Take your medicine

Before we go any further with this article about weed, and doctors, and addiction, I want to make it clear that I know very little about weed, even less about being a doctor, and I am completely (and thankfully) ignorant about addiction. The issue of painkiller abuse in the United States is incredibly complex and incredibly sad, and like most incredibly complex and sad things, there are no easy solutions to fix the problem.

But there is definitely a problem:

By Paul Armentano / NORML

Scientific discoveries are published almost daily rebuking the federal government’s contention that cannabis is a highly dangerous substance lacking therapeutic efficacy. But most of these findings appear primarily in obscure, peer-reviewed journals and often go unnoticed by the major media and the general public. Here are five new cannabis-centric studies that warrant mainstream attention. 

Early Onset Pot Use Isn’t Associated With Adverse Outcomes in Adulthood

TORONTO, Sept. 04, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marijuana Access Canada (MAC) is comprised of a network of Board Certified physicians in the provinces of Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and will be expanding into British Columbia and Quebec in the next coming months. MAC connects patients with a Board Certified physician, who is able to write a legal prescription for medical marijuana that is fully compliant with the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) as outlined by Health Canada.

Hydropothecary, the Gatineau-based medical marijuana producer, has received a licence from Health Canada to produce cannabis oil.

It can’t sell the oil yet. For now, the company can only do research and produce oil, but it hopes to get permission to sell it through a series of approvals that Health Canada requires.

Hydropothecary already sells dried medical marijuana, but wants to sell edible cannabis oil for people who can’t tolerate smoking marijuana, or who simply prefer to swallow an oil.

The company says its extraction process eliminates the use of solvents and other harsh chemicals that leave a residue in the final product. Company spokesperson Julie Beun says the extraction machine “is basically a giant pressure cooker.”

Marijuana users are often stereotyped as unhealthy, munchie-ridden, fast food devotees, but a new study in the Journal of Obesity could turn the turn the popular assumption on its head.

A study comparing cannabis users to those who abstained from the drug found there was an association between marijuana use and a lower weight range and lower risk of diabetes.

Forget about weight watchers; new research out of Nunavik suggests the secret to a slim figure might be… marijuana.

Recently, researchers from Quebec looked into why levels of Type 2 diabetes were so low among Inuit.

Dr Michel Lucas is one of the co-authors of a study linking low body weight and marijuana use in Nunavik. (CBC)

The study, called "Cannabis use in relation to obesity and insulin resistance in the Inuit population," analysed health data from 786 adults in Nunavik, and the results took them by surprise.

Inhaled cannabis can blunt the pain of diabetic neuropathy without seriously impairing cognitive function, a new study shows.

"The higher the dose, the more the pain relief," first author Mark Wallace, MD, told Medscape Medical News. "There was, however, a dose-dependent increase in euphoria."

The study is the first randomized controlled trial of inhaled cannabis for diabetic neuropathy pain, said Dr Wallace, chair of the Division of Pain Management at the University of California, San Diego. It was published in the July issue of the Journal of Pain.

A research published in the journal Nature Neuroscience has tested the levels of pain sensitivity among male and female. To know the same, study researchers used male and female mice and came to know both genders experience the same levels of pain sensitivity. But they were activated through different immune cells during response.

The researchers wanted to know the gender differences in pain response, so that new therapies could be more successful when they enter the market. In the experiment, the male and female mice were injured on foot and were then given medicine.

Montreal-based Affinor Growers to showcase its vertical farming technology

MONTREAL— Affinor Growers, a diversified agriculture and biotechnology company, which is perhaps better known as a legal marijuana grower, has announced a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The agreement will allow the USDA Agricultural Research Service to work with Affinor’s vertical farming technology at its facility in Kearneysville, W.V. and at Affinor’s controlled environment in Quebec. The ARS will use Affinor’s proprietary vertical farming systems to grow not marijuana, but strawberries.

When the Canadian government announced the commercialization of medical marijuana sales in April 2014, hundreds of business-minded individuals rushed to get in applications to legally sell medical marijuana.

It’s the type of industry that requires entrepreneurs ready to take risks, not business people looking for a slam dunk return on their investment. That’s because before the licence can be granted to sell, government staff need to tour the facilities, make sure everything is just right – including security set-ups and RCMP clearance for key personnel.

As of April 27, Health Canada said they have had 1,315 applications, 955 of which have been refused or withdrawn.