A type of medical cannabis is being prescribed much more often by doctors in Brighton and Hove than in most other parts of England. Nabilone, a drug which contains synthetic cannabinoids and is used to alleviate the side-effects of chemotherapy, was prescribed 371 times by family doctors across the country last year. Of these, 53 – or one in seven – were for patients in Brighton and Hove, with 266 prescriptions issued over five years. And other types of medical cannabis are being prescribed in small but growing numbers in Brighton and Hove, according to new figures. The findings come as charit ..read more

A cannabis club has paid tribute to a former police boss by dedicating a branded grinder to him. The grinder, a tool used in the preparation of cannabis, has been named “the Hogg” in honour of former Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Ron Hogg. Mr Hogg, Durham’s PCC until he died in 2019, had advocated for the Teesside Cannabis Club. The PCC, known for what some said was a radical approach to drugs policy, died of motor neurone disease (MND) in 2019. Cleveland Police said it took illegal drugs seriously and continued to enforce the law. The club’s owner said some profits from the g ..read more

Louisiana liberalization of marijuana laws has accelerated since the state dispensed its first legal medical cannabis to patients in 2019 with ongoing expansions to the medicinal program and reforms to the state’s criminal laws. Including decriminalizing weed in 2021 by reducing possession to a misdemeanor with no jail time. Now Democratic New Orleans state Rep. Candace Newell wants to take the final step to mainstream marijuana, filing bills that would both legalize weed (House Bill 24) and regulate it (House Bill 17). “We know it’s going to happen some day,” Newell told USA Today Network. “W ..read more

Purpose of review: The purpose of this study was to provide the most up-to-date scientific evidence of the potential analgesic effects, or lack thereof, of the marijuana plant (cannabis) or cannabinoids, and of safety or tolerability of their long-term use. Recent findings: We found that inhaled (smoked or vaporized) cannabis is consistently effective in reducing chronic non-cancer pain. Oral cannabinoids seem to improve some aspects of chronic pain (sleep and general quality of life), or cancer chronic pain, but they do not seem effective in acute postoperative pain, abdominal chro ..read more

A third of Brits would use medical marijuana to help treat depression, a new study has suggested. Medical cannabis clinic Mamedica says that 32% of those polled say that if they could treat their mental health condition with cannabis-based remedies over antidepressants then they would because they think it’s safer. Some 43% say that they have been living with severe anxiety for years and have not found a remedy to help, while 34% say that they think the treatment they are receiving for their mental health is not personal to their condition. Over eight million people are experiencing an an ..read more

A new bill has been introduced in the United States Senate To authorize the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to implement a comprehensive research plan to study the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis in treating chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans. The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act was introduced by Senators Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Jon Tester, D-Mont., and has bipartisan support. The bill requires the VA to conduct a series of clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis for the treatment of chronic pain and PTSD. The trials will ..read more

FRANCE’s ongoing medical cannabis ‘experiment’, in which 3,000 patients are offered free products, has reported an overwhelmingly positive patient response. According to the first clinical data to be published since the experiment launched in March 2021, 91% of patients report being satisfied with the medication. Despite this positive response, the results are expected to have little or no impact on France’s wider medical cannabis trial, which was recently extended for another year in order for more data to be gathered. While it is great PR for the companies currently supplying produ ..read more

Smoking weed on the streets of Amsterdam‘s inner city will soon be banned, the city’s council has announced. The destination has long been known for cannabis but local residents have complained that overtourism is making the centre of the city unlivable. More than 18 million travellers visited Amsterdam last year. “Residents of the old town suffer a lot from mass tourism and alcohol and drug abuse in the streets,” the council said in a statement. “Tourists also attract street dealers who in turn cause crime and insecurity.” They added that the atmosphere can “get grim ..read more

Scientists are launching a new global study to see whether cannabidiol (CBD) can treat people with psychosis or psychotic symptoms. CBD is currently only perscribed on the NHS for children and adults with rare, severe epilepsy and adults with vomiting or nausea caused by chemotherapy. Oxford University’s department of psychiatry has been awarded £16.5m by charitable foundation Wellcome to launch a clinical trial later this year. Entitled the Stratification and Treatment in Early Psychosis (Step) programme, it will be led by Professor Philip McGuire at Oxford ..read more

Pet dogs are getting stoned after eating cannabis discarded on the streets of New York, according to veterinarians. Vets in the city are reporting a surge in cases of confused canines in their surgeries since recreational cannabis was legalised in 2021, The New York Times reported. In many cases, the cannabis is in the form of the remnants of joints. But dogs can also be affected by second-hand smoke or by munching gummies and marijuana-laced chocolate In the past, vets would see one case a month. Now they are treating several dogs a week. Recreational marijuana is now legal in 21 st ..read more