Cannabis (hemp and marijuana) is an iconic yet controversial crop. On the one hand, it represents a growing market for pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors. On the other hand, plants synthesizing the psychoactive THC produce the most widespread illicit drug in the world. Yet, the difficulty to reliably distinguish between Cannabis varieties based on morphological or biochemical criteria impe...

The widespread patient use of artisanal cannabis preparations has preceded quality validation of cannabis use for epilepsy. Neurologists and cannabinoid specialists are increasingly in a position to monitor and guide the use of herbal cannabis in epilepsy patients. We report the retrospective data on efficacy and adverse effects of artisanal cannabis in Patients with medically refractory epilep...

In the Netherlands, cannabis use is quasi-legalized. Small quantities of cannabis can be bought in cannabis shops. We investigate how the distance to the nearest cannabis shop affects the age of onset of cannabis use. We use a mixed proportional hazard rate framework to take account of observable as well as unobservable characteristics that influence the uptake of cannabis. We find that distanc...

BACKGROUND To assess the prevalence of cannabis use and dependence in a population of schizophrenic inpatients and to compare schizophrenics with and without cannabis consumption. METHODS One hundred one schizophrenic patients were examined during their first week of hospitalization. They answered the PANNS scale of schizophrenia, the CAGE and the Fagerström questionnaire, and the DSM-IV-TR c...

BACKGROUND Cannabis is the illicit drug most widely used by young people in high-income countries. Allergy symptoms have only occasionally been reported as one of the adverse health effects of cannabis use. OBJECTIVES To study IgE-mediated response to cannabis in drug users, atopic patients, and healthy controls. METHODS Asthmatic patients sensitised to pollen, and all patients sensitised t...

Association between cannabis use and various psychiatric syndromes does exist, but their nature remains elusive. Cannabis intoxication, 'cannabis psychosis' and certain other conditions related with cannabis use like flashbacks and prolonged depersonalization are discussed in this paper. The controversial nature of the cannabis - schizophrenia link is noted, and various methodological issues in...

AIMS Genetic research on substance use disorders usually defines phenotypes as a binary diagnosis, resulting in a loss of information if the disorder is inherently dimensional. The DSM-IV criteria for drug dependence were based on a theoretically dimensional (linear) model. Considerable investigation has been conducted on DSM-IV alcohol criteria, but less is known about the dimensionality of DS...

The Center for Disease Control estimates 128,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized annually due to food borne illnesses. This has created a demand for food safety testing targeting the detection of pathogenic mold and bacteria on agricultural products. This risk extends to medical and is of Cannabis particular concern with inhaled, vaporized and even concentrated Cannabis products As a result...

Dr. Leo Hollister's excellent article begins to address the need for better understanding of the effects of cannabis use on health. The last five years in the US have seen an increase in advocacy groups extolling the medicinal utility of cannabis. On 5 November 1996, this culminated in California (proposition 215) joining the list of states permitting the limited use of cannabis for the medicin...