AMA

Medical Marijuana Reduces Opioid Use

Published

4 months ago

January 11, 2024

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Opioids and fentanyl driving a crisis in recent years, with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating the public’s abuse of the drug. The crisis has also become a major U.S. foreign policy issue. Massive lawsuits have been filling the courts due to the addictive and damaging nature of some opioids and patients have been left in shambles. Now, data shows medical marijuana reduces opioid use.

A new study from New York State and CUNY researchers suggests receiving medical cannabis for thirty days or more may help patients on long-term opioid treatment to lower their dose over time.

Medical Marijuana Applications Soaring Under Coronavirus Pandemic — Photo by beusbeus/Getty Images

Another study conducted by the American Medical Association showed positive data. The study, published in JAMA Oncology, analyzed the results of thousands of patients with different types of cancer. ound an association between receiving medical cannabis for chronic pain for a longer duration and a reduction in prescription opioid dosages among patients on long-term opioid therapy. Patients who were on higher baseline dosages of prescription opioids when they started receiving medical cannabis experienced larger reductions in opioid dosages.

Researchers explained that the study was conducted in order to explore the links that exist between marijuana legalization and opioid use. They concluded that medical marijuana curbed opioid use and provided an alternate route for treatment.

RELATED: Marijuana And Prostate Cancer

“Findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that medical marijuana legalization implemented from 2012 to 2017 was associated with a lower rate of opioid dispensing and pain-related hospital events among some adults receiving treatment for newly diagnosed cancer,” they wrote.

“The nature of these associations and their implications for patient safety and quality of life need to be further investigated,” researchers added.

Medical marijuana has less of an impact on the body and mind. Cannabis can be an effective treatment for pain, greatly reduces the chance of dependence, and eliminates the risk of fatal overdose compared to opioid-based medications. Medical cannabis patients report that cannabis is just as effective, if not more, than opioid-based medications for pain.

With medical marijuana available in 40 states, this is indeed good news for most patients.

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AMA

The Perfect James Bond Martini

Published

1 month ago

March 22, 2024

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Did James Bond make the martini famous? Or did the martini help make Bond cool?

The classic line of “shaken or stirred” has been used by men for decades. Bond instructs the bartender in the phrase “shaken and not stirred” in Diamonds Are Forever and Dr No and it has been in our lexicon ever since. But did Bond make the martini famous – or did the martini help Bond. And what is the perfect James Bond Martini?

The history of the martini is murky, “Professor” Jerry Thomas, a famous and influential 19th century bartender, invented the drink at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco, sometime in the late 1850s or early 1860s. As the story goes, a miner, about to set out on a journey to Martinez, California, put a gold nugget on the bar and asked Thomas to mix him up something special. Thomas produced a drink containing Old Tom (sweetened) gin, vermouth, bitters and Maraschino, and dubbed it the “Martinez” in honor of the customer’s destination.

The big question is gin or vodka? Purist insist it be gin for the classic martini, but numbers say vodka is preferred. Vodka sales are about $7.5 billion annually while gin is around $5 billion. If you order a classic martini, you will probably be served gin unless you say vodka. Bond seems fairly fluid in his choice, he orders 19 vodka martinis and 16 gin martinis throughout Fleming’s novels and short stories.

Like Bond’s creator Ian Fleming, James Bond prefers his cocktails shaken and not stirred. A traditional martini is stirred rather than shaken, but Fleming’s biographer Andrew Lycett shared the author preferred martinis shaken since he believe it preserved the flavor.

Bond like celebrity chef Justin Khanna

Internationally known celebrity chef Justin Khanna has his take on the martini.

“The perfect Martini, to me, takes advantage of the “blank canvas” nature of this timeless cocktail. “Many cocktails restrict you to specific garnishes, and even fewer allow the liberty to swap the base spirit.

With the Martini, a vodka base that’s heavy on the olives and light on the vermouth is just as “right” as one made with gin and a twist of lemon, even though they couldn’t be more different once you take your first sip. Accompanied by a bowl of olives, bleu cheese or salty potato chips to snack on, and I’ll savor this iconic cocktail in bliss.

I personally love the body, complexity and herbaceous kick of vermouth, often making it a co-star in my version”

The Khanna Martini

Ingredients

2 1/2 oz vodka
3/4 oz dry vermouth
Ice
Lemon zest twist

Create

Combine vodka and vermouth in a shaker with ice.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a chilled martini glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist, first rubbing it along the rim for a burst of citrus aroma.

Dean Martin, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis’s Margo Channing, FDR, Frank Sinatra, and Jessica Walter’s Lucille Bluth are all noted martini fans. One of the most fun is the great Megan Mullally’s Karen Walker from the show Will & Grace.

The Karen Walker Martini

Ingredients

2.5 oz. High-end vodka
.5 oz. Dry vermouth
.5 oz. Olive brine

Create

Pour all ingredients into shaker with ice cubes.
Shake well
Strain in chilled cocktail glass

The Perfect James Bond Martini

Ingredients

2 ¼ ounces dry gin
1 ounce dry vermouth
1 lemon twist, for garnish
1 olive (for garnish)

Create

Combine vermouth and gin in a mixing glass filled with ice
Fill glass with ice and stir rapidly. Continue adding ice and stirring until the additional ice has been submerged within the cocktail
Strain the cocktail into the chilled martini glass
Express the lemon twist over the cocktail
Place expressed lemon twist and the skewered olive on the chilled rim

As famed writer and wit Dorothy Parker shared about martinis:

“I like to have a martini,
Two at the very most.
After three I’m under the table,
after four I’m under my host.”

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AMA

Biden’s Weed Tweet Got Numbers And Feedback

Published

2 months ago

March 11, 2024

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His mentioning marijuana at the State of The Union was historic, but boy did he get some feedback when he tweeted.

The State of the Union address for many years was referred to as “the President’s Annual Message to Congress“. It is believed George Washington started the tradition and the term “State of the Union” first emerged in 1934 when used by Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). President Biden mention of marijuana was historic and also showed how the plants reputation has come a long way from the war on drugs. And when he tweeted about it, things got spicy. Biden’s weed tweet got numbers and feedback – and the administration might be wise to pay attention.

The tweet on cannabis reached 14 million and had 12,000 comments and 104,000 likes. The President mentioned his marijuana pardons which drew a significant amount of feedback. According to BDSA, a leading analytics firm covering cannabis, the industry generated $29.5 billion in revue in 2023. When talking about a need to grow the economy and taxes, here is a fresh industry the public wants, but antiquated laws are punishing small businesses.

When you subtract comments not relating to weed, they fall in three categories. The first is the remaining resentment toward Vice President Harris for her historic stance on marijuana. The industry was at first excited when Biden was elected as he indicated he would move opening up legalization for cannabis. His slow pace along with VP Harris’s previous role has frustrated the industry and it shows by the sharp remarks.

Another large batch of comments were just about making a move already! Science, the American Medical Association, and the federal departments of the Healthy and Human Services (HHS) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have all said there are benefits. People are clamoring for him to act and act quickly. But, it seems to the public eye, the administration has been very slow in fullfilling this promise from over 2020.

The third big conversation is his perception his pardons did more than they actually did for prisoners. Again, there is hard feelings about it and the online community want him to understand what he did and did not do.

While the industry is expanding, it is still in growth mode and needs basic help in continuing to grow. Rescheduling would allow state cannabis operators to take federal tax deductions they’re currently barred from under an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E. This would give immediate benefits to the cannabis industry which is 50+% small businesses.

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