Cannabis
Another Flawed Study On Cannabis Use Disorder
Cannabis use disorder isn’t defined medically, and doesn’t seem to cause real problems. However, despite not instigating societal harm; yet another study is out trying to warn us about the prevalence of cannabis use disorder.
What’s a use disorder?
Like any other psychiatric condition; what is termed as a ‘use disorder,’ has no medical diagnosis. A medical diagnosis is a proof by way of a definable metric or test. This automatically means having a use disorder is a diagnosis up to the discretion of a particular doctor. These definitions are meant to meet certain behavioral criteria; but the truth is that doctors disagree all the time on everything. Without medical backing; there is no confirmed consensus when talking about psychiatric diagnoses, even with DSM manuals.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the definition of a use disorder is “a treatable mental disorder that affects a person’s brain and behavior, leading to their inability to control their use of substances like legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications. Symptoms can be moderate to severe, with addiction being the most severe form of SUD.”
By definition, its all addiction, though; as the definition for addiction is the “compulsive drug seeking and use despite adverse consequences,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Why do these definitions overlap? Because there is no medical diagnosis defining each specifically. What it comes down to in either case, is an inability to control use.
There’s less debate over the existence of alcohol use disorder or opioid use disorder. They cause extreme damage to users and society at large; and we see it. We can watch those with the addiction, unable to control their use. Everyone likely knows someone who lost a job, or a spouse; or is dealing with an illness; or who got into some kind of an accident; because of drug use they could not control. The term ‘use disorder’ is easily understood in this context, as a behavior that is not only uncontrolled, but which causes problems.
Does cannabis use disorder exist?
Sure, if you’re only concerned about a manual made by a group nearly all associated with pharmaceutical companies; with the main purpose of prescribing psychotropic medication. The DSM manuals are by nature, full of ‘disorders,’ that have no medical definition.
As in, there is no test that can confirm a person is borderline, or schizophrenic, or suffering from a drug use disorder. Like it or not, there is no medical professional that can say there’s a medical diagnosis for cannabis use disorder. And realistically, there is no defined association between cannabis and large problems; in fact, so little, that after thousands of years of documented use, such damage cannot be explicitly pointed to. Do we question if alcohol causes problems? No!
As such, cannabis use disorder (CUD) is not medically defined, and cannot be tested for. Cannabis causes no actual addiction, so its not defined as an addictive drug. Nor does it cause damage to society; and any damage to one’s life, is minimal at best. Things like losing a job or spouse, or causing sickness or accidents; aren’t associated with cannabis like they are with other drugs. How many people do you know who were so out of control with weed, that they messed up their entire life?
For that matter, how many people do you know who are willing to prostitute themselves out for it, or choose weed over eating, or allow their children to be on the street so they can keep smoking up? This happens with alcohol, and meth, and opioids. It doesn’t with weed. Which indicates there is no use disorder attached. People, in fact, do not seem to have an issue not using weed, if there life calls for it. In other words; its uniformly not associated with behaviors that indicate a fundamental loss of control.
Perhaps the confusion is because unhappy people tend to keep doing things that make them feel better. This isn’t addiction, but self-treatment. Whereas this is problematic if it causes damage; it kind of isn’t, if it doesn’t. I’ve been using weed, and around weed smokers, for half my life. Never – literally not ever – have I met someone who has so much of an issue controlling themselves, that they cannot stop from smoking up. Not. One. Time. But I know a lot of alcoholics, smokers, and opioid users who lost their jobs, or families; who have extreme health issues; been in, or caused, accidents; or who overdosed and died.
New study on cannabis use disorder
Unfortunately, a lack of general logic or evidence over time, hasn’t stopped bad research from continually coming out on the topic. Even as this continues to make no sense, with nothing substantial backing it up in real life; article after article comes out to promote the idea that cannabis use disorder is a real thing. Case in point is this recent study.
The study is called Prevalence of Cannabis Use Disorder and Reasons for Use Among Adults in a US State Where Recreational Cannabis Use Is Legal. The purpose was to investigate how prevalent cannabis use disorder is in a regular population, specifically in adult-use legal states. It also looked into whether there were different reasons for use between locations.
According to the writers, the results of the study on cannabis use disorder indicate that the reasons for use didn’t change between locations, but the rate of use did; going from moderate to severe in different places. Researchers conclude from their data that cannabis use disorder is prevalent in legal states, and that moderate and severe use is more common in non-medical patients, or those who use it for both recreational and medical purposes.
How did researchers come to this amazing conclusion that a lot of people smoke weed? They conducted an in-person study. The study consisted of 1,688 participants, out of an original pool of 5,000 possible participants. These 5,000 were picked randomly from a pool of 108,950 adults who underwent a screening for cannabis use, as part of a primary care visit. Investigators looked at the time period of March 2019 – September 2019. The chosen 5,000 were offered a survey for the study.
In terms of sample selection, more specifically, “Sample selection included patients who reported no past-year use as well as stratified oversampling of patients with more frequent cannabis use and patients of minoritized racial and ethnic groups (including American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander) in order to obtain representation of subgroups that are often underrepresented in research.“
The survey looked at how often the participants used cannabis in the past year. Out of the 5,000, 1,688 filled out the survey and gave consent. Of these, 1463 said they used cannabis in the past 30 days. “Respondents were asked about past-year use and more specific questions about past 30-day use, including reasons, mode, and typical frequency of cannabis use.” Investigators continued that the results “weighted to the primary care sample who used cannabis in the past 30 days (hereafter, patients who used cannabis).”
Massive issues with this study
The biggest issue with this study, is in how the sample was collected. The study’s stated aim was to see how prevalent cannabis use disorder is within legal state populations. This indicates that the study group being examined should reflect as accurately as possible, the makeup of the actual population of these locations.
Researchers did not do this though, instead they used something called stratified oversampling, for both frequent users, and minority populations. This means they included a greater percentage of participants from these populations, than exist by percent in reality. If we were only looking at why people use, this is useful for gaining information from underrepresented minorities, or focusing on those who do it more. But when looking to assess overall use rates; oversampling any part of a population, means getting skewed results.
Simply creating a sample which does not correspond to the actual population, is a huge flaw. Especially when that means including more heavy users in a way that is already known to be disproportionate, and then saying that a use disorder is prevalent. The oversampling of minorities can theoretically be worked out to correspond to actual population statistics, although this won’t account for the uneven collection of information. But if the purpose is to assess use rates and issues of control; perhaps automatically adding in more heavy users, is a fundamentally bad idea.
If you’re going to focus on a certain level of use, that’s what you’ll see. The investigators purposefully added in more frequent weed users than existed by percent in their own collected data. And they did that for an investigation literally meant to measure how often people use weed frequently. This is problematic. How can a study measure the overall prevalence of weed use (or abuse), if the sample used to measure it, is automatically skewed toward higher use?
Conclusion
The reality is that its easy to find bad study results on cannabis use disorder and an array of other topics. So much so that its coming up as an issue because of studies getting retracted. Researchers are dying to get published, and that promotes flawed research like this. Writers want stories, and that means bad titles get passed on. It’s a bad cycle. And it continues.
Let’s remember, that after years of nonsensical reporting about cannabis causing psychosis, its now coming out that this was never true. What does that say for all the research that tried to scare us about inducing schizophrenia, and what does it say for those who created it? The idea of a cannabis use disorder might get pushed now; but that doesn’t mean it won’t be invalidated as people come to their senses.
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Alcohol has some negative side effects, but cannabis could have one positive health benefit – it might help your good cholesterol.
In the late 1980s cholesterol test became come as the impact of it on the body and heart was becoming more evident. Research shows good cholesterol (HDL) helps remove excess cholesterol from the body, while “bad” cholesterol (LDL) can build up in arteries, potentially leading to heart disease. Alcohol and tobacco are known to be rough on the body, but can marijuana help cholesterol?
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Marijuana’s potential impact on cholesterol is an emerging area of research, offering both promising insights and areas for further exploration. While studies have yet to reach definitive conclusions, evidence suggests that cannabis may influence cholesterol levels in ways that could benefit cardiovascular health under certain conditions.
Cannabis contains cannabinoids like THC and CBD, which interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system. This system plays a role in regulating various physiological processes, including lipid metabolism. Some studies have indicated that marijuana use might improve cholesterol profiles by increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL), commonly known as “good cholesterol.” For instance, research published in BMJ Open found that marijuana users had elevated levels of HDL cholesterol, which is associated with better cardiovascular health.
Moreover, cannabis has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties and the ability to regulate blood glucose levels. These effects can indirectly support heart health by reducing risk factors associated with high cholesterol, such as diabetes and obesity. Additionally, cannabinoids like CBD may help protect the heart from oxidative stress and inflammation, further enhancing cardiovascular health.
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Cannabis has also been linked to weight management benefits, which can positively impact cholesterol levels. Studies have shown that marijuana use may reduce abdominal fat and improve metabolic parameters. Since obesity is a major contributor to high LDL cholesterol levels, these findings suggest that cannabis could play a supportive role in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.
While some studies highlight potential benefits of cannabis for cholesterol and heart health, others caution against its risks. Daily marijuana use has been associated with an increased risk of heart failure and other cardiovascular issues. However, research also indicates that cannabis may reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation and improve outcomes following heart attacks.
Food asphyxiation is in the news today – and is WAY more dangerous than marijuana.
Food asphyxiation is in the news again. In the US alone, approximately 5,000 – 5,500 people die from choking on food or other objects annually. Factors like living alone, having dentures, difficulty swallowing, and certain foods (like bananas, marshmallows, or gelatinous candies) can increase the risk of choking. These numbers highlight the persistent danger of food asphyxiation and the need for increased awareness and prevention measures. And yet, it is really mention in the media or Congressional reviews. But food asphyxiation is way more dangerous than cannabis.
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Food asphyxiation, commonly known as choking, claims a significant number of lives each year. The elderly population is most at risk, with 90% of food-related choking deaths in 2022 occurring in individuals over 50 years old. This statistic underscores the importance of proper care and attention for older adults during meal times. These numbers highlight the persistent danger of food asphyxiation and the need for increased awareness and prevention measures.
In contrast, deaths directly attributed to marijuana overdose are extremely rare and there is no documented case of fatal overdose from natural marijuana alone. This stark difference in mortality rates between food asphyxiation and marijuana use is noteworthy.
The disparity between food asphyxiation and marijuana overdose deaths is striking. While hundreds die each year from choking on food, marijuana overdose fatalities are virtually non-existent when considering natural marijuana use.
These findings suggest public health efforts might be disproportionately focused on substances with lower mortality rates while overlooking more common dangers like food asphyxiation. Increased education on proper eating habits, especially for at-risk populations like the elderly, could potentially save more lives than efforts to prevent marijuana overdoses.
To prevent choking, listen to your mom’s advice – eat slowly and throughly, cut food into bite size pieces, and don’t talk with your mouth full. And be mindful of food which may have small pieces or tiny bones.
Despite the massive investment by some in the industry, outdoor grows are the healthier, cleaner option
Like fruits and vegetables, outdoor floors yield the richest flavor and the least expensive products. The same can be said about cannabis, outdoor marijuana grows are better all the way around. When the industry started becoming legal, hundreds of millions were invested in indoor grow with the assumption cost per pound would stay high. Companies like Tilray built massive indoor grows, but over time they have caused expensive upkeep, high consumer prices, and upset neighbors. And do they produce the best cannabis? By leveraging natural resources like sunlight and soil, this method reduces environmental impact, enhances product quality, and fosters community harmony.
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Outdoor cannabis cultivation drastically lowers greenhouse gas emissions compared to indoor growing. Research shows outdoor farming can emit up to 50 times less carbon dioxide than indoor production, which relies heavily on artificial lighting, air conditioning, and dehumidifiers. Additionally, outdoor grows eliminate the need for energy-intensive equipment, reducing electricity consumption and promoting sustainability. Water conservation is another key advantage; outdoor farms often use natural rainwater or precision watering techniques, minimizing waste. Furthermore, the absence of chemical fertilizers in many outdoor setups helps protect local ecosystems from pollution.
Outdoor growing is more cost-effective for both producers and consumers. It eliminates expenses associated with indoor cultivation—such as high electricity bills and specialized equipment—making cannabis more affordable. For home growers, cultivating outdoors fosters a connection with nature while empowering individuals to produce their own medicine sustainably.
Sun-grown cannabis benefits from exposure to full-spectrum natural light, enhancing its terpene profiles and cannabinoid production. This results in richer flavors, aromas, and potency that indoor setups struggle to replicate. Outdoor cultivation also allows plants to grow larger and healthier due to unrestricted space and access to diverse soil nutrients. This translates to higher yields and better-quality products for consumers. Additionally, outdoor-grown cannabis often develops unique characteristics influenced by the local terroir, offering a diverse range of experiences akin to wine production.
Outdoor marijuana farms are less disruptive to neighborhoods compared to indoor facilities. Indoor grows often require extensive infrastructure upgrades, leading to increased energy demand and noise pollution from machinery. There has been an uprising by some local governments about the grows.
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In contrast, outdoor farms blend harmoniously with their surroundings, relying on natural processes rather than artificial systems. Moreover, outdoor cultivation supports local biodiversity by integrating companion plants that deter pests naturally and enrich the soil.
While outdoor cultivation is environmentally friendly, it poses challenges such as susceptibility to pests and weather fluctuations. However, solutions like greenhouses can provide controlled environments while retaining the benefits of natural sunlight. Choosing resilient strains adapted to local climates further ensures successful harvests.
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