more research into the benefits of cannabinoids. Better and more effective treatments are needed to overcome the side effects of cancer and its treatment. The ACS does not advocate the use of inhaled marijuana or the legalization of marijuana.”
American Glaucoma Foundation: “Marijuana, or its components administered systemically, cannot be recommended without a long term trial which evaluates the health of the optic nerve. Although marijuana can lower IOP, its side effects and short duration of action, coupled with a lack of evidence that its use alters the course of glaucoma, preclude recommending this drug in any form for the treatment of glaucoma at the present time.”
National Multiple Sclerosis Society: “Although it is clear that cannabinoids have potential both for the management of MS symptoms, such as pain and spasticity, as well as for neuroprotection, the Society cannot at this time recommend that medical marijuana be made widely available to people with MS for symptom management. This decision was not only based on existing legal barriers to its use but, even more importantly, because studies to date do not demonstrate a clear benefit compared to existing symptomatic therapies and because issues of side effects, systemic effects, and long-term effects are not yet clear.” — Recommendations Regarding the Use of Cannabis in Multiple Sclerosis: Executive Summary. National Clinical Advisory Board of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Expert Opinion Paper, Treatment Recommendations for Physicians, April 2, 2008.http://www.nationalmssociety.org.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) believes that “[a]ny change in the legal status of marijuana, even if limited to adults, could affect the prevalence of use among adolescents.” While it supports scientific research on the possible medical use of cannabinoids as opposed to smoked marijuana, it opposes the legalization of marijuana. — Committee on Substance Abuse and Committee on Adolescence. “Legalization of Marijuana: Potential Impact on Youth.” Pediatrics Vol. 113, No. 6 ( June 6, 2004): 1825-1826. See also, Joffe, Alain, MD, MPH, and Yancy, Samuel, MD. “Legalization of Marijuana: Potential Impact on Youth.” Pediatrics Vol. 113, No. 6 ( June 6, 2004): e632-e638h.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has called for more research on the subject, with the caveat that this “should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana, or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product.”
NIDA FOR TEENS
Marijuana and Psychosis:
You may know that smoking marijuana can pose risks for a person’s physical health and brain development, especially for teens. But did you know that, for some people, it carries risks for their mental health, too? We don’t just mean short-term memory problems or poor judgment-those can happen for anybody who smokes
marijuana.
Read the article on teens.drugabuse.gov >
Marijuana & Psychosis
You may know that smoking marijuana can pose risks for a person’s physical health and brain development, especially for teens. But did you know that, for some people, it carries risks for their mental health, too? We don’t just mean short-term memory problems or poor judgment-those can happen for anybody who smokes marijuana.
Weed Is Getting Stronger
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The Science of Marijuana: How THC Effects the Brain
(From the NIH)
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Contemporary Pediatrics: Talking to teens about marijuana (American Academy of Pediatrics)
2016 World Health Organization (WHO) Report : The health and social effects of nonmedical cannabis use:
Annual prevalence of cannabis use for population aged 15-64
World Health Organization Report, 2016
The health and social effects of nonmedical cannabis use – 2.1.6 Long-term health effects of cannabis use
Long-term health effects are those that arise from regular cannabis use – especially daily use – over periods of months, years or decades. The time interval between the initiation of regular cannabis use and the development of long-term health effects may vary from several years to decades.
This report evaluates the evidence on whether long-term cannabis use is a contributory cause of the following health outcomes: dependence, cognitive impairment, mental disorders (psychoses, depression, anxiety and suicidal behaviour), and adverse physical health effects such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and respiratory and other cancers. More information can be found in chapters 6 and 7 of this report.
The health and social effects of nonmedical cannabis use
A generic term used to denote the several psychoactive preparations of the cannabis plant. Cannabis is the preferred designation of the plant Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and, of minor significance, Cannabis ruderalis ( Gloss, 2015). Cannabis resin means “separated resin”, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant.
