With a plethora of cannabis news and research being published daily, we wanted to share with you some interesting and important stories that have come out in the last few months.
Please feel free to send us stories to share in our next Q4 update by email at Marketing@apolloresearch.ca! Have a favourite story? Share it on social media!
Click below to jump to a story:
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Medical Cannabis For Chronic Pain: Global Task Force Develops New Protocols And Guidelines
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Effects of Cannabis Ingestion on Endometriosis-Associated Pelvic Pain and Related Symptoms
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Study Finds Medical Marijuana May Help Treat Depression and Anxiety and Improve Sleep
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Kevin Durant Aims to Destigmatize Marijuana Use With New Partnership
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Medical Cannabis Improves Dystonia Symptoms and Alleviates Pain
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Analysis of Illicit and Legal Cannabis Products for a Suite of Chemical and Microbial Contaminants
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Costa Rica Congress Approves Legalization of Marijuana for Medicinal Use
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How The NHL Became a Pioneer in Pro Sports Weed Use
Medical Cannabis For Chronic Pain: Global Task Force Develops New Protocols And Guidelines
With medical cannabis and the endocannabinoid system not commonly taught in medical school, there is a gap in knowledge around the protocols for prescribing medical cannabis.
“To help support physicians in meeting the needs of their patients, Canopy Growth recruited a group of 20 physicians who leveraged a modified Delphi process to develop three practical protocols for the oral administration of medical cannabis to treat chronic pain. These recommendations will help fill a knowledge gap and will support clinicians and patients in achieving safe and effective dosing. Dr. Alan Bell, family physician and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, is one of the lead experts in the task force.”
Just like any other medication, physicians need to work with each patient individually to find the highest level of success. This is why at Apollo, we work with each patient and discuss current medications, dosage, strains, product options, affordability, past medical history, symptoms, and more.
You can read the full article here.
Effects of Cannabis Ingestion on Endometriosis-Associated Pelvic Pain and Related Symptoms
Medical cannabis has been growing as an alternative symptom relief option in the endometriosis community.
“The use of cannabis for symptoms of endometriosis was investigated utilizing retrospective archival data from Strainprint Technologies Ltd., a Canadian data technology company with a mobile phone application that tracks a range of data including dose, mode of administration, chemovar, and their effects on various self-reported outcomes, including pelvic pain.
Self-rated cannabis efficacy, defined as a function of initial and final symptom ratings, was investigated across the included symptom clusters of cramps, pelvic pain, gastrointestinal pain, nausea, depression, and low libido. Cannabis dosage form, dose, and cannabinoid ratio information was also recorded.
A total number of 252 participants identifying as suffering endometriosis recorded 16193 sessions using cannabis between April 2017 and February 2020.”
See the full results and details here.
Study Finds Medical Marijuana May Help Treat Depression and Anxiety and Improve Sleep
A study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry recruited a group of participants who reported having depression, anxiety, or both, with 368 of the 538 participants using medical cannabis.
“The study has found that those using medical marijuana had lower depression scores than those who were not cannabis users. Researchers also determined that study participants who began using medicinal cannabis in a follow-up period saw a reduction in both depression and anxiety symptoms.”
See the full article here which recaps the study and its notable results.
Kevin Durant Aims to Destigmatize Marijuana Use With New Partnership
Kevin Durant, the Brooklyn Nets star, has created a partnership and sponsorship deal with Weedmaps. One of the main reasons is to use his platform to destigmatize cannabis use, especially among athletes.
“I think it’s far past time to address the stigmas around cannabis that still exist in the sports world as well as globally,” Durant told ESPN. “This partnership is going to help us continue to normalize those conversations, as well as create content, events, and a lot more through our Boardroom media network.”
You can read the fully covered ESPN story here.
Medical Cannabis Improves Dystonia Symptoms and Alleviates Pain
Research on the consumption of medical cannabis in patients with dystonia has been conducted at Tel Aviv University in Israel. The results were presented at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease & Movement Disorders 2021 and showed how “consumption of medical cannabis in adults with dystonia improves symptoms and alleviates related pain.
Patients with dystonia with an approved medical cannabis license from the MOH were contacted via telephone to participate. Using a 5-point Likert scale, participants’ demographics, medical cannabis use, and treatment effects were assessed. A total of 11 women and 12 men, with a mean age of 52.7 years, were included in the analysis.”
See the full results of the newsworthy study here.
Analysis of Illicit and Legal Cannabis Products for a Suite of Chemical and Microbial Contaminants
A study conducted by the New Brunswick Research and Productivity Council (RPC) found that grey market cannabis had much less THC in the listed products. The products also contained an extremely high number of contaminants, including mould, yeast, pesticides, and bacteria.
Check out the full report to view the study and the inaccuracy of THC claimed in the product. The accuracy of the illicit flower product listings was quite low, ranging from 43% to 73%, whereas that of legal flower products ranged from 88% to 100%.
Costa Rica Congress Approves Legalization of Marijuana for Medicinal Use
While the president still needs to approve the law, this is a big step forward for the citizens of Costa Rica who are in need of alternative medicines.
See the full news article here.
How the NHL Became a Pioneer in Pro Sports Weed Use
CBD & recovery has become a large discussion in the pro athlete community, as players are looking for alternatives to heavy duty painkillers and opioids. The NHL has taken some great first steps towards working alongside their players, rather than against them.
“As the puck dropped on another National Hockey League (NHL) season, kickstarting the 104th season of play, the league is well-positioned to lead the four major sports leagues out of what some regard as the Stone Age and into a new frontier regarding cannabis. Since the league has chosen not to take a hard-line stance against cannabis, players are free to experiment with forms of treatment outside of the painkillers to which they were restricted a decade or so ago.”
This GrowthOp article discusses how the NHL has led the pro sports industry in medical cannabis exploration,
Summary
We hope you found these studies and articles useful and interesting. As a doctor’s office, we want to share education and knowledge with our patients and the public when it comes to medical cannabis.
If you have any questions for our team at Apollo, we are happy to answer them seven days a week by phone or email.
If you are interested in speaking with a physician about how medical cannabis could help improve your quality of life, you can book your free virtual appointment here.
