Researchers from the USA have published a study showing how fibromyalgia patients who deal with symptoms including pain, fatigue, and anxiety are using cannabis. A total of 1336 responses from patients at the specialist Integrative Medicine & Health at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota were analysed as part of the study. The average age of respondents was 48, and most were female.  Just under half (49.5%) of the respondents said they were using cannabis to help them with their fibromyalgia. The most common reason for doing so was to deal with pain, nearly all patients who responded (9 ..read more

For many of us living in the UK, Europe, or even Australia, mixing cannabis with tobacco is a normal, uninteresting occurrence. Polls have indicated that a vast majority of cannabis users in European countries opt to combine these two drugs, apparently completely unaware that stoners in North America find the habit strange and even outright stupid. Take, for example, the now infamous interview with globally recognised cannabis connoisseurs Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen on the Howard Stern show, circa 2019. In it, Rogen asks Snoop Dogg, “Do you find yourself getting in arguments with a lot of Europ ..read more

Medicinal cannabis is legal in Jersey, and the island is home to a burgeoning cannabis industry. Now a politician on the island is making plans to have the plant’s status for personal use lowered from illegal, to decriminalised. Deputy Tom Coles believes that a softer legal approach to the use of cannabis will have a positive impact on the individual and society in general. “There is a lot of evidence that now shows that if people are given space, time, and support, eventually they’ll stop using substances,” he said. If the law is changed and Jersey follows the example of countries such as Spa ..read more

Drug policy charity Release has launched a campaign to support the rights of patients prescribed medical cannabis in the UK. Despite medical cannabis being legalised in November 2018, many patients continue to report negative interactions with and harassment from the police due to what Release say is a lack of legal understanding.  The campaign follows an article published in the Guardian which highlighted 24 individuals who had experienced negative police interactions related to the use of their prescribed medication, including being arrested and handcuffed. The paper concluded that ..read more

As the medical cannabis industry in the UK evolves, so do the companies that support it. Releaf is one of the latest clinics to open its doors to patients. We sat down with Managing Director, Tim Kirby, whose proven track record of building and scaling businesses in complex industries will serve Releaf well in achieving its mission: to transform access to medical cannabis in the UK through technology and compassionate healthcare. With innovative ideas, extensive experience, and impeccable focus on the patient, Tim Kirby explains how Releaf’s MedTech platform simplifies and streamlines access t ..read more

Despite being illegal in the UK for over five decades, cannabis remains widely used for both its medicinal and recreational properties. It is estimated that almost 10% of people aged 16 to 59 in the UK have used cannabis in the last 12 months – that’s more than 3 million people. But while prohibition may not impact consumer numbers, various considerations mean that it could affect consumer safety. Advocates for prohibition as well as those in favour of reform often refer to the potential presence of contaminants in black market cannabis products. The unregulated cultivation of cannabis has ind ..read more

A report published by the American Medical Association (AMA) has revealed that the legalisation of adult-use cannabis and the opening of dispensaries and retail stores does not lead to an increase in youth cannabis use. In fact, cannabis reforms were linked to more young individuals reporting abstinence from cannabis, as well as an increase in those abstaining from alcohol and vape products. Published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, the study, conducted by a team of five researchers from Boston College and the University of Maryland at College Park, analyzed data from 47 states, encompassing r ..read more

For as long as people have been using cannabis recreationally, governments and the media have pedalled scare-mongering tactics in an attempt to control them. This has arguably been demonstrated most effectively in Western countries – particularly in the US where the ‘War on Drugs’ really ramped up in the 60s and 70s. Over the decades, we have been repeatedly warned of the increasing potency of weed, but do the numbers really stack up? We’re analysing figures from the ‘reefer madness’ days of cannabis to modern ultra-potent skunk to find out: Is cannabis really 67,200 times stronger today? This ..read more

Deputy Kirsten Morel has stated that the medicinal cannabis industry in the island nation of Jersey has now started to yield positive results, although as the industry began its journey there were many hurdles to navigate such as high start-up costs, strict regulatory minefields both domestic and international, and other problems like building appropriate infrastructure. In 2021, as part of a wider economic program to diversify its rural economy, Jersey issued its first commercial medicinal cannabis cultivation licenses to businesses including local firm Northern Leaf. And in November 2023 the ..read more

A literature review published this month in the Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists found the detection of THC or its metabolites in the blood, breath, urine, or saliva of a driver is not an indicator of driving impairment. Scientists affiliated with the University of California at Davis also stated, similarly to other recent studies, that current methods used to detect impairment caused by cannabis consumption often indicate only the use of it, not a reduction in the driver’s ability to operate a motor vehicle. Evidence produced in other studies has shown current detect ..read more