Medical cannabis patient enrollments in Georgia have reached 41,400, with 4,700 patients enrolled in the program since its inception the extension took effect on July 1, 11 Alive reports. The expansion law eliminated the state’s 5% THC limit on cannabis products, added new qualifying conditions, allowed the production and sale of THC-infused cannabis gum and flowers, albeit only for vaping purposes.

The state Department of Health is reporting more than double the number of new patient registrations in the first three weeks since the program was expanded compared to the number of new patients registered in the previous three weeks, the report says.

At the beginning of June, there were about 34,000 active medical cannabis patients in the state, and by the end of the month, 36,703 medical cannabis patients had been registered in the state.

The program expansion added new conditions to the program, such as lupus and autism, but also changed how certain conditions qualified. Before the expansion, conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cancer or Parkinson’s had to be terminal or severe; Under the new rules, conditions do not have to be more severe, giving doctors more discretion to prescribe medical cannabis earlier in the treatment process.

Ganjapreneur: Providing everyday knowledge since 2014, the leading digital business magazine for cannabis industry professionals. Subscribe to the newsletter to join our community of over 40,000 weedpreneurs.

A formulation of THC and CBD significantly reduced agitation among patients with end-stage dementia in a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, MedicalXpress reports.

The multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II study (known as the LiBBY trial, for the recent benefits of cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol) included 120 hospice-eligible participants with Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia they were experiencing. The findings were presented July 14 at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London by researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina and Georgetown University.

Participants received either a placebo or a fast-acting oil suspension containing isolated THC and CBD. After two weeks, patients in the THC/CBD group showed a significantly greater reduction in mean agitation scores than the placebo group. The researchers said the improvement was maintained at 12 weeks.

A secondary analysis also found that 83.9% of patients in the THC/CBD group were rated as significantly less anxious after two weeks, compared to 30.5% in the placebo group. At 12 weeks, 87.2% of treatment group participants showed improvement, compared to 23.6% of placebo participants.

“Rarely do we see close to 90% of patients in a trial who respond positively to a new drug,” said Jacobo Mintzer, MD, of the Medical University of South Carolina and co-investigator of the study.

While the findings are promising, the researchers also noted that the treatment was a precisely formulated medical product administered under clinical supervision and may differ significantly from commercially available cannabis products.

Ganjapreneur: Providing everyday knowledge since 2014, the leading digital business magazine for cannabis industry professionals. Subscribe to the newsletter to join our community of over 40,000 weedpreneurs.