Cannabis Effects on Endocannabinoid System Clinical Research: Cannabidiol’s Impact on Glucose Tolerance and Gut Microbiome
Clinical Takeaway Short-term low-dose cannabidiol did not affect glucose tolerance or alter the gut microbiome in sedentary adults with overweight or obesity. The study found no significant changes in these parameters despite CBD's potential…
Cannabinoids in Pediatric Medicine: Evidence-Based Care and Clinical Trials
Clinical Takeaway Cannabinoids have shown some benefits in treating certain medical conditions in children, but more research is needed to establish safety and efficacy. Studies include a mix of interventions and observations, highlighting the need for…
Cannabis Use and Mental Health in Young Canadian Adults: What a New Survey Found
cannabis mental health young adults: A new analysis of 1,240 Canadian adults aged 20 to 24 found that non-medical cannabis use was associated with greater odds of poorer self-reported mental health. The association was larger among respondents reporting…
CBD and Threat Anticipation in Alcohol Use Disorder: What a Small Randomized Trial Found
CBD alcohol use disorder randomized trial: In a randomized crossover experiment, 800 mg daily CBD did not measurably change threat-anticipation brain activity, cognitive performance, anxiety, or craving in a small non-treatment-seeking alcohol use…
Why a Teenage Brain Is Not a Small Adult Brain: Cannabis, CB1 Receptors, and Cortical Development
Discussions of cannabis and the adolescent brain usually stop at the assertion that it harms development, without saying what the mechanism is or how firm the evidence behind it is. The endocannabinoid system helps organize cortical maturation, and a…
The CBD Drug Interactions That Are Actually Documented, and the Doses at Which They Happen
CBD and prescription drug interactions are usually described without the two details that decide whether a warning applies to you: which drug, and at what cannabidiol dose. The interactions with real human evidence behind them involve clobazam,…
Does a Cannabis Tolerance Break Work? What Brain Imaging Shows About CB1 Receptors, Recovery, and the Limits of the Evidence
Brain imaging in chronic daily cannabis smokers found CB1 receptor binding about 20 percent lower in cortical regions, and that reduction rose again after abstinence, which is the real biology behind a cannabis tolerance break. Two strong studies…
How the Body Switches Off Its Own Cannabinoids, and What Happened When a Drug Company Tried to Stop It
Endocannabinoid degradation runs through two enzymes: FAAH, which converts anandamide to arachidonic acid and ethanolamine, and MAGL, which converts 2-AG to arachidonic acid and glycerol and handles about 85 percent of brain 2-AG hydrolysis. Blocking…
What the Liver Does to an Edible Before You Feel Anything
When cannabis is swallowed, the liver converts a large share of the THC into 11-hydroxy-THC before it ever reaches the brain, which is why edibles are slow to start and long to finish. Controlled human studies put blood concentrations of THC and…
Cannabis for Chronic Pain: How Large the Benefit Actually Is
Does cannabis work for chronic pain, and by how much? Across 32 randomized trials in 5,174 adults, non-inhaled medical cannabis produced a small improvement in pain, a very small improvement in physical function, and a small improvement in sleep, with…