IACM-Bulletin of 12 February 2012

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IACM-Bulletin of 12 February 2012
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* Science/Israel: Cannabis effective in cancer symptoms according to survey
* USA: Legalization of medical cannabis use does not increase use in youth

1.

Science/Israel: Cannabis effective in cancer symptoms according to survey

At the Israeli Oncologists Union conference in Eilat in January
researchers said more doctors should recommend cannabis to cancer
patients. They noted that most cancer patients currently being
treated with medical cannabis are advised of the option only in the
advanced stages of the illness. More than two-thirds of cancer
patients who were prescribed medical cannabis to combat pain are
satisfied with the treatment, according to an Israeli study. The
study conducted recently at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, in
conjunction with the Israel Cancer Association involved 264 cancer
patients who were treated with cannabis for a full year.

Some 61 percent of the participants reported a significant
improvement in their quality of life, while 56 percent noted an
improvement in pain. Researchers found that an average of 325 days
passed between cancer diagnoses and the submission for a request to
grow or possess cannabis. "The treatment should be offered to the
patients in earlier stages of cancer," the report notes. To date,
cannabis has been approved for medical use by about 6,000 Israelis
suffering from various illnesses, the report states. Health Ministry
officials believe that the number of patients treated with cannabis
will reach 40,000 in the coming years.

More at:
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/ne … chers-say-
more-doctors-should-recommend-marijuana-to-cancer-patients-1.409918

(Source: Haaretz of 30 January 2012)

2.

USA: Legalization of medical cannabis use does not increase use in adolescents

Passing laws that legalize the medical use of cannabis in a number of
US states decreased past-month cannabis use according to a
publication in the journal Annals of Epidemiology by scientists of
McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in adolescents. They
replicated a prior study that found greater adolescent cannabis use
in these states and extended this analysis by accounting for
confounding factors. Researchers used state-level estimates of
cannabis use from the 2002 through 2009 National Survey on Drug Use
and Health.

Cannabis laws decreased past-month use in youth by 0.53 percentage
points and had no discernible effect on the perceived riskiness of
monthly use. Authors wrote that their analysis "yielded little
evidence that passing MMLs [medical marijuana laws] affects marijuana
use." They concluded that there is only "limited evidence of causal
effects" of these laws on cannabis use.

(Source: Harper S, Strumpf EC, Kaufman JS. Do Medical Marijuana Laws
Increase Marijuana Use? Replication Study and Extension. Ann
Epidemiol. 2012 Jan 27. [in press])

3.

News in brief

***USA: Washington State will vote on cannabis legalization
Supporters of legalizing cannabis for recreational use have submitted
enough signatures to put the matter to voters in Washington State in
November 2012. The proposal, if approved by voters, would allow
cannabis sales to people 21 and older, permit state taxes to be
collected on the drug, ban cannabis advertising and prohibit driving
under the influence of cannabis. (Source: Reuters of 27 January 2012)

***Science/human: THC did not influence colon movements in irritable
bowel syndrome
In a controlled clinical study at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA, with
63 patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhoea low
doses of dronabinol (2.5 or 5 mg) no treatment effects on transit of
food in stomach, small bowel or colon were observed. In patients with
a certain variant of the CB1 receptor gene a modest delay in colonic
transit was observed. (Source: Wong BS, et al. Neurogastroenterol
Motil. 2012 Jan 30. [in press])

***Science/human: Medical cannabis laws reduce suicide
According to US researchers the passage of medical cannabis laws in
several US states was 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. Estimates of the
relationship between legalization and female suicides are less
precise. Authors used state data for the period 1990 through 2007.
(Source: Anderson DM, et al. High on life? Medical marijuana laws and
suicide. Available at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp6280.pdf)

***Science/human: Cannabis does not increase suicide risk in schizophrenics
According to research at the University of Queensland in Brisbane,
Australia, with 821 subjects suffering from schizophrenia there was a
significant increase of suicide risk for people with alcohol
abuse/dependence, but no increased risk for cannabis
abuse/dependence. (Source: McLean D, et al. Aust N Z J Psychiatry
2012;46(2):132-40.)

***Science/human: Vomiting due to cannabis
Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA, reported of 98 patients
with cannabis hyperemesis. Patients were included if there was a
history of recurrent vomiting with no other explanation for symptoms
and if cannabis use preceded vomiting. Most used cannabis for more
than 2 years before symptom onset. The effect of hot water bathing
was documented in 57 patients, and 52 of these patients reported
relief of symptoms with hot showers or baths. (Source: Simonetto DA,
et al. Mayo Clin Proc 2012;87(2):114-9.)

***Austria: Approval of Sativex for multiple sclerosis
The cannabis extract Sativex of the British company GW
Pharmaceuticals has received regulatory approval in Austria as a
treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis. The launch of
Sativex is expected to take place during 2012. It will be marketed in
Austria by Almirall. Sativex is currently available as a prescription
medicine in the UK, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Canada and New Zealand.
(Source: GW Pharmaceuticals of 7 February 2012)

***Science/animal: CB1 receptor activation may promote diabetic cardiomyopathy
According to animal research at the National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism in Bethesda, USA, activation of the cannabinoid-
1 receptor promotes cardiac dysfunction, oxidative stress,
inflammation, and fibrosis in diabetic cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy
means deterioration of heart muscle function. Scientists used a mouse
model of type 1 diabetic cardiomyopathy. They conclude that "CB1
receptor inhibition may be beneficial in the treatment of diabetic
cardiovascular complications." (Source: Rajesh M, et al. Diabetes.
2012 Feb 7. [in press])

***Science/animal: Curcumin activates CB1 receptors
According to animal research at a university in Teheran, Iran, 4-week
treatment with curcumin, similar to the classical antidepressant
amitriptyline, resulted in the sustained elevation of brain nerve
growth factor (NGF) and endocannabinoids in a dose-dependent manner.
This effect was mediated by the cannabinoid-1 receptor. Curcumin is a
compound of curry. (Source: Hassanzadeh P, Hassanzadeh A. Neurochem
Res. 2012 Feb 7. [in press])

***Science/animal: Noladin ether enhances motivation to eat
According to research at the University of Liverpool, UK, with rats
the endocannabinoid noladin ether increased food intake and
motivation to eat. The animals received injections of the
endocannabinoid, which increased food intake in the following 2 hours
by activating CB1 receptors. (Source: Jones EK, Kirkham TC. Br J
Pharmacol. 2012 Feb 6. [in press])

***Science/cells: NADA induces cell death in fibrosis inducing cells of the liver
According to research at the University of Bonn, Germany, the
endocannabinoid N-arachidonoyl dopamine (NADA) dose-dependently
induced cell death in human hepatic stellate cells, but not in normal
liver cells. Stellate cells are the main fibrosis inducing cells in
the liver. Authors concluded that "the selective induction of cell
death in HSCs proposes NADA as a novel antifibrogenic mediator."
(Source: Wojtalla A, et al. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol.
2012 Feb 2. [in press])

***Science/animal: CB2 receptor agonists improve symptoms of liver cirrhosis
According to research at the National University of Taipei, Taiwan, a
synthetic CB2 receptor agonist (JWH-015) reduced blood pressure of
the portal vein, blood flow in the mesenteric artery and fibrosis in
rats with liver cirrhosis. This may reduce the risk for bleeding into
the oesophagus. (Source: Huang HC, et al. Hepatology. 2012 Jan 30.
[in press])

***Science/human: Cannabis use and dopamine release
According to research at Columbia University in New York, USA, with
16 cannabis users (mean: 517 puffs per month) and 16 control subjects
cannabis use is not
associated with dopamine release from the striatum, a certain brain
region.
However, early onset of use and heavy use was related to lower
dopamine
release. (Source: Urban NB, et al. Biol Psychiatry. 2012 Jan 28. [in
press])

International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM)
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