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IACM-Informationen vom 23. Juni 2019

Wissenschaft/China: Oldest evidence for inhalation of cannabis

Cannabis residue has been found in incense burners apparently used during funerary rites at a mountainous site in western China in about 500 BC, providing what may be the oldest evidence of smoking cannabis for its mind-altering properties.

The evidence found on 10 wooden braziers containing stones with burn marks that were discovered in eight tombs at the Jirzankal Cemetery site in the Pamir Mountains in China’s Xinjiang region, scientists said. The tombs also bore human skeletons and artifacts including a type of angular harp used in ancient funerals and sacrificial ceremonies. “We can start to piece together an image of funerary rites that included flames, rhythmic music and hallucinogen smoke, all intended to guide people into an altered state of mind,” the researchers wrote in the study published in the journal Science Advances.

Ren M, Tang Z, Wu X, Spengler R, Jiang H, Yang Y, Boivin N. The origins of cannabis smoking: Chemical residue evidence from the first millennium BCE in the Pamirs. Sci Adv. 2019;5(6):eaaw1391.
Reuters of 12 June 2019

Wissenschaft/Mensch: Nabilone improved agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

The synthetic cannabinoid nabilone improved agitation in 39 patients with Alzheimer’s disease. This placebo-controlled study was conducted by scientists of Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto, Canada. The 14-week randomized double-blind crossover trial compared nabilone to placebo (6 weeks each) with a 1-week washout between phases. Target daily doses were 1 to 2 mg of nabilone.

The mean nabilone dose was 1.6 mg. There were significant improvements in agitation and caregiver distress. There was more sedation during nabilone (45%) compared to placebo (16%). Authors concluded that nabilone “may be an effective treatment for agitation. However, sedation and cognition should be closely monitored.”

Herrmann N, Ruthirakuhan M, Gallagher D, Verhoeff NPLG, Kiss A, Black SE, Lanctôt KL. Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Nabilone for Agitation in Alzheimer’s Disease. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2019 May 8. [in press]

Wissenschaft/Mensch: Cannabis users have lower mortality following pancreatitis

In an analysis of 2.8 million patients with acute pancreatitis cannabis users had a significantly lower risk of death. This is the result of scientists of the Department of Medicine at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine of the University of Miami, USA. The National Inpatient Sample database from 2003 to 2013 was queried for all patients with acute pancreatitis and active exposure to cannabis.

More than 2.8 million patients with patients suffering from acute pancreatitis were analyzed. Cannabis-exposed patients’ prevalence was 0.3%. Cannabis users had significantly lower inpatient mortality compared with the noncannabis group (odds ratio: 0.17). Cannabis-exposed patients also had decreased length of stay, inflation-adjusted charges, acute kidney injury, ileus, shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and parenteral nutrition requirement.

Simons-Linares CR, Barkin JA, Jang S, Bhatt A, Lopez R, Stevens T, Vargo J, Barkin JS, Chahal P. The Impact of Cannabis Consumption on Mortality, Morbidity, and Cost in Acute Pancreatitis Patients in the United States: A 10-Year Analysis of the National Inpatient Sample. Pancreas. 2019;48:850-855.

Wissenschaft/Mensch: A metered dose inhaler for cannabis showed promising results in a pilot study

The use of a new vaporiser, Syqe inhaler, during hospitalisation of cannabis patients yielded high levels of patients and staff satisfaction with no complications. The study was conducted by scientists from the Faculty of Medicine of the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. Patients suffering from different symptoms, including chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, spasticity and pain, received four daily doses of 0.5 mg THC delivered from 16 mg cannabis flowers per inhalation.

Mean daily cannabis dose during hospitalisation was 51 mg (range: 20-96 mg) compared to 1000 mg (range: 660-3300) before hospitalisation. Pain intensity 30-60 minutes following inhalations (pain intensity of 4 on a scale from 0 to 10) was reported to be significantly lower than before inhalation (pain intensity of 7) . Participants ranked their satisfaction with Syqe Inhaler as 6 (range: 5-7).

Vulfsons S, Ognitz M, Bar-Sela G, Raz-Pasteur A, Eisenberg E. Cannabis treatment in hospitalized patients using the SYQE inhaler: Results of a pilot open-label study. Palliat Support Care. 2019 Jun 14:1-6.

Wissenschaft/Mensch: Cannabis was effective in the treatment of fibromyalgia in an observational study

In an observational study with 367 fibromyalgia patients the use of cannabis resulted in effective pain reduction in most participants. The study was conducted by researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er-Sheva, Israel. Patients were treated in a specialised medical cannabis clinic between 2015 and 2017 and followed for 6 months.

Twenty eight patients (7.6%) stopped the treatment prior to the six months follow-up. The six months response rate was 70.8%. Pain intensity reduced from a median of 9.0 at baseline to 5.0, and 194 patients (81.1%) achieved treatment response. Authors concluded that “medical cannabis appears to be a safe and effective alternative for the treatment of fibromyalgia symptoms.”

Sagy I, Bar-Lev Schleider L, Abu-Shakra M, Novack V. Safety and Efficacy of Medical Cannabis in Fibromyalgia. J Clin Med. 2019 Jun 5;8(6).

Russia: Parliament passed a law allowing the cultivation of cannabis

Russian parliament has passed a law that would allow the cultivation of psychoactive plants, including cannabis and opium poppies, for pharmaceutical purposes. The move aims to cover the country's needs for painkillers.

According to bitte mittlerweile haben wir ganz Gutsystem für die Rezepte noch ich mittlerweile ziemlich sicheres gutes System für die Rezepte würde er Herr a document from the Russian government attached to the law, there are 13 opium-based drugs registered in Russia that are being produced by state companies from imported ingredients. Nine of these drugs are included in the list of lifesaving and most important medications. Finding replacements for painkillers is important for the country's national security, and that's why it's necessary to set up the entire production cycle of psychotropic and narcotic substances, including growing the plants containing their ingredients, according to the Russian government.

Benzinga of 19 June 2019

Frankreich: Medical cannabis experiment will start soon

As a nearly unanimous French Senate gave medical cannabis the green light on May 28, France will start experimenting the use of medical cannabis for “about two years”, pending the approval of the health ministry. Therapeutic cannabis may soon be legally available in France to hundreds of thousands of patients.

“There will be about two years of experimentation with therapeutic cannabis, beginning as soon as the health ministry gives the green light,” Professor Nicolas Authier, the head of pharmacology at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital Centre’s pain clinic, said. Authier heads the committee of experts charged by the National Agency for the Safety of Health Products of evaluating the practical arrangements for the distribution of medical cannabis . The committee’s report will be released on June 26.

France24 of 2 June 2019

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