Sickness from marijuana

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Medical marijuana user warns about cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome
CBC, November 16, 2016
A Halifax woman says she threw up "all day long" for eight months straight — and her medical marijuana is to blame.

It wasn't until a specialist diagnosed Dawn Rae Downton with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, and she stopped taking marijuana entirely, that she says the vomiting finally ended.

"Vomiting and just a complete malaise, I was bedridden most of the time," she said of the period she took marijuana.

The condition, which was first documented in 2004 and has not been widely researched, is characterized by cyclical bouts of nausea, vomiting and gastrointestinal discomfort, said Toronto family doctor Peter Lin.

If it occurs often enough, it can lead to things like weight loss, dehydration, and vomiting blood, said Lin, who is also a health columnist for CBC. .....click "Read More" below to continue....

Pot-induced murder (ditto Columbine, etc.)

More study needed on the link between pot and psychosis
Gordon Clark, Vancouver Province, Nov. 9, 2016
Canadians, especially lawmakers, gleefully rushing headlong to legalize marijuana should pause to consider the horrifying, heartbreaking stabbing death of 13-year-old Letisha Reimer, as innocent a crime victim as one can imagine.

Gabriel Brandon Klein, the 21-year-old homeless man from Alberta charged with second-degree murder in the death of the Abbotsford Senior Secondary School student, and aggravated assault in the non-fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old girl in the Nov. 1 attack, was a heavy pot smoker who recently “became manic, paranoid and frightened,” some of his friends told CBC. ....click "Read More" below to continue....

Fatal car crashes triple among drivers high on marijuana after legalization in Colorado; double in Washington state

By Pamela Fayerman, Vancouver Sun, October 31, 2016
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to legalize marijuana should take into account “sobering” U.S. experiences where the first states to legalize the drug have seen big increases in fatal car crashes among cannabis-impaired drivers, according to a B.C. doctors’ group.

Washington State and Colorado started taxing and regulating cannabis in 2012 and the Council on Health Promotion, a section of Doctors of B.C., said vehicle fatality statistics, post-legalization, are “sobering.”

“In Washington State, fatal crashes among drivers who tested positive for marijuana doubled from eight per cent in 2013 to 17 per cent in 2014. In Colorado, the number of drivers in fatal crashes who tested positive for marijuana without other drugs in their system tripled between 2005 and 2014 from 3.4 per cent to 12.1 per cent,” Nanaimo General Hospital emergency room Dr. Chris Rumball said in an opinion piece in the B.C. Medical Journal, which he wrote on behalf of the council. .....click on "Read More" below to continue....

"Harmless pot" propaganda gone to pot

WEED GONE BAD
By Reid Southwick, National Post, 10/17/2016
 Longtime marijuana user Cody Morin was shocked to learn the bouts of severe illness he suffered were due to pot use, not ulcers doctors thuoght he had.
Cold sweats, dizziness, nausea — and those are just the ill effects suffered by some adult pot users.

When he arrived at a southern Ontario hospital emergency room, Cody Morin was badly dehydrated and vomiting blood. He was rushed into quarantine as doctors worried he was infected with the Ebola virus. His father wasn’t allowed at his bedside without wearing a haz-mat suit.

Hours before, Morin was at his fiancée’s Whitby, Ont., home after work, where he smoked a bowl of pot, a daily routine for the drywaller, accustomed to smoking at least four joints a day. Not long afterward, he was overwhelmed by cold sweats, dizziness and nausea. He vomited uncontrollably for about two hours before his fiancée drove him to hospital in nearby Oshawa.

The agony was familiar. Morin had been in and out of hospital for several years with similar bouts, which lasted for six hours at times.  ....click "Read More" below to continue....

Misc. News

• Marijuana grow-op cost $135,000 in damages: B.C. property owner
• There is already madness brewing in the oilpatch over Ottawa’s reefer legalization
• CMA: Pot is not a health product
• Should Canadian pharmacies sell natural health products?

Psychosis & rampages in pot-fuelled Colorado

Yeah, it was sure a great idea to legalize pot after Columbine and Aurora. Imagine this happening across the whole country.




Click this link to view in bigger screen:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xph-bGD2nz0

The Big Lie: Pot legalization reduces harms & usages

(Letter published in The Province newspaper, July 8, 2016)
More Grade 12 students in Colorado trying legalized pot

New data shows that there are regions in post-marijuana-legalization Colorado that are in big trouble.

Regions that refused to allow pot shops experienced a decrease in use or it stayed flat. Where commercial marijuana is plentiful, there has been a great increase in use among students. The data showed that the proportion of Grade 12 students who had used marijuana in the past month was, on average, more than 50 per cent higher than the value reported for their age group nationally.

For example: Students in Boulder and Broomfield area were 98 per cent above the national average; Garfield, Pitkin, Eagle, Summit, Grand (79 per cent higher); Pueblo (70 per cent); and Denver (56 per cent). --Pamela McColl, SAM Canada, Vancouver

*(Editor's note: Not to mention deaths/injuries from pot-DUI)

You Can't Deny Marijuana Is Dangerous For Developing Minds

R. Hutchings via Getty Images

You Can't Deny Marijuana Is Dangerous For Developing Minds
by Dr. Diane McIntosh, 04/08/2016, huffingtonpost.ca
I have many patients with psychotic illnesses, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Many were vulnerable because of their family history, but some share another important life experience: they smoked pot from an early age.

Physicians have not effectively confronted pot-related myths, nor have we adequately educated our patients. When I tell parents about marijuana's risks, they often express shock. Many believe it's like oregano... a safe "natural product" that adds a little spice to life.

But pot is not benign and there's a mountain of scientific evidence, compiled over nearly 30 years, to prove it poses serious risks, particularly for developing brains......click on "Read More" below to continue.....

Driving while high on marijuana causing spike in fatal accident

by Tom Costello, Today.com
Any time Mary Gaston drives by the intersection where a driver high on marijuana plowed into her son's motorcycle two and a half years ago, the loud bang of the impact replays in her head.

Blake had hugged her before he left the suburban Seattle restaurant's parking lot — it was the last time she would ever feel his embrace.

"I heard it and I knew instantly," Gaston remembers. "I said 'that's Blake' and I just ran. It was not even 50 feet away. And he was lying in the intersection bleeding out."

Though doctors tried to save his life, 23-year-old Blake Gaston didn't make it.

His story is becoming frighteningly more common. A new report by the American Auto Association (AAA) has found that the percentage of drivers who are high on pot during fatal accidents in Washington State more than doubled between 2013 and 2014.

In Washington, only looking at crashes in which at least one driver tested positive for active THC, there were 40 fatalities in 2010, compared to 85 in 2014, according to AAA estimates. However, a large number of drivers were not tested for THC or did not have available blood test results, so THC-related fatalities could be much higher, the report notes.

The AAA report focused only on Washington state, while legalized the sale and possession of marijuana in 2012. It did not track driving while high fatality trends in Colorado, which also legalized pot that in 2012.

But with marijuana on the ballot to become legal in more states, AAA researchers fear that the numbers will rise more sharply.

 The problem is, many people don't realize that "driving under the influence" isn't just about drunk driving. It also means driving when you're high.

"Driving is already a tough task," says Jake Nelson, director of Traffic Safety Advocacy and Research at AAA. "When you add a drug that impairs our ability to manage that task, it's a recipe for disaster."

Currently 20 states allow medicinal marijuana use, while four states and Washington, D.C., allow recreational use. 
     Related: Pot fuels surge in drunk driving deaths
After the accident, Mary Gaston learned that the driver of the car that hit her son's motorcycle, 33-year-old Caleb Floyd, admitted he had been smoking pot. He was eventually convicted of vehicular homicide and sentenced to three years in prison.

That's little comfort to Mary, who wonders where her bright, talented son would be now if he not been hit by a stoned driver.

 A computer whiz who developed websites, Blake was also an accomplished musician.

By 23, he'd already mastered numerous musical instruments, including piano, guitar and drums. He didn't just play music, though, he also wrote songs too.

"Blake was going to change the world," Gaston says. "Blake had an energy about him. He affected people's lives in such a positive way. It makes me happy to think about him. Even in 23 years he lived a hell of a life. His life was way too short. But he lived a hell of a life."
http://www.today.com/health/driving-while-high-marijuana-causing-spike-fatal-accidents-t91746
Related News:
Marijuana-related deaths, suspensions & problems spike in Colorado – report
https://www.rt.com/usa/316148-marijuana-related-deaths-injuries-study/

Pot harms unborn babies / Dopamine levels may go up in dope smoke

Hopes of moms-to-be can go up in pot smoke
Drs. Oz and Roizen HEALTH TIPS FROM MEHMET OZ, M.D. AND MICHAEL ROIZEN, M.D.
The Province, 9 May, 2016
Up In Smoke (a Cheech & Chong movie,1978) may have floated the hazy notion that smoking marijuana was harmless fun, but new research shows that a woman’s chance for delivering a healthy baby is actually what goes up in smoke if she lets smoke into her brain and lungs while pregnant.

Researchers from the University of Arizona looked at 24 studies of pregnancy and marijuana smoking. They discovered pregnant women who smoke cannabis were more likely to be anemic and babies more likely to end up in neonatal intensive care with a low birth weight.

Low birth weight is associated with intestinal and respiratory woes, brain bleeds, and heart and vision problems.

This study comes at the same time that researchers in Leipzig’s Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research discovered that tobacco smoking during pregnancy causes epigenetic disruption that dysregulates several genes at once and can trigger a roster of health problems for a newborn and throughout life.

Plus, various studies indicate that cannabis smoke is almost as toxic as tobacco smoke and can reduce levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, impairing memory and making it hard to stop smoking without feeling depressed.

These studies together should be more than enough to convince every young woman that if she smokes marijuana, tobacco or both, her dreams of a healthy baby may just go up in smoke.
http://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-province/20160509/281719793795001
More pot news by Drs. Oz and Roizen:
Dopamine levels may go up in dope smoke

Potheads rescue Big Tobacco

(Memo to potheads: All fumes from all fires are harmful and carcinogenic -- there's no such thing as a harmless or healthy fume from a fire, any fire)

Is It Inevitable That Big Tobacco Will Shift To Big Marijuana?
 By Chris Morran, Consumerist.com, Apr 20, 2016

Four states and Washington, D.C., have already legalized recreational marijuana use, while medical

marijuana use is currently legal (or about to become legal) in around 20 states — not to mention the many states that have decriminalized the drug. At the same time, tobacco use continues to decline and the few remaining cigarette giants can only merge with each other so many times. So is Big Tobacco destined to become Big Marijuana?

The tobacco industry, for all its feigned ignorance about the health hazards of its products, is not stupid and has been thinking about dabbling in marijuana since at least the 1960s. ....click "Read More" below to continue....

Free At Last From Pot

Anna Pike, who until recently smoked marijuana daily for more than two decades, is amazed at how her life has improved since she quit and fears how liberal pot laws will harm others.

‘Get out of the smoky fog and get living’
By Anna Pike, The Province, April 17, 2016
My name is Anna.

I smoked marijuana solidly for 22 years. When I smoked my first joint at 18 years of age, I thought I had found the path to endless happiness. In my 20s, using the drug was wonderful and manageable. But in my 30s, it became a problem, as any addiction does as you age.

I have not smoked marijuana for the past three months.

As the smoke has cleared, I am the happiest I have been in my life. I am about to turn 40 and am excited for this turning point, particularly because I don’t have my old friend/enemy living with me and controlling so many of my choices.....click "Read More" below to continue.....

Revised medical marijuana manual lists many adverse effects

Health Canada is about to issue a newly revised medical marijuana manual, called "Information for Health Professionals," with many new warnings about adverse effects. CBC News obtained a draft copy.

By Dean Beeby, CBC News , Apr 11, 2016
Health Canada has significantly expanded its medical marijuana manual for health-care professionals, adding major new sections about the potential adverse effects on the teenaged brain and driving safety.

The document is much larger than the previous 2013 edition, and responds to doctors' complaints about having too little information on the medical science even as they're being asked to authorize marijuana for a growing number of patients.

The heavily revised manual arrives as the Liberals sort out how to legalize recreational marijuana as promised in the federal election – and the document's fresh litany of cautions may provide ammunition to opponents.

CBC News obtained a draft copy of the 158-page manual, dated Dec. 23, 2015, and due to be published this spring, under the Access to Information Act.

The document replaces a three-year-old, 94-page document, and features an "adverse effects" section that is more than 50 per cent longer than its predecessor. The section reviews in greater depth whether cannabis may affect the onset of schizophrenia or psychosis, among many other medical issues. .....click "Read More" below to continue.....

Drugstores had sold alcohol, then cigarettes, and now pot?

Public-health specialists worried that Shoppers Drug Mart will sell pot
By CARLY WEEKS, The Globe and Mail, Feb. 25, 2016
Leading public-health and addiction specialists are condemning plans by Canada’s largest drugstore chain to investigate the idea of selling marijuana, calling it a profit-motivated move that would have devastating effects.

The Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday that Shoppers Drug Mart is exploring the possibility of selling marijuana in its stores. According to people involved in the discussions, the company has held meetings with licensed medical-marijuana producers. It also has not ruled out a move into selling marijuana for recreational purposes. Currently, pharmacies are not permitted to sell medical marijuana, but the federal government has promised to legalize the drug, which could open the market.

“This is corporate greed,” said Meldon Kahan, medical director of the substance use service at Toronto’s Women’s College Hospital. He said it would be “destructive and dishonest” if Shoppers and other health-care facilities were to present their plans as a medical service.

Dr. Kahan compared the sale of marijuana in drugstores to the Prohibition era, when pharmacists could fill prescriptions for alcohol. There is little convincing scientific evidence that either substance can treat medical conditions, and pharmacies are not the appropriate venue for the sale, he said.

Ian Culbert, executive director of the Canadian Public Health Association, said there is “insufficient evidence to call [cannabis] medicine,” and warns opening the market to pharmacies could lead to increased use and serious side-effects. ....click "Read More" below to continue.....

Vaping Not Safe

Dr. Oz's Daily Tips: Escape the vape
by: Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Mike Roizen, February 25, 2016 
Ant Man (Paul Rudd) may have been 2015's most endearing super bug, but there's nothing to like about the antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA and other hard-to-defeat pathogens.

In fact, you want to do everything you can to stay clear of them.

And now that includes just saying "No" to vaping!

Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine recently did a lab-based test on the effects of e-liquids from seven manufacturers.

Their study published in the Journal of Molecular Medicine found that daily inhalation of e-cig vapors triggers inflammation, kills off cells in your airways and lungs, and boosts the virulence of bacteria.

For example, vaping makes staph infections (Staphylococcus aureus) able to resist antimicrobials -- not a good thing, since runaway staph infections can be lethal.

Plus, while one group of lab mice all recovered from infection with the antibiotic-resistant superbug S. aureus (MRSA), 25 percent of another group died when they were infected with MRSA that had been pre-exposed to the vapors from e-cigs. Egad!

If this isn't enough to convince you to put down the vape, maybe it will convince regulators that vaping poses a huge public health risk by cultivating super, superbugs.

For help recovering from nicotine addiction or habituation to vaping non-nicotine liquids, go to sharcare.com or clevelandclinic.org -- search for Dr. Mike's "smoke-free plan for successful quitters."
It takes commitment, time and the ability to try and try again if you slide backward, but with support, the right plan and determination you can escape the vape!
https://www.baytoday.ca/columns/dr-ozs-daily-tips/dr-ozs-daily-tips-escape-the-vape-200296

How Does Marijuana Affect the Brain and Behavior? Here's What Recent Studies Say

By Jessica Eggert, News.Mic, Dec. 29, 2015
Stoners have a reputation for being exceptionally mellow, but a recent study of the effects of marijuana use on daily behavior may suggest otherwise. According to researchers from Yale University of Medicine and the Pennsylvania State University, the study found a positive short-term correlation between marijuana use and hostile and impulsive behavior.

"Marijuana use is associated with changes in impulse control and hostility in daily life," according to the study, published in March. Researchers found that participants were more aggressive on days they used marijuana, and the following day, than on days they didn't get high.

The study analyzed 43 participants' marijuana, alcohol, tobacco use and hostile and impulsive behavior daily for 14 days using random effects models. Scientists found that marijuana use alone, without the alcohol and tobacco combination, increased impulsive and hostile behavior on the day participants used the drug and the day after.

The study was brief, but due to the results and increased recreational marijuana use, researchers believe the topic warrants further research.

The study analyzed 43 participants' marijuana, alcohol, tobacco use and hostile and impulsive behavior daily for 14 days using random effects models. Scientists found that marijuana use alone, without the alcohol and tobacco combination, increased impulsive and hostile behavior on the day participants used the drug and the day after.

The study was brief, but due to the results and increased recreational marijuana use, researchers believe the topic warrants further research.
https://news.yahoo.com/does-marijuana-affect-brain-behavior-190502531.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma