Mainstreaming CBDTwo American doctors who counsel millions of patients via TVs and digital screens raised the profile of the phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) this week. On Oct. 2, Dr. Mehmet Oz interviewed neurosurgeon and medical journalist Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the “CBD oil boom” on his health and wellness program, “The Dr. Oz Show.” The episode, “A Report on the CBD Oil Movement,” includes Gupta’s breakdown of CBD oil’s innate ingredients and investigative reporting on the CBD oil trend and its relationship to the medical marijuana movement.While the episode didn’t delve into the more complex aspects of American CBD law and policy, it should ably serve as a primer on cannabidiol—think CBD 101—for daytime television’s primary demographic, women between the ages of 25 and 54. Amid discussion, Gupta responded to Oz’s concerns about CBD oil safety by pointing to the regulation success achieved by states that have legalized CBD. The ramifications of mainstream networks and programs providing accurate, thoughtful reporting on cannabis and its constituent cannabinoids CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are expected to influence voting bloc perceptions and attitudes and thus the future of American CBD and cannabis policy and legislation.The More We KnowA University of Montreal research study published on Wednesday, Oct. 3 in the American Journal of Psychiatry observed both intoxication-related and lasting cognitive functioning problems in teenage cannabis users; these deficits appear more pronounced than those caused by alcohol use. As NBC News reports, the study, “A Population-Based Analysis of the Relationship Between Substance Use and Adolescent Cognitive Development,” advises “proceeding with caution as science considers [cannabis’] effects on the adolescent brain.”The study tracked both cannabis and alcohol use by 3,800 Montreal-area teens over 4 years. Starting at age 13, participants provided annual reports on alcohol and cannabis use and took cognitive tests that measure perceptual reasoning, recall memory, inhibition and short-term memory. Research implicating teen cannabis use in long-term neuroplastic changes and cognitive deficits bears careful consideration owing to its probability and statistical frequency.Another research study published on JAMA Network Open last week indicates that teen cannabis use is not confined to smoking. The survey of 3,177 Los Angeles adolescents investigated “prevalence, patterns, and sociodemographic correlates of cannabis product use across combustible, edible, and vaporized administration methods.” Results show that more than 1 in 5 teenagers have ingested cannabis edibles and 1 in 10 have vaped. Alternative cannabis administration methods were appreciably prevalent among teens across expected socio-demographic categories.
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