What Do Israeli Gerontology Students Think About Medical Marijuana Use for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease?

Aims The aims of the current study were as follows: 1) to assess gerontology graduate students’ beliefs about medical marijuana’s (MMJ) effectiveness for two common age-related conditions - Alzheimer’s (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD); 2) to assess students’ beliefs and attitudes toward MMJ; 3) to explore associations linking background characteristics, MMJ-related attitudes and beliefs, and beliefs about the MMJ effectiveness for AD and PD. Method A sample of 104 (84 women and 20 men) gerontology graduate students voluntarily participated in an anonymous online survey. Results The vast majority (95%) of the participants indicated they had no formal education about MMJ and reported being unprepared to answer clients’ MMJ-related questions (84.6%). Most of the participants believed that MMJ is effective for use with AD (70.2%) and PD (80.8%) patients. Participants reported favorable beliefs about MMJ benefits, concerns about risks, the need for training, and positive attitudes toward recreational marijuana use legalization. Prior marijuana use (e.g., self-use, friends or family) was found to be associated with more positive beliefs about MMJ benefits, risks, and its legalization for recreational purposes. Prior marijuana use was the only factor associated with the belief that MMJ is an effective therapy for use with individuals diagnosed with AD or PD. Conclusions The study findings stress the need for students’ MMJ education in order to provide future gerontology service providers with the necessary knowledge and ability to address clients’ questions about MMJ use. Efforts to develop curricula and training programs need to be promoted.

Recreational Marijuana Sales Legalization and Monday Work Injury Claims

An important stylized fact in the literature is that more Workers’ Compensation claims for difficult-to-diagnose injuries are filed on Monday than on any other day of the week. This paper studies the impact of recreational marijuana sales legalization on Monday work injury claims. Using restricted-use Workers’ Compensation claim data in Oregon and a Difference-in-Differences (DiD) model, I find the probability of overall Monday injuries increase by 4 percentage points after recreational marijuana sales legalization. The event study graphs suggest the medium-term effects appear to equal the short-term effects. Additionally, I do not find strong evidence to support those difficult-to-diagnose Monday injuries disproportionately increase after recreational marijuana sales legalization, suggesting a limited moral hazard of Monday injury claiming behavior after recreational marijuana sales legalization.

Adolescents’ Marijuana Use Following Recreational Marijuana Legalization in Alaska and Hawaii

Alaska and Hawaii, the only 2 noncontiguous states in the United States, have different marijuana policy environments. Alaska enacted recreational marijuana legalization (RML) in 2014, whereas recreational marijuana is still illegal in Hawaii. This study analyzed how RML affects adolescents’ marijuana use (MU) by comparing 2 states. We used data from 2 states (Alaska and Hawaii) from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2009 to 2019 years (N = 35 467). The trends of lifetime MU and current MU were examined. Using difference-in-differences analysis models, this study investigated whether RML increased lifetime and current MU in Alaska compared with Hawaii after adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics. Both lifetime and current MU prevalence among adolescents in Alaska increased after RML, while both rates in Hawaii gradually decreased. The rate of lifetime MU in Alaska was significantly increased after RML (odds ratio [OR] = 1.29) compared with Hawaii. Similarly, the current MU among adolescents in Alaska was significantly increased compared with that in Hawaii (OR = 1.34). Both lifetime and current MU were increased following RML in Alaska, suggesting that RML may affect the increase of MU among adolescents.

Pharmacokinetic Investigation of Commercially Available Edible Marijuana Products in Humans: Potential Influence of Body Composition and Influence on Glucose Control

The purpose of the study was to describe and compare the pharmacokinetics of five commercial edible marijuana products, determine the influence of body composition on pharmacokinetics, and, in light of epidemiology suggesting marijuana may offer diabetes protection, explore the influence of edible marijuana on glucose tolerance. Seven regular users of marijuana self-administered five edible products in a randomized crossover design; each product contained 10 mg of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Thirty minutes following marijuana ingestion, participants imbibed a 75 g glucose beverage. Time-to-peak plasma THC concentration ranged between 35 and 90 min; maximal plasma THC concentration (Cmax) ranged between 3.2 and 5.5 ng/mL. Differences between products in plasma THC concentration during the first 20–30 min were detected (p = 0.019). Relations were identified between body composition and pharmacokinetic parameters for some products; however, none of these body composition characteristics were consistently related to pharmacokinetics across all five of the products. Edible marijuana had no effect on oral glucose tolerance compared with a marijuana-free control (Matsuda Index; p > 0.395). Commercially available edible marijuana products evoke different plasma THC concentrations shortly after ingestion, but do not appear to influence acute glucose regulation. These data may allow recreational marijuana users to make informed decisions pertaining to rates of edible marijuana ingestion and avoid overdose.

State Recreational Marijuana Laws and Dispensaries: Chronic School Absenteeism in Washington State

Objective: Whereas states continue to experiment with liberalized marijuana laws, how these laws impact health, education, and social factors is not yet fully understood. In this study, we examined whether chronic school absenteeism rates changed in Washington State in the presence of recreational marijuana dispensaries pursuant to implementation of the state’s recreational marijuana laws. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis using school district chronic absenteeism rates before and after the presence of recreational dispensaries. Results: The results of the independent samples t-test showed no statistically significant difference in chronic absenteeism rates among districts with or without recreational marijuana dispensaries. Conclusions: The finding of no statistical significance for chronic absenteeism in districts with and without recreational dispensaries – a pattern that largely persisted among at-risk groups – supports that the presence of recreational marijuana dispensaries seems neither to exacerbate nor improve chronic school absenteeism rates. This finding is important for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers trying to understand the changing marijuana legal landscape.