Cannabis and Healthcare 2014

[madwife2002]

The eyes of the world are watching the new experimental POT shops, which have recently opened in Colorado, selling legalized Cannabis for everyday consumption, for everyday people. Who would have thought that this would happen in our lifetime! The lines went round blocks and shops feared they would run out quickly.

It is estimated that 37 shops opened their doors 1st January 2014, and by January 6^th 2014 speculation is mounting that shops will soon run out of supply.

It is estimated that over 1 million dollars was spent in the first 24 hours on legalized Pot.

Do we think that people want cannabis to be legalized, do people think we should be allowed to buy 'pot' from shops, yep I think we can safely say if this past week has shown anything, that everyday people want to buy pot.

Although it has to be pointed out that in all photos, videos and media shows there appeared to be a huge population of men shopping and buying pot than women! I did not actually see a woman in the shops, I am sure there were some?

I can see it now, 'Honey can you pop out to the pot shop for me'

Alcohol companies are fearful for a drop in profits, and I think they should be! For the addictive personality swapping one addiction for another may well be the way forward.

As healthcare professionals we should consider how this might actually benefit our patients, the cost to lives, reduction in violent crimes, reduction in ER visits and all the other health care benefits we are lead to believe happens if you smoke cannabis.

There are many research projects out there, attempting to prove that cannabis is safe, that cannabis has many health properties.

According to one source there has never been an overdose of cannabis because you have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times the amount of THC (short for Tetrahydrocannabinolin),which is present in a joint to be at the risk of dying.

Police worry that using cannabis increases the chances of moving onto harder drugs, but there are no scientific studies to date that support this claim. Police also worry that using cannabis will increase violent crimes, behavior and suicidal tendencies, again at this time there is no scientific study to confirm this belief.

In 2010, overdoses were responsible for 38,329 deaths. Sixty percent of those were related to prescription drugs. In the same year, a total 25,692 died of alcohol induced issues , including accidental poisoning and disease from dependent use.

Benefits to our patients include but are not limited to...

• Antiemetic for general patients
• Increased Appetite for the chronic sick and elderly patients
• Decreasing neuropathic pain, especially with MS patients
• Reduction of pressure within the eyes of glaucoma patients
• Some studies have shown reduction in tumors in cancer patients (although studies are not conclusive but we can expect a lot more studies in the future)
• Reduction of nausea in chemotherapy patients and increase of appetite

Side Effects

Short-term (one to two hours) effects on the cardiovascular system can include increased heart rate, dilation of blood vessels, and fluctuations in blood pressure

Short-term memory loss

Increase in psychosis (newer studies are disputing this)

Schizophrenia (newer studies are disputing this)

Drop of about 8% IQ in patients under 18, although starting after 18 does not appear to cause an IQ drop

Driving is impaired and studies in the UK say if you drive within 3 hours of smoking cannabis you are twice as likely of having an accident.

An interesting side note, shares in one cannabis growing company increased their share prices by 53% overnight!

[TU RN, DNP, CRNA]

Of course taxing something that you can grow in your own patio or back garden can be difficult but is not impossible, and still the government can get millions from taxes. Not everybody has the skills, the time, the patience, the space etc to grow their own tomatoes, and some people just prefer go to the professional or the shop to buy [/quote']

Your right that not everybody has the skills and time to grow plants. Especially in the case of Cannabis grown in your backyard. This would probably be unsuccessful in budding in such a way that would provide a product capable of the popular effects of marijuana. The plant is indigenous to Central and South Asia and requires lighting, nutrition, and watering characteristic of that region. On top of that, the gender of the plant must be identified and appropriate action must be taken to eliminate breeding which leads to a useless product also.

It requires technical skill that your average person would not usually possess. The government could also prohibit the sale of homemade product, by penalty of law, as is its policy on EtOH. Or to make things more interesting (profitable), the federal government could mandate licensure to home grow. You can't blind yourself with homegrown cannabis like you can with homebrewed alcohol, so it would be safe. And they could charge people for license applications. I wonder if they've ever done a cost-benefit analysis on this versus the expense of DEA pursuit of illegal marijuana trafficking (which would also become a nonissue with federal legalization/decriminalization).

I totally agree and i add that there are many other presentations and preparations to consume cannabis, like cakes, brownies, oil, cream, inhalers, spray, etc. smoking is always a health risk regardless of is the smoked substance is tobacco, cannabis, heroine or cocaine... so smoking in public places should be banned, as to do it in a closed space in the presence of vulnerable people. Smoking in a private place or home, with no exposure to other vulnerable people is a private issue and as health professional all we know that health education and promotion can have some effect, but ultimately everybody has the last word about what they do with their bodies.[/quote']

Agreed completely. It should be treated as a private issue with due warnings from the Surgeon General printed on every sale.

Further on that point, we should be taking a serious look at these employers prescreening for nicotine as a condition of hire. Unemployment and intentional understaffing are already big enough problems in this country without employers pressing their advantage with such draconian policies pressing into ordinary peoples' private lives.

[iluvgusgus]

I think everyone's fear that everyone will become a pot-head if marijuana is legal is ridiculous. Cigarettes have been legal, I dont smoke. Alcohol is legal, I dont binge drink. And millions of people are just like me. I think we need to continue trusting adults to behave responsibly and use drugs responsibly. Millions of Americans smoke marijuana everyday, and I am sure many of them are not going to work high, are not driving high. Many enjoy it responsibly. The legalization of it isnt going to mean that everyone gets high all day long and that the productivity of our society comes to a standstill. Thats what I think everyone is afraid of and they need to get over it. And yes, caffeine is highly addictive and can stop your heart if you drink too much of it in one sitting, and our children can buy cans and cans of rebdull at the store and there is no stopping them.

[Jmira.BSN.RN]

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It requires technical skill that your average person would not usually possess. .

False. I knew kids in the 8th grade who grew pot and sold it, all different types of it, too. Nowadays everything is on youtube as well. Anyone can grow weed if they have the desire (not legally of course).

As more and more states begin to legalize recreational use, we will see an increase in unnecessary MVAs and deaths related to impaired driving. That is something I will NEVER be okay with.

Simply put, legalizing weed for recreational use has no benefit to the public.

[ilmbg]

As the above mentioned-I already fear more impaired drivers. You don't think for a second, do you that these people are going to stay home?!? Not a chance-even if they smoke in their own home, they will think how great it is! Wow-this is really cool! I can have weed legal now ya'all! If people can't drink and stay off the roads, if people can't stop texting while driving, how do you think a drug induced high person will say: "oh my-I'm high as a kite-better stay home now and do not go out with my friends.....". Not a chance. They are already driving under the influence of weed! Now there will just be many, many more of them.I pity the people/families that have to deal with the coming of more vehicle related deaths.Bad decision by our lawmakers.....

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

“In conclusion, marijuana impairs driving behavior. However, this impairment is mitigated in that subjects under marijuana treatment appear to perceive that they are indeed impaired. Where they can compensate, they do, for example by not overtaking, by slowing down and by focusing their attention when they know a response will be required. … Effects on driving behavior are present up to an hour after smoking but do not continue for extended periods.

REFERENCE: M. Bates and T. Blakely. 1999. “Role of cannabis in motor vehicle crashes.” Epidemiologic Reviews 21: 222-232.

[madwife2002, BSN, RN]

Does marijuana affect your ability to drive?

Yes. Studies show that 10 to 22 percent of drivers involved in vehicle crashes, used drugs often in combination with alcohol. In fact, we know that a moderate dose of marijuana can impair driving performance (i.e., reaction time, visual search frequency--driver checking side streets--or perceiving/responding to changes in speed of other vehicles); and that even a low dose of marijuana combined with alcohol markedly increased driving impairment over either drug alone.

You might find some interesting information on this very issue at:DrugFacts: Drugged Driving | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

[zack1a]

ilmg, I'm not really sure what you're stating, but our lawmakers didn't make driving under the influence of marijuana legal.

[whealer]

Hahaha in response to growing cannabis, it is incredibly easy and can be done in a bathroom or closet with florescent lights. The only thing that might tip someone off is if you use way too much electricity than you should. A few (well grown) plants can last an user for months. It's quite economical, actually. Basically, if you can take care of any type of plant, then you can grow your own marijuana without too many tools.

As for driving, meh - I've known people who smoked while driving and were capable... they were good drivers to begin with, so that always helps . I don't know of too many people who hit the bong multiple times or decided to drive. Quite honestly, at that point, you can barely think about driving let alone drive. It's tough to compare that experience to something like alcohol, simply because the influence feels very different. But, it all comes down to self-awareness, which some people just plain lack. Some people drink or smoke or snort more than they should and end up getting hurt or hurting someone else. That's why at the end of the day it really has to do with encouraging people to support one another when it comes to substance use, regardless of whether or not its recreational or medicinal, and holding each other accountable for our own actions.

Also something else to consider. Remember the Miami Cannibalist, Rudy Eugene? Everyone thought he was under the influence of LSD or Bath Salts. But it turned out that he was an avid marijuana smoker and that was the only drug in his system at the time of his death. He also had a history of violence and may have witnessed domestic abuse between his parents. I don't mean to bring this up as a rebuttal of those who think of a marijuana user (regardless of their habitual use) as anything other than violent; but when we think of the actions of anyone who uses or has used substances and ends up getting hurt or hurting someone else, then the substance itself tends to take center stage and what is often forgotten is that a number of factors can make an impact. Of course, the distribution of a substance is easier to control and explain away then, for example, a person's mental state prior to ingesting a substance or their childhood history. Marijuana, personally, is no more a medicinal herb than those used as treatments or ingredients in the kitchen (Not to discount its effectiveness, of course). It's recreational simply because it gets you high and makes you feel great for the most part. But, there is a big gap between those qualities, and no one can truly foresee how each individual fills that gap. In other words, when it comes to how it's used, it is a holistic process. It's hard to use statistics and generalized concerns to truly capture any drug affects a person, or if it has any effect at all. Even if we do legalize, there's more change that needs to happen within our society to address the fears about substance abuse.

[Sunflowerinsc, ADN, RN]

Many hospitals do test for tobacco use and taking a break to smoke means leaving the hospital and the grounds also, not something easily done on your shift.And it's still not legal on a federal level.

[MunoRN, RN]

The one thing I'm concerned about is that there is currently no test that can determine if a driver is impaired by pot use. If pot is going to be legalized, it should have all the same restrictions and laws that alcohol does, especially with driving. However, at this point, there is no legal way to prove impaired driving.

Both Washington and Colorado have legal limits on active levels of marijuana while driving, which seem to be more than sufficiently strict. While the typical pre-employment test looks at metabolites of the drug, which are fat soluble and can be excreted for weeks or even months after the last use, the legal limit while driving is determined by a blood test that reflects the current effects the drug is having on the person.

A non-scientific (but entertaining) study of what the legal limit of THC influence actually looks like.

Stoned Drivers Hit Test Course In Washington To Evaluate Marijuana DUI Limits (VIDEO)

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

I had chemotherapy 25 years ago. My oncologist at the time told me I should try to get some weed to minimize the nausea. I didn't because I had 2 babies under the age of 4. Now I suffer from insomnia. I have tried everything I can to sleep. If marijuana were legal in Massachusetts, you can bet I'd try it to sleep.

[liketheairport]

What is the difference between marijuana and alcohol?

Alcohol is terribly addictive and has much more serious long-term health effects, such as liver problems. Also, alcohol is legal and marijuana, in most places, is not. Marijuana is illegal for mostly stupid reasons, too.