October 18th Highlights

• The use of Cannabis in the elderly - I read a very encouraging study recently - one of the quotes from the lead researcher was "although cannabis patients have been using it consistently for at least a year, we have not found that their cognitive function is lower than of people similar to them in age and background." This study conducted at Haifa University's School of Public Health has found no evidence of a cognitive decline in senior citizens who regularly smoke medical cannabis to treat chronic pain. Previous studies have shown that medical cannabis can have long-term effects on the brain when consumed at a young age, but this is not necessarily the same effect when consumed in old age. The study was led by Dr. Sharon Sznitman and Dr. Galit Weinstein. Reference material
• Getting Medical Right - People have often asked me what my stance on adult use of cannabis is (I spoke with Fiona Patten MP about this topic recently) - my response has been the same each time, get medical right first. You can watch my video about adult-use of cannabis in Australia here - link to interview I believe it’s essential to get medical rights as this will ensure patient data is captured, which supports doctors' decision to prescribe whilst providing reference material for their education. Most importantly getting medical right means patients receive the appropriate care when using cannabis. A study was recently conducted by Medical Cannabis Canada (MCC), the survey found that only 37% of Canadians using cannabis for medical purposes have a medical document – such as a prescription – from a health-care practitioner. This is concerning since patients without a medical document report substantially less engagement with health-care professionals and greater use of unregulated markets to access their treatment. In the past year, the survey found that most patients used the recreational market to access their treatment, while 24% used an unregulated dispensary, and one-third obtained cannabis via a friend, family, acquaintance, or dealer. As cannabis is treated as an unregistered medicine in parts of the world like Australia and Germany, it’s essential that patient data is captured to ensure regulators are informed and comfortable easing access pathways for doctors and patients. By introducing adult-use cannabis to soon, patients may migrate to the adult-use cannabis market in an attempt to self treat. This is one of the reasons why we should get medical right first. Thanks to the team at MMJBIZ for the inspiration to write this post

Mexico is poised to become the biggest legal cannabis market in the world. Who will most benefit?

Amazon invites select CBD makers to participate in UK pilot program

German patient wins court case to have cannabis covered by insurance

Drivers using medicinal cannabis could get green light

Federal Government increases medicinal cannabis funding by $1.7 million

Little Green Pharma receives manufacturing licence for new cannabis facility

NZ Cannabis referendum: More than 100 doctors back legalising recreational use