"Israeli Researchers Find Cannabis Therapy Reduces Fibromyalgia Pain"

Cannabis could be a treatment option for fibromyalgia,  one of the most common chronic pain conditions in the world, according to a new Israeli study. 

Characterized by widespread musculoskeletal aching, fatigue, poor sleep quality, and cognitive difficulties, fibromyalgia has no specific causes and no known cure, but  a prospective observational study, “Safety and Efficacy of Medical Cannabis in Fibromyalgia,” has given fibromyalgia patients some hope. The researchers found significant improvement in pain intensity and fibromyalgia‐related symptoms among patients after six months of medical cannabis therapy.

“It's commonly accepted that chronic pain can be treated with cannabis, but there has been less evidence to support the role it plays in specifically treating fibromyalgia,” said Lihi Bar-Lev Schleider, one of the lead authors on the study and head research scientist at the Tikun Olam research department in Tel Aviv, Israel, where it was conducted.

“Our data indicates that medical cannabis could be a promising therapeutic option for the treatment of fibromyalgia, especially for those who failed on standard pharmacological therapies. We show that medical cannabis is effective and safe when titrated slowly and gradually,” concluded the study, published in June 2019 in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. 

"I Tried Medical Cannabis During Chemo, and Here’s What Happened"

Health and wellness touch everyone’s life differently. This is one person’s story.

At the age of 23, my world was completely flipped upside down. Just 36 days before I was planning to walk down the aisle, I was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer.

Before receiving my diagnosis, I was a fitness social media influencer, with a YouTube channeland Instagram account that chronicled my fitness regimen and my journey to my first National Physique Committee competition. How could a very healthy and active 23-year-old woman’s world flip upside down in a matter of seconds like this?

Raphael Mechoulam on Medical Cannabis “Why Did We Have to Wait 35 Years?”

Decades before legislators in Colorado or California even began to consider medical marijuana, Raphael Mechoulam was investigating the biochemistry and pharmacology of cannabis-derived compounds, and urging the global medical community to shed their preconceptions about this plant, and to take it seriously as a source of safe and effective medicines.

In the early 1960s, Raphael Melcoulam & his team became the first who isolate, characterize, and synthesize THC,one of the main psychoactive compounds produced by cannabis.

His subsequent work included the discovery of endogenously produced cannabinoids and the characterization of the endocannabinoid receptor system within the human central nervous system and peripheral tissues.

Dr. Mechoulam is currently a professor of medicinal chemistry and natural products at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His total synthesis of THC, as well as other cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD), is the cornerstone of the burgeoning medical-cannabis industry. Furthermore, his major contributions in the field of organic chemistry and the interaction of human and plant biology have led to the discovery of cannabinoid receptors in the human brain and the endocannabinoid system in the human body.

Dr. Mechoulam was kind enough to give his time for an exclusive interview with Holistic Primary Care’s cannabis correspondent, Laura Lagano.

Lagano, an integrative clinical nutritionist and co-founder of the Holistic Cannabis Academy, got Mechoulam to share his views on the current state of medical cannabis research and the appropriate clinical applications of cannabis-derived compounds.

Here are excerpts from their conversation:

Study Confirms CBD May Have Antipsychotic Effect in High-Risk Individuals

Cannabis extract helps reset brain function in psychosis. In a 2018
Researcher from King’s College London found that a single dose of the cannabis extract cannabidiol can help reduce brain function abnormalities seen in people with psychosis. 

Results from a new MRC-funded trial, published in JAMA Psychiatry, provide the first evidence of how cannabidiol acts in the brain to reduce psychotic symptoms.

Cannabidiol, also referred to as CBD, is a non-intoxicating compound found in cannabis. A purified form of cannabidiol has recently been licensed in the USA as a treatment for rare childhood epilepsies, and a 2017 King’s College London trial has demonstrated cannabidiol has anti-psychotic properties. However, exactly how cannabidiol may work in the brain to alleviate psychosis has remained a mystery.

“The mainstay of current treatment for people with psychosis are drugs that were first discovered in the 1950s and unfortunately do not work for everyone,” says Dr. Sagnik Bhattacharyya, from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN). “Our results have started unravelling the brain mechanisms of a new drug that works in a completely different way to traditional anti-psychotics.”

"GREECE APPROVES 26 MARIJUANA GROW OPS FOR MEDICAL PRODUCTION"

Greece’s staggering economic collapse made international headlines. But now, The National Herald reports a new development in Greece’s medical marijuana laws brings some more positive news to the financially ailing country.

As the government finally begins digging its way out of its over $360 billion USD debt, one thing they hope will help achieve that goal is medical marijuana.

Like many politicians in Canada and the U.S., Greece sees marijuana as a revenue stream that could really bolster their economy.

Although marijuana is only legal in Greece for medical use, recent changes will finally help kick the industry into gear.

 Applications and Changes

 Greece is not wasting a second getting their medical cannabis industry up and running. At this point, the country received 72 applications. Out of the total, 26 were approved, four rejected and the rest are pending.

In order to begin growing, businesses need three separate licenses. So far, none of the approved aspiring growers received all three. Nonetheless, the current government is very progressive on marijuana reform and has pledged to get through the process as quickly as possible.

When Greece legalized medical marijuana in 2017, they imposed a ban on cultivation. However, they repealed that ban in March of 2018.

Recreational marijuana is still illegal, but its use is widespread and “largely ignored.”