cannabis study Archives - The Real Dirt with Chip Baker

Cannabis Study Shows Occasional Use Does Not Cause Lung Damage

by The Real Dirt | Dec 27, 2021 | Blog, Broscience Mythbusters, Cannabis News, Cannabis Science, Culture, Medical Marijuana, Science & Technology

cannabis study shows cannabis use does not decrease lung function

A study, carried out by the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA), examined both the short- and long-term effects of cannabis on lung function.

The relationship between cannabis and lung function has been a subject of heated debate for decades. Many are aware of the harm that smoking tobacco causes to the lungs. If anything, the image of what the lungs of a smoker look like is etched in the minds of many. When it comes to smoking cannabis, obvious deductions are often made. Is there any science to back this?

Tobacco smoking has been linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). [1] It is also the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. [2,3] While cannabis smoke contains similar combustion products, it is unclear whether cannabis causes an equivalent level of destruction to the lungs.

Some studies have shown that cannabis smoke causes inflammation of the airway mucosa and triggers pulmonary symptoms such as coughing, increased phlegm production, and wheezing. [4-6] However, there are no studies that have demonstrated a decline in pulmonary function. [7]

As the legalization wave continues to sweep through the U.S, increasingly more people are smoking cannabis. Any adverse long-term effects of cannabis on the lungs is a public health issue that requires immediate attention.

A study, carried out by the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA), sought to understand both the short- and long-term effects of cannabis on lung function. [8] This was compared to data collected from tobacco smokers.

Read Study Results from Terpenes and Testing Magazine

Gallup Cannabis Poll: Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Have Tried Marijuana

by The Real Dirt | Aug 18, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis News, Culture, Legalization

nearly half of Americans have tried cannabis according to a Gallup cannabis poll

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The percentage of U.S. adults who say they have tried marijuana has ticked up to 49%, the highest Gallup has measured to date. More than 50 years ago, just 4% said they had tried the drug, but that percentage surpassed 20% in 1977, 30% in 1985 and 40% in 2015.

A much smaller proportion of U.S. adults, 12%, say they “smoke marijuana.” The percentage of current marijuana smokers has been steady in recent years, varying between 11% and 13% after increasing from the 7% Gallup initially measured in 2013.

Gallup cannabis poll shows nearly half of Americans have tried cannabis

The results are based on Gallup’s annual Consumption Habits poll, conducted July 6-21.

Generational patterns explain the increase in marijuana experimentation over the last five decades. The oldest Americans living today, those born before 1945 whom Gallup calls “traditionalists,” are much less likely than those in other birth cohorts to have tried marijuana, with just 19% saying they have done so. That compares with about half of millennials (51%), Generation Xers (49%) and baby boomers (50%).

These generational figures are based on combined data from the 2015-2021 Consumption Habits surveys. Gallup does not yet have sufficient data to provide reliable estimates for Generation Z, the oldest of whom are 24 years old now.

Comparing the most recent generational figures with data from the 1980s and 1990s finds little change in the rate of marijuana experimentation among baby boomers and Gen X. Combined data from the 1985 and 1999 Gallup polls shows that 44% of members of Gen X and 50% of baby boomers had tried marijuana as of then.

During those years, a lower proportion of traditionalists than today had tried marijuana (10%). The increase in that group today compared with the 1980s and 1990s probably reflects the dying off of many of the oldest members of that generation, who were much less likely than younger traditionalists to have tried marijuana.

Read Full Study on Gallup

Study Reveals Humans Domesticated Cannabis 12,000 Years Ago

by The Real Dirt | Jul 19, 2021 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Broscience Mythbusters, Cannabis News, Culture

study shows domesticated cannabis could be over 12,000 years old

Cannabis was first domesticated around 12,000 years ago in China, researchers found, after analyzing the genomes of plants from across the world.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances on Friday, said the genomic history of cannabis domestication had been under-studied compared to other crop species, largely due to legal restrictions.

The researchers compiled 110 whole genomes covering the full spectrum of wild-growing feral plants, landraces, historical cultivars, and modern hybrids of plants used for hemp and drug purposes.

The study said it identified “the time and origin of domestication, post-domestication divergence patterns and present-day genetic diversity”.

“We show that cannabis sativa was first domesticated in early Neolithic times in East Asia and that all current hemp and drug cultivars diverged from an ancestral gene pool currently represented by feral plants and landraces in China,” it said.

Cannabis has been used for millennia for textiles and for its medicinal and recreational properties. The evolution of the cannabis genome suggests the plant was cultivated for multipurpose use over several millennia.

The current highly-specialized hemp and drug varieties are thought to come from selective cultures initiated about 4,000 years ago, optimized for the production of fibers or cannabinoids. The selection led to unbranched, tall hemp plants with more fiber in the main stem, and well-branched, short marijuana plants with more flowers, maximizing resin production.

‘New insights’

The study was led by Luca Fumagalli of the University of Lausanne and involved scientists from Britain, China, India, Pakistan, Qatar and Switzerland.

“Our genomic dating suggests that early domesticated ancestors of hemp and drug types diverged from Basal cannabis“, around 12,000 years ago, “indicating that the species had already been domesticated by early Neolithic times”, it said.

“Contrary to a widely-accepted view, which associates cannabis with a Central Asian center of crop domestication, our results are consistent with a single domestication origin of cannabis sativa in East Asia, in line with early archaeological evidence.”

Read Full Story and Study from Phys.org

Can Smoking Weed Give You a Heart Attack?

by Travis C | Sep 17, 2020 | 420, Blog, Broscience Mythbusters, Culture, Science & Technology

A new study wants to suggest that it can.

The American Heart Association is warning people that smoking or vaping cannabis could create an increased risk for long-term heart-health problems.

In some cases, inhaling the substance could trigger a heart attack or palpitations, AHA doctors said in a new report based on previous research. That’s because THC, the main psychoactive component in cannabis that gives users a high, can cause the arteries to constrict and blood pressure to rise, leading to such a response.

Research hasn’t found a direct link between cannabis use and heart problems

Like seemingly every study that claims cannabis is harmful, there were caveats to the doctors’ suggestions about cannabis and heart health.

The studies they cited throughout their paper were short-term and used self-reported data, so experts couldn’t conclude whether cannabis use directly causes heart attacks and palpitations.

For that reason, Page said there’s an “urgent” need for more in-depth and conclusive studies on potential links between cannabis use and heart health.

Additionally, some research has shown CBD, one of the non-psychoactive components in cannabis, could potentially be beneficial for the heart due to its anti-inflammatory properties. This seems to go against the narrative that cannabis is bad for your heart, when CBD can actually help it.

Are Edibles the Answer?

While this study has some holes in it, the response from participants still leads to the question of whether there are safer alternatives.

It’s no secret that combusting plant material and inhaling it isn’t great for your health. So if edibles remove inhaling smoke entirely, it would make sense they would be the safe alternative.

However, plenty of cannabis users claim that they can only get the desire effect they seek through smoking. Due to the differences in how edibles and smoking interact with your body, there is still a lot of research that needs to be done comparing the two ingestion methods.

More Research Needed, As Always

As with every pre-emptive cannabis study that is released, more research is needed to actually confirm the relationship between smoking cannabis and hearth health. This is just one study, conducted in a short time frame, with self-reporting from participants.

We wouldn’t call that the strictest testing environment.

With that said, more research is needed. But not just into the issue of cannabis and heart health, but everything! Due to federal law, it is extremely difficult for scientists and health officials to truly study cannabis in all of its forms.

These restrictions aren’t just delaying the spread of information about the benefits of cannabis, they also cause harm to those that may have adverse reactions to cannabis, but no trustworthy studies to confirm their problem comes from cannabis.

Always remember when reading cannabis studies that research is very limited and the material used to test isn’t always the same that you would get at a dispensary due to the scientists’ access. Never take a single study as fact, as you can likely do a google search to find the opposite results from another study.

Research is important, especially when it comes to your health!