Addiction
14 Dec Most Incarcerated Individuals with Opioid Addiction Remain Untreated in Jail
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_58542" align="alignleft" width="181"]
Dr. Thakrar[/caption]
Ashish Thakrar, MD
Internal Medicine & Addiction Medicine
National Clinician Scholars Program
University of Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: About 1.8 million Americans are currently incarcerated, more than any other country in the world per capita. Of those 1.8 million, about 1 in 7 suffers from opioid addiction, putting them at high risk of overdose and death, particularly in the weeks following release.
Opioid use disorder is a treatable condition, particularly with the medications buprenorphine or methadone, but historically, prisons and jails have not offered treatment. Over the past five years, a few states and municipalities have enacted policies to provide access for OUD treatment. We examined whether these policies were actually improving access to treatment.
30 Nov Animal Study Finds Inhaled Cannabis Impairs Sperm Across Generations
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Kanako Hayashi PhD Associate Professor Associate Director, Center for Reproductive Biology Washington State University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: There have been several correlative reports showing statistical associations between cannabis use and low sperm counts, dysregulated menstruation, abnormal placentation, preterm birth, stillbirth and offspring psychosis etc. However, the long-term consequences of cannabis use on reproductive functions and how it might impact the next generation have not been examined. In the present study, we examined the generational effects of cannabis vapor exposure on male reproductive function. Vaporization is the most common route of cannabis administration in humans. Therefore, in order to understand the generational effects of cannabis exposure on male reproductive functions, the present study was performed using an inhalation method as an administration route, by which adult male mice were exposed to dry cannabis plants to assess the toxicological effects of cannabis on F0, F1 and F2 male reproductive functions.
02 Nov Drugs, Alcohol and Homicides Account for Many Deaths in Pregnant Women
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_58300" align="alignleft" width="100"]
Dr. Howard[/caption]
Jeffrey Howard, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Public Health
College for Health, Community and Policy
University of Texas at San Antonio
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Drug and alcohol related mortality has been on the rise in the US for the past decade, which has drawn a lot of focus from researchers. At the same time maternal mortality, deaths caused by pregnancy complications, is recognized to be higher in the US than in other developed nations.
Very little has been reported about deaths among pregnant and recently pregnant women that are not caused by pregnancy complications, so my collaborators and I wanted to explore this. We did not anticipate that drug and alcohol deaths and homicides would account for so many deaths among pregnant and recently pregnant women.
25 Oct Cannabis Vaping Increasing Among Adolescents, Including Higher Potency THC Products
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carmen Lim BSc(Hons), MSc, CStat PhD Candidate National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: This review has systematically summarized the trends and products used for cannabis vaping using 17 studies published globally between Jan 1, 2003 and August 19, 2020. The pooled prevalence has increased for lifetime use (6.1% in 2013 to 13.6% in 2020), past-year use (7.2% in 2017 to 13.2% in 2020) and past-month use (1.6% in 2013 to 8.4% in 2020). Adolescents' preference for cannabis products may be shifting from less potent products (e.g., herbal cannabis) to highly potent vape oil and concentrates.
24 Sep Methamphetamine Use and Overdoses Spike, especially Among Minorities
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Beth Han, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. Epidemiologist, Science Policy Branch of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In the U.S., overdose deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential other than cocaine (i.e. largely methamphetamine), increased dramatically during the past decade. Psychostimulant-involved overdose deaths also often involved opioids (50% in 2017). However, it was still undetermined how trends in methamphetamine use among vulnerable populations and specific patterns of use [e.g. methamphetamine use with or without other substances, frequent methamphetamine use, methamphetamine use disorder (MUD), and injection] may contribute to greater risk for overdose mortality. Moreover, understanding characteristics that are associated with methamphetamine use, frequent use, MUD, and injection is of value in guiding strategies to address the root causes for the recent surge in methamphetamine overdose deaths.
21 Sep Surgery: ERAS Protocol Reduced Need for Opioids After Discharge
Posted at 11:20h
in Anesthesiology, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Opiods, Surgical Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_58139" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Zorrilla Vaca[/caption]
Andres Zorrilla Vaca, MD
Resident Physician
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The background for this study was Enhanced Recovery After Surgery, also known as ERAS protocols. They basically consisted of a bundle of interventions that are performed preoperatively, intraoperatively and postoperatively with the aim of enhancing patient recovery and reducing complications.
This protocol in our institution started with a thorough preoperative counseling which includes, smoking cessation, pain and analgesia education, ERAS program expectations, pulmonary rehabilitation based on pulmonary function tests and incentive spirometry. On the day of surgery, prolonged fasting is avoided and a carbohydrate loading is given orally 2 hours before surgery. Our protocol also included a standardized multimodal analgesic regimen consisting of tramadol ER 300mg p.o. and gabapentin 300mg p.o., intraoperative acetaminophen 1gm i.v., posterior intercostal nerve blockade with liposomal bupivacaine 266mg prior to incision, intraoperative 30mg ketorolac upon wound closure and scheduled postoperative acetaminophen 1g p.o. q 6hrs and ketorolac 15mg i.v. q 6 hrs, as well as additonal interventions recommended by ERAS Society Guidelines.
As a general rule, preoperative sedatives (midazolam) are avoided as premedication and prophylaxis against nausea and vomiting (ondansetron, dexamethasone and scopolamine) is administered. Patients are kept euvolemic by using validated goal-directed fluid therapy algorithms (stroke volume variation and cardiac output) and normothermia is maintained throughout the procedure.
17 Sep Withdrawal from Synthetic Cannabinoids Rated Worse Than From Cannabis
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Sam Craft Addiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience King’s College London, London UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs, also known as Spice or K2) are a group of synthetic drugs originally produced to mimic the effects of cannabis. As they are often more accessible or cheaper and cannot be detected on drugs tests, SCRAs may be used as an alternative to cannabis. However, although they act on the same receptors – cannabinoid receptor type 1 and 2 (CBR1; CBR2) – SCRAs are far more potent than cannabis which may make them more addictive and increase the severity of withdrawal (unpleasant symptoms experienced after cessation of a drug which has been used in large amounts for a long period of time) As part of the Global Drug Survey, in this study we asked participants who use both SCRAs and cannabis to compare their effects across different measures which indicate how likely a drug is to result in long-term harm. For example, how severe withdrawal symptoms are and how long the effects last. We also asked participants which withdrawal symptoms they experienced when attempting to stop.
10 Sep Pronounced Regional Disparities in Methadone Availability in the United States
John A. Furst BS Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Methadone is an evidence-based pharmacotherapy for opioid detoxification, maintenance therapy, and pain management. However, accessibility of this treatment remains variable across much of the country. Methadone for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) is exclusively provided by federally regulated opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and has provoked significant community-based and legal controversy regarding its role in the management of this condition. This has created disparities related to the distribution and access of methadone throughout the United States (U.S.). The goal of this study1 was to highlight the most recent pharmacoepidemiologic trends associated with methadone in the face of unique restrictions at the local, state, and federal levels.
10 Sep Does CBD Function as a Sleep Aid?
You should always see a doctor first if you have poor sleep quality, have trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep before you start self-medicating with CBD....
07 Sep Study Finds Little Evidence Recreational Marijuana Laws Encourage Youth Marijuana
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_58049" align="alignleft" width="160"] Dr. Anderson[/caption]
Mark Anderson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics
Montana State University, IZA, and NBER
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In a previous study that was published in JAMA Pediatrics, we used Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data and found that the adoption of recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) was associated with an 8% decrease in the odds of marijuana use among high school students. This earlier study, however, had pre-legalization and post-legalization data from only 7 states and pre- and post-recreational sales data from only 3 states, calling into question the generalizability of our findings.
26 Aug Pronounced Declines in Prescription Fentanyl But Not Fentanyl Derivatives
Despite the ongoing efforts of all stakeholders to address the opioid epidemic, the United States continues to see worsening mortality data related to overdoses especially synthetic opioids like fentanyl....
18 Aug Declines, But State-Level Differences, in Medical Cocaine Yse
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_57987" align="alignleft" width="200"] Youngeun Armbuster[/caption]
Youngeun Armbuster
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Scranton, Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Cocaine is classified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a Schedule II drug that can be used as an anesthetic in various types of surgery by otorhinolaryngologists, as well as in diagnosing Horner syndrome. Although controlled doses of cocaine used in topical anesthetics does not cause myocardial infarction as can occur with recreational dosages, intranasal administration of cocaine is absorbed systemically and it results in vasoconstriction of the coronary arteries via stimulation of adrenergic receptors. These potential adverse effects may disincentivize health care providers from medical cocaine use. Our objective was to quantify the trends in licit cocaine distribution in the United States using DEA data and to determine the usage of medical cocaine in Medicaid and Medicare, as well as based on electronic medical records [1].
07 Aug New Approach to Addiction: Diabetes Drug May Curb Cravings and Protect Brain White Matter
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_57885" align="alignleft" width="120"] Dr. Schmitz[/caption]
Joy M. Schmitz, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry Faillace Chair
McGovern Medical School
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Director, Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addiction (CNRA)
[caption id="attachment_57886" align="alignleft" width="120"]
Dr. Lane[/caption]
Scott D. Lane Ph.D.
McGovern Medical School
Vice Chair For Research
Director Of Neurobehavioral Laboratory
Center For Neurobehavioral Research On Addiction
Director Of Research
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Houston, TX
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Addiction science has made considerable progress in understanding how cocaine and other addictive drugs impair the brain. Over time, cocaine can disrupt brain regions that help us think, plan, solve problems, and exert self-control. These disruptions in brain structure can be seen in neuroimaging studies that reveal impairment in the nerve fibers or white matter (WM) tracts in the central and front parts of the brain. We conducted two systematic meta-analytic reviews of the literature to document the robustness of evidence showing alterations in WM integrity of chronic stimulant users relative to healthy control subjects who did not use cocaine or other drugs of abuse (Beard et al., 2019; Suchting et al., 2020). Importantly, WM impairments negatively predict treatment outcome, meaning individuals with greater levels of WM impairment are less likely to benefit from treatment and more likely to experience deficits in attention, working memory, and impulse control.
We reasoned that pharmacological interventions shown to protect WM integrity may help improve cognition and treatment outcomes in patients recovering from cocaine addiction. Pioglitazone, an approved medication for type 2 diabetes, has been shown to reduce inflammation and mediate protection after traumatic brain injury. The therapeutic potential of pioglitazone has prompted investigation of its role in neurodegenerative conditions, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and stroke. Similar to these brain diseases and injuries, pioglitazone might effectively protect the brain from the inflammatory damage created by cocaine use.
27 Jun Initiating Monthly Buprenorphine Injection After Single Dose of Sublingual Buprenorphine
This study and abstract presentation evaluated opioid withdrawal symptoms, safety and tolerability of initiating SUBLOCADE 300 mg one hour after administering a single dose of 4 mg transmucosal (sublingual) buprenorphine (BUP-TM).
26 participants received BUP-TM, 24 follow by SUBLOCADE injection, and 20 completed the study.
Participants were evaluated for opioid withdrawal symptoms as well as safety and tolerability of SUBLOCADE 300 mg.
25 Jun Declines, but pronounced regional differences, in meperidine (Demorol) use
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_57698" align="alignleft" width="252"] John Boyle[/caption]
John Boyle, BS
Department of Medical Education
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Meperidine is an opioid analgesic which has been approved for use since the 1940s for moderate to severe pain. During the 1990s, concerns about adverse effects (e.g., serotonin syndrome) and CYP450 drug interactions (e.g., 3A4 inhibition of other metabolism of other common medications) were raised and by 2003 it was removed from the WHO’s List of Essential Medicines.
Despite increased awareness of adverse effects, meperidine is still used in the United States. It was the goal of this study1 to uncover pharmaepidemiological trends in its use.
24 Jun SUBLOCADE® (buprenorphine extended-release) in Patients Who Inject Opioids
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?Response: Adults with moderate or severe opioid use disorder (OUD) were randomized to SUBLOCADE monthly injections or placebo and studied for 24 weeks.
Participants receiving SUBLOCADE were given 2 monthly injections of 300 mg, followed by 4 monthly maintenance doses of 100 mg or 300 mg over the course of the study.
11 Jun 9 Ways to Manage the Symptoms of Alcohol Withdrawal
Posted at 14:43h
in Alcohol
Don’t Endure It Alone Get your friends and family involved with the detox process so that you have people you can fall back on for support. It’s not an easy process, but there’s no reason you have to go through it all by yourself....
02 Jun The Secret to Maintaining a Healthy Social Life After Deciding to Quit Drinking
Posted at 12:30h
in Alcohol
Decisions have added weight after going through rehabilitation. The priority you put on these decisions will determine the scope of your recovery period. To avoid a relapse, seeking out healthy social circles is the key.
Distance Yourself from Triggers
There are emotional triggers that will make you want a drink. Once you figure them out, it becomes much easier to avoid. Common triggers are people, relationships, and stress. During drug and alcohol rehabilitation, overcoming your weak points is a part of the process.
People can unintentionally make you feel inadequate during normal conversations. When every other conversation with a specific individual causes this problem, you have to speak up. Let them know you’re uncomfortable with a specific subject. If they refuse to acknowledge it, move on and remove that trigger from your life.
Short-term and long-term relationships have a big impact on your life. Breaking up with someone makes your future look bleak. When finding someone new fails, a sense of hopelessness sets in. The answer to resolving this problem is to ‘fully’ break up with someone. Staying in contact and reliving happy memories will give you false hope. Staying away from a former relationship trigger prevents bouts of drinking for the future.
Stress can sometimes be related to time, or the lack of it. Time management is the best way to avoid this trigger. Having a plan means that you’re in a better position to complete your tasks. There is no need for fancy scheduling, and it helps create a good habit. When you’re productive, stress tends to take a backseat to everything else.
28 May Autism Spectrum Disorder: Incidence of Diagnosis in Japan One of Highest in World
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daimei Sasayama, M.D., Ph.D. Department of Psychiatry Shinshu University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing worldwide. A 2016 US survey reported a prevalence of 1.85% in 8-year-olds, and a birth cohort study in Denmark reported that the future cumulative incidence of ASD could exceed 2.8%. Our recent regional cohort study in Japan reported an even higher cumulative incidence of 3.1%. So we examined whether the cumulative incidence in our regional cohort represents the nationwide incidence in Japan.
24 May Significant Reduction in Overall Emergency Department Costs and Patient Length of Stay When Treating Opioid-Induced Constipation with FDA-Approved Medications
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_57478" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Peacock[/caption]
Frank Peacock, MD, FACEP, FACC
Professor of Emergency Medicine, Associate Chair
Research Director, Department of Emergency Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Emergency medicine (EM) physicians, like myself, are always looking for ways to improve the patient experience. Often times, we will encounter a patient in the emergency department (ED) who is presenting with one of the most common side effects of opioids, which is opioid-induced constipation (OIC). OIC impacts 40-80% of patients on long-term opioid therapy[i],[ii] and may lead to emergency room visits which are associated with a significant burden on patients and the healthcare system. We wanted to compare the impact of treating OIC patients with FDA-approved prescription medications for OIC versus the impact of not treating OIC patients with an FDA-approved prescription medication for OIC in the ED setting to better understand the impact to overall ED costs and the length of stay for a hospitalized patient.
09 May Moderate Alcohol Intake May Reduce Cardiovascular Events Through Stress Reduction
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_57388" align="alignleft" width="150"]
Dr. Mezue[/caption]
Kenechukwu Ndubisi Mezue, M.D
Fellow in Nuclear Cardiology
Massachusetts General Hospital
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Observational studies have shown that moderate alcohol intake may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease. However, the mechanisms through which this benefit occurs is mostly unknown. Chronic stress is also known to associate with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and our group has shown in previous work that increased activity in the stress-associated regions of the brain (such as the amygdala) is significantly associated with increased bone marrow activity, arterial inflammation, and cardiovascular events.
Our current study hypothesizes that moderate alcohol intake reduces cardiovascular events by reducing chronic stress-associated brain activity.
09 Apr Medical Marijuana as Therapeutic Option for Intractable Itch
Future randomized controlled studies are needed to determine dosing, efficacy, and safety of medical marijuana for the treatment of various forms of itch....
06 Apr Fatal Car Collisions After Marijuana Legalized
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_57068" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Sarah Windle[/caption]
Sarah Windle, MPH
PhD Student in Epidemiology
Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health
McGill University (Montréal, Québec, Canada)
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Concerns have been raised about the potential for increases in impaired driving following the legalization of recreational cannabis use in Canada in October 2018. Data from Statistics Canada suggest that cannabis use in the previous three months increased among adults (15 and older) from 14% before legalization in 2018 to 17% in 2019. Among those users with a driver’s license, 13% reported driving within two hours of cannabis use. While this proportion remained the same before and after legalization, this indicates that the absolute number of individuals who reported driving within two hours of use has increased following legalization (due to an increase in the number of users).
08 Mar THC Concentrated and Long Lasting in Breast Milk
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_56867" align="alignleft" width="161"] Dr. Wymore[/caption]
Erica M. Wymore, MD MPH
Assistant Professor, Neonatal- Perinatal Medicine
Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Children's Hospital Colorado
[caption id="attachment_56868" align="alignleft" width="161"]
Dr. Bunik[/caption]
Maya Bunik, MD, MPH | Professor, Pediatrics
Medical Director, Child Health Clinic, Primary Care | Breastfeeding Management Clinic
Adult and Child Consortium for Health Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS)
School of Medicine| University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Children's Hospital Colorado
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Marijuana legalization has been increasing in the United States, with increasing consumption of marijuana products. Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) do not recommend marijuana use during pregnancy or lactation due to concerning though limited data on the effects of perinatal marijuana exposure.
As there has been increasing prevalence of women using marijuana during pregnancy due to legalization and perceptions of safety, we sought to determine the duration of THC excretion in breast milk among women who had evidence of marijuana use at delivery and abstained post-partum.
10 Feb Medical Cannabis Effect on Blood Pressure and Hypertension
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ran Abuhasira MD, PhD student Cannabis Clinical Research Institute and Clinical Research Center Soroka University Medical Center, and Faculty of Health Sciences Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer Sheva, Israel MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The background for the study is the steady rise of cannabis use as a therapeutic in Israel and in many countries around the world. This largest increasing population of patients treated with medical cannabis is the older adults. However, very little data was published about cannabis treatment in older adults, and specifically about the cardiovascular and metabolic implications. T
he main finding of the study is that cannabis treatment for 3 months was associated with a reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure values, as measured by consequent 24-hours ABPM tests. In addition, no significant changes were found in blood lipids profile, hemoglobin A1C, fasting insulin, C-reactive protein, kidney function tests, electrolytes, anthropometric measurements, and ECG parameters.
05 Feb Some Aging Black Men and Women Continue to Struggle with Heroin Addiction
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_56595" align="alignleft" width="144"]
Elodie Warren[/caption]
Elodie C. Warren, MPH
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health Graduate
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: We know that the US has been experiencing an opioid crisis for the past two decades. And we know that among communities of color, rates of overdose deaths are continuing to increase, even though overall national rates decreased between 2017 and 2018.
To better understand how the opioid crisis has differently affected racial/ethnic groups, we looked at how heroin treatment admissions changed over time by race/ethnicity, age, and sex. We found that there were stark differences when comparing non-Hispanic Black men and women to non-Hispanic White men and women.
Importantly, our study suggests the existence of an aging cohort of Black men and women (likely including survivors of a heroin epidemic that hit urban areas more than 40 years ago) that continues to struggle with heroin addiction. This points to the need for targeted interventions in chronically underserved communities.
03 Feb Entrepreneurs on Pot Developed Creative But Impossible Business Ideas
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_56551" align="alignleft" width="142"]
Dr. Warnick[/caption]
Benjamin J. Warnick, PhD
Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship
Carson College of Business
Washington State University Vancouver
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Popular culture has perpetuated a notion that cannabis users are more creative. Along these lines, some successful CEOs and entrepreneurs—like Steve Jobs, for example—have claimed that cannabis use has benefitted their creativity at work.
Despite such claims and increased legalization and use of cannabis, the implications of cannabis use for entrepreneurs’ creativity has yet to be rigorously tested. My coauthors and I were very intrigued to dive into the implications of cannabis use for entrepreneurs, whether good or bad. This seemed all the more relevant given the increasing legalization, destigmatization, and use of cannabis.
29 Jan Prevalence of Cannabis Dispensaries Linked to Reduced Opioids Deaths
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_56512" align="alignleft" width="130"]
Dr. Kovács[/caption]
Balázs Kovács PhD
Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior
Yale School of Management
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Our study looks at the association between the prevalence of legal cannabis stores, called “dispensaries”, and opioid-related mortality rates in the U.S. We find that higher cannabis dispensary counts are associated with reduced opioid-related mortality rates. We find this relationship holds for both medical dispensaries, which only serve patients who have a state-approved medical card or doctor’s recommendation, as well as for recreational dispensaries, which sell to adults 21 years and older. The statistical associations we find appears most pronounced with the class of opioids that includes fentanyl and its analogs.
15 Jan More Cannabis Outlets, More Cannabis Use By Young Adults
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_56418" align="alignleft" width="130"]
Dr. Pedersen[/caption]
Eric R. Pedersen, Ph.D.
Adjunct Behavioral Scientist, RAND
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: In November of 2016, CA voted to legalize cannabis for sale and possession to adults 21 and older for recreational use. It wasn’t until January of 2018 that stores in most parts of LA County (we call these “outlets”) were legally able to begin selling recreational cannabis. We were collecting data from about 2,500 young adults in LA County as part of a longitudinal study (Principal Investigator Elizabeth D’Amico at RAND) and were able to look at cannabis use and intentions assessed at a period prior to the opening of the recreational cannabis outlets (pre-January 2018) to a period when those outlets were open (after January 2018). It has been suggested that once cannabis was more available for recreational purchase (and not just for medical purposes among those enrolled in CA’s medical marijuana program), use of cannabis among young adults would increase.