“Cannabis plant extracts could potentially form the basic ingredients for a market-leading diabetes drug, the scientist who developed a former world-beating treatment for the condition believes…
“There really have been relatively few developments in finding new diabetes drug treatments… This new approach might be more productive in answering the unmet clinical need.””
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,526853,00.html
“Regular users of the drug found to have lower levels of insulin after fasting, research shows. Smoking cannabis may prevent the development of diabetes, one of the most rapidly rising chronic disorders in the world.
If the link is proved, it could lead to the development of treatments based on the active ingredient of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), without its intoxicating effects.”
“Marijuana does many magical things, not the least of which is make dubstep listenable. In Los Angeles, we use it pretty much legally for back pain, nausea and hot tubbing.
But a new study from Germany says that, in U.S. states like California where marijuana has become medically legit, rates of suicide have gone down.
The researchers note that suicide is often triggered by “stressful life events.” And you know what can take away the pain?
No. Not Enrique Iglesias. Stress! Or rather, chronic. Depending.
The academics note that “California includes anxiety as a qualifying condition” to obtain medical pot, “while Delaware and New Mexico both allow the use of medical marijuana for post traumatic stress disorder … ”
The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, with the help of American researchers such as Daniel I. Rees of the University of Colorado’s Department of Economics, recently published their findings in a paper called High on Life? Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide (PDF):
Our results suggest that the passage of a medical marijuana law is associated with an almost 5 percent reduction in the total suicide rate, an 11 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 20- through 29-year-old males, and a 9 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 30- through 39-year-old males.
The study takes some wild guesses, and one of them is that maybe medical marijuana users are cutting out the alcohol, which can be depressive:
The strong association between alcohol consumption and suicide related outcomes found by previous researchers (Markowitz et al. 2003; Carpenter 2004; Sullivan et al. 2004; Rodriguez Andres 2005; Carpenter and Dobkin 2009) raises the possibility that medical marijuana laws reduce the risk of suicide by decreasing alcohol consumption.
The academics cite research on animals where there was “a potent anti-depressant effect” when they were injected with low doses of synthetic cannabinoid.
Of course this flies in the face of tons of research — not to mention what Dr. Drew Pinsky has said several times — that cannabis and depression go together like milk and cookies.
And, it seems clear to us, the only solid argument to be made here is there might be a correlation between medical marijuana states and lower rates of suicides.
Hmm. National suicide rates have been decreasing across the board.
Researchers say they focused mostly on young men because most medical marijuana patients in states like Arizona, Colorado and Montana are males, and roughly half are under 40. Data on women, apparently, was weak. (Women are four times less likely to commit successful suicide in general).
The German study’s rosy conclusion:
… The legalization of medical marijuana leads to an improvement in the psychological well being of young adult males, an improvement that is reflected in fewer suicides.
Believe that. Or not.”
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/02/marijuana_suicide_medical_states_california.php
“In 2010, 38 thousand people committed suicide. About seven thousand were veterans.”
 “U.S. soldier on patrol in Kabul – by Tim King Salem-News.com
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(PORTLAND, OR) – The Oregonian and and The New York Times both had headlines, May 3, 2013, ‘Suicides Surge in United States and Oregon’.
I believe military PTSD victims have the highest rate but there are far more civilians in that same age group. For veterans, it is about 20 suicides per day, what that amounts to per thousand patients is the different kind of statistic that I am familiar with. The newspaper articles give their statistics as so many per thousand. They indicate that currently, the suicide rate for the middle aged, (35-64) is 18 per thousand each year, that age group is the highest rate. The overall rate for the U.S. is 14 per thousand per year.
I know more about the military veterans because I had more than 1,000 in my total population of 5,000 patients. Considering that the military veterans represent only about 1% of the population, with my 20% being veterans, this makes a good study group.
For military veterans, PTSD, from mild to severe, is about 20% of the group. This means 600 thousand PTSD victims. The actual figure is probably higher. Most are not being treated by the VA and they are using a number of different therapies. Many who live in states where it is legal, have reverted to marijuana. But many states, including Oregon, will not accept PTSD for a permit. New Mexico does allow Marijuana for PTSD Veterans. In New Mexico, 50% of the permit holders are veterans.
I started seeing military PTSD veterans about as soon as Oregon’s medical marijuana law became effective. But PTSD is not acceptable in Oregon. Most veterans had physical wounds, making them eligible for a permit.
I wrote my first article on this subject, February 13, 2009, ‘Marijuana Vs Antidepressants for PTSD’. The VA uses these drugs by the ton and while deadly, they are no more effective than sugar pills, but usually worse and often are used for suicide. That article has had 868 Facebook recommends, indicating strong interest.
My second article, ‘Medical Marijuana Prevents PTSD Suicides!’, was published Sept 22 2012., has 581 FB recommends.
My latest article on this subject, from March 25 2013, ‘PTSD/Depression and Anguish: Marijuana Vs. Many Fake Dangerous Drugs’ had 340 recommends.
This gets us to the current newspaper articles, in which military suicides are not even mentioned!
When you are 50, looking for a job, it can be fruitless. And it must be getting as bad for those even in their 40’s because the bright young smart alecks are striving to get into the workplace before it is too late.
The unemployed are now in desperate situations with no good way out and no resources. Anguish overtakes them and depression may be one of the symptoms for PTSD, etc.
There are about 19 states with legal marijuana, which represents more than 50% of the U.S. population. And speaking of those 19 states, those people can use this valuable medicine, marijuana. Another option is alcoholism and death.”
“MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS THE BEST ANTI-SUICIDE DRUG!”-Dr. Phillip Leveque Doctor of Pharmacology Salem-News.com http://salem-news.com/articles/may032013/ptsd-suicides-pl.php |
“The life of an individual suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often a debilitating one, as patients are frequently plagued by intense nightmares, flashbacks and emotional instability.
There are a number of psychotherapeutic treatments and cognitive behavioral therapy options to aid sufferers of PTSD, but these interventions are not always available to patients. And while medications tend to be the first line of defense for these individuals, no pharmaceutical treatments have been developed yet to specifically target PTSD.
But now, new research may help dramatically change the course of treatment for PTSD patients. In the first study of its kind, researchers at New York University Langone Medical Center have utilized brain imaging technology to highlight a connection between the number of cannabinoid receptors in the brain and PTSD. Cannabinoid receptors, known as CB1 receptors, are activated in the brain when a person uses cannabis, which can lead to impaired memory and reduced anxiety.
The researchers’ findings pave the way for the development of the first every medication designed explicitly to treat trauma – something, they say, is desperately needed.”
“In a first-of-its-kind effort to illuminate the biochemical impact of trauma, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered a connection between the quantity of cannabinoid receptors in the human brain, known as CB1 receptors, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the chronic, disabling condition that can plague trauma victims with flashbacks, nightmares and emotional instability…
CB1 receptors are part of the endocannabinoid system, a diffuse network of chemicals and signaling pathways in the body that plays a role in memory formation, appetite, pain tolerance and mood. Animal studies have shown that psychoactive chemicals such as cannabis, along with certain neurotransmitters produced naturally in the body, can impair memory and reduce anxiety when they activate CB1 receptors in the brain…
“There’s not a single pharmacological treatment out there that has been developed specifically for PTSD,” says Dr. Neumeister. “That’s a problem. There’s a consensus among clinicians that existing pharmaceutical treatments such as antidepressant simple do not work. In fact, we know very well that people with PTSD who use marijuana — a potent cannabinoid — often experience more relief from their symptoms than they do from antidepressants and other psychiatric medications. Clearly, there’s a very urgent need to develop novel evidence-based treatments for PTSD.”
Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130514085016.htm
“Endocannabinoids and their attending cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor have been implicated in animal models of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)…
These results suggest that abnormal CB1 receptor-mediated anandamide signaling is implicated in the etiology of PTSD, and provide a promising neurobiological model to develop novel, evidence-based pharmacotherapies for this disorder.”
“NORWICH, Conn. (WTNH) –The 31-year-old Norwich man was arrested for growing marijuana inside his home, but says he was only trying to ease his pain.
Tuesday, a Norwich man was in court facing drug charges. Wednesday, he felt comfortable enough to show News 8 how he uses medical marijuana to ease his pain.
31-year-old Joseph Tamborra says the effects are immediate.
“What is the difference after you take a hit,” asked News 8’s Tina Detelj.
“Uhhh it just takes my nausea completely away. It’s like night and day,” Tamborra said.
Relief from nausea caused by his Crones Disease and the pain from a hip and back injury after a car accident.
“I don’t have any cartilage in my hip,” Tamborra said.
It was too much to take, so he took matters into his own hands growing pot plants in a second floor bedroom of his Norwich home. However, that’s illegal and he was arrested for possession and operating a drug factory.
While his court case continued he received his medical marijuana card in March. A picture shows him after losing 90 pounds, unable to smoke after his arrest and too nauseous to eat.
“That helped me out like tremendously,” he said. “Once they realized okay there’s a reason for him doing this.”
At New London Superior Court Tamborra was ordered to perform community services and the charges will go away, but he’s still faced with a dilemma. He says because the medical marijuana law is so new there’s no process in place for him to buy the medical marijuana.
“Hopefully mid-summer, by the end of the year, they might have a dispensary or two set up,” Tamborra said. “I’ve also heard they might just limit it to pharmacies, I’m not really sure.”
The state says it is still working on how the medical marijuana will be dispensed and who can be a licensed producer.”
-Tina Detelj
http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/new_london_cty/using-medical-marijuana-to-ease-pain#.UYu7Dcp48Qs
“Researchers investigating anecdotal evidence that cannabis relieves some of the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have discovered a potential new target for cannabis-derived drugs for treatment of the disease.
This finding, published in the journal Gastroenterology… could bring new hope for… sufferers of diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis1 with the possibility that cannabis-derived drugs may help to heal the gut lining, which is damaged during the course of disease. ”
Read more: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/28584.php