Chronic pain is a tremendous public health problem. The Institute of Medicine estimates chronic pain affects 100 million Americans at an estimated annual cost of $600 billion. But the rampant use of opioids to treat chronic pain stands out as the least-defensible and most-harmful of our maltreatments. Many U.S. physicians remain resistant to this, though I would argue other options should be considered. More than 14,000 Americans died in 2014 from unintentional overdose of prescription opioids, making this the leading cause of death among younger individuals in many states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Countless others continue to take opioids not because they have meaningful pain and functional improvement, but because they enjoy feeling numbed, or simply have not been presented with more appropriate and helpful therapeutic options. [continues 692 words]
Dalhousie duo say recreational, medical need to be separate Dalhousie researchers are lending their voices to the debate on keeping the medical and recreational streams of marijuana separate. The Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation published recommendations in a framework for legalization of cannabis in Canada in 2016. It stated recreational marijuana be accessed separately from medical marijuana. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) came out against that recommendation in favour of a single stream instead. The task force noted patients felt a separate system was necessary to avoid losing their current access rights to cannabis. [continues 374 words]
Gov. Matt Bevin and Attorney General Andy Beshear want a Frankfort judge to dismiss a lawsuit calling for the legalization of medical marijuana in Kentucky. In a motion filed Monday in Franklin Circuit Court, Bevin's attorneys said medical marijuana is a "political question" that should be decided by the General Assembly, not a judge. "Since at least 2014, the legislature has debated bills advocating for the lawful use of medicinal marijuana in every legislative session," attorney Barry Dunn wrote for the governor's office. "The General Assembly will consider legalizing medicinal marijuana again in the 2018 session. It is solely within the General Assembly's constitutional powers to determine whether to make medicinal marijuana lawful." [continues 534 words]
Adults with mental health disorders are consuming more than half of all painkillers prescribed in the United States, according to a new study. While adults suffering from depression, anxiety and mood disorders represent just 16 percent of the nation's population, they received 51 percent of all opioid prescriptions. Researchers at the University of Michigan and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center said that rethinking pain management among this group is "critical" to combat a growing national opioid addiction epidemic - -- one that has hit Tennessee particularly hard. [continues 605 words]
The greening of a grey economy Down in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale, just a couple of blocks in from the neighbourhood's bustling main drag, the LotusLand Cannabis Club's storefront proudly displays its green logo in a stripe across the front windows. The words "British Columbia's finest," almost look official. Inside, through a set of double doors that help keep the smell of marijuana off the street, there's a chalkboard with daily specials behind a large gleaming display counter. The light and airy atmosphere feels a bit like a high-end coffee or chocolate shop. Except it's not. On top of a low table in a seating area, there's a tray with Zigzag rolling papers. [continues 2966 words]
A new window has opened on the epidemic of overdose deaths engulfing our province. It is being alleged in the U.S. that some manufacturers of opioid drugs misled physicians about the addictive power of these medications. Several states, including Ohio, are suing pharmaceutical firms on that basis. They claim physicians were told that later generations of opioids such as oxycontin - a powerful painkiller - were much less addictive than earlier versions. In 2012 alone, pharmacies in Ohio dispensed 790 million opioid pills. [continues 479 words]
The medical marijuana industry officially has its guidelines with the passage of a bill out of the Florida Legislature on the last day of a three-day special session. The votes were 29-6 in the Senate and 103-9 in the House. The few no votes were mostly Democrats who wanted fewer restrictions in the bill, but also a few Republicans who remain against the idea of medical marijuana on principle. Gov. Rick Scott said he "absolutely" will sign the bill. That means big changes for patients, caregivers, doctors and growers, compared with the far more limited medical marijuana law passed by the Legislature in 2014, which resulted in seven grower/dispensers in the state. [continues 906 words]
ALBANY - Veterans groups are pressing Gov. Andrew Cuomo to allow those with post-traumatic stress disorder to use medical marijuana, urging him to sign a bill that will soon head to his desk. The state Senate voted late last month to add PTSD to the list of illnesses and ailments eligible for the state's medical-marijuana program, about six weeks after the Assembly voted to do the same. It remains unclear, however, whether Cuomo will sign the bill that could significantly expand the number of eligible patients in New York's medical-marijuana program, which is among the more restrictive in the nation. [continues 517 words]
Prescriptions for opioid painkillers have dropped since 2010 in the United States, but the number of Americans getting the highly addictive medications is still too high, a new report shows. Prescriptions declined from a peak of 782 morphine milligram equivalents (MME) per person in 2010 to 640 MME per person in 2015, according to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Half of U.S. counties saw a decrease in the amount of opioids prescribed per person from 2010 to 2015," said CDC Acting Director Dr. Anne Schuchat. "Overall, opioid prescribing in the United States is down 18 percent since 2010." [continues 543 words]
Prosecutor calls for $10,000 fine to deter others KITCHENER - Granting an absolute discharge to a young Kitchener couple who operated an illegal marijuana dispensary in uptown Waterloo would send the wrong message, a federal prosecutor told a judge on Tuesday. Some people will conclude the risk of running a dispensary is worth the reward, Kathleen Nolan said. "The floodgates will open," she told Justice Colin Westman. Nour Louka, 30, owned and operated the Waterloo Dispensary, which sold marijuana out of a second-floor business on King Street. Her husband, Shady Louka, 32, was a part-time, temporary employee. [continues 454 words]
Dr. Hendrik Visser, WCB medical adviser, says board seeing increasing claims for coverage of medical cannabis The medical adviser for the Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I. says he believes the jury is still out on the effectiveness of medical marijuana. Dr. Hendrik Visser is responsible for reviewing cases and providing medical opinions on injury claims submitted to the WCB in Prince Edward Island. During a presentation at the Workers Compensation Board (WCB) annual meeting in Charlottetown Monday, Visser raised concern about the increasing perception of cannabis as a "magic bullet" among physicians. [continues 355 words]
Desperate for relief from unbearable pain following knee surgery, Lorna Bird says she was forced to buy drugs from the Downtown Eastside streets of Vancouver when her doctor stopped prescribing an opioid in response to new standards aimed at preventing fatal overdoses. "I started with heroin because I couldn't stand the pain," Ms. Bird said, recalling her fears about dying from fentanyl-laced street drugs because "everybody was croaking" and she didn't want her grandchildren dealing with that outcome. [continues 427 words]
It appears that Dr. Hendrik Visser isn't your typical medical adviser for the Workers' Compensation Board (WCB) of P.E.I. The position usually goes to a doctor who has spent a number of years in private or general practice, is getting close to retirement and assumes this less strenuous role, while easing towards hanging up the stethoscope. Apart from testifying at appeal hearings over disputed medical claims or decisions, the adviser often keeps a low profile, and is rarely the public face of the WCB. [continues 419 words]
It's a Catch 22 for marijuana dispensaries. Municipalities are not granting them business licences because technically they are still illegal (though that is soon to change). But then they get in trouble for operating without a business licence. Not surprisingly, many, including the Town of Lake Cowichan's new addition Green Tree Medical Dispensary, are not letting that stop them from setting up shop in anticipation of their product becoming legal July 1, 2018. In North Cowichan several dispensaries have carried on in spite of fines from the municipality. And there are still more operating in the regional district that don't need businesses licences at all. [continues 294 words]
Local LHIN, and Kingston health unit join forces A new strategy intended to reduce opioid drug-related harm in southeastern Ontario could be approved as early as August. It's a partnership between the South East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) and Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health. Directors of the LHIN approved the document in principle Monday, with revisions expected this summer. That area's new medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, led the health unit's research. He was unavailable Monday for comment. [continues 639 words]
Canna Clinic's Toronto stores shut down after Tory voiced concerns about pot shop rise In a series of mid-morning raids Thursday, police shut down marijuana dispensaries operated in Toronto by B.C.-based Canna Clinic. All seven of the company's storefront locations in Toronto were raided, as well as five residences, said Toronto police corporate communications director Mark Pugash. There were also three raids in Vancouver. A bar owner near the company's Kensington Ave. clinic said police came around 10 a.m. Customers were allowed to leave before police closed the store. [continues 623 words]
Approximately 200,000 Canadians have a medical marijuana prescription, but it isn't covered by most health insurance plans. (File) Since the implementation of Canada's national medical cannabis system in 2001, attitudes toward cannabis have changed significantly. What was once stigmatized as a street drug has come to be understood as a substance with broad therapeutic uses. Today about 200,000 Canadians have a prescription to use medical cannabis under a doctor's care for management of symptoms caused by chronic pain, bowel diseases, spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis, certain mental health disorders and a host of illnesses. Patients use cannabis because it works for them with manageable side effects. [continues 539 words]
The legalization of marijuana is just around the corner and many questions still have to be studied and answered to make sure it's going to be done responsibly, and more importantly safely, so the benefits can be highlighted for those still questioning the decision. The National Access Cannabis (http:/nationalaccesscanabis.com) is doing the largest-ever harm reduction study for opioids using cannabis(http:/opiatestudy.ca/) They are starting with 2,000 patients and plan to grow it quickly, based on the medical resources and the medical community's extensive interest in the study. [continues 255 words]
AT LAST official count, in 2015, over 33,000 people have died from opioid painkillers, heroin, and fentanyl - twice the number killed by guns - and the number of fatalities is rising. Health officials, police chiefs, employers, welfare workers, and politicians at all levels of government are desperately calling for more effective drug treatment, better prevention, smarter opioid prescribing, and improved pain management. Urgent attention is being devoted to every facet of the epidemic except one: how to think about drug addiction itself. As the opioid crisis deepens, it's time to examine whether current thinking about addiction limits our understanding of the epidemic and impedes our efforts to contain it. [continues 268 words]
Research suggests a safer alternative to powerful painkillers OTTAWA - Leading medical experts say legalizing cannabis may offer new hope to one day reduce the use of opioids -powerful drugs frequently prescribed for the treatment of pain. Dr. Mark Ware, a globally-recognized researcher and the vice-chair of the federal government's task force on legalizing marijuana, said a legal framework for cannabis will help to facilitate further research. He said published scientific research already suggests cannabinoid molecules interact with the brain in a way that has an important "synergy" with how opioids interact with receptors in the body. [continues 407 words]
