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People who used marijuana daily were found to be about one-third more likely to develop coronary artery disease (CAD) compared with people who have never used the drug, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.    

To view journal article click here.

However, new research from the Keck School of Medicine of USC may have found the 'smoking gun' linking vape use to the same damage caused by cigarettes.

For the study, published February 14 in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, scientists divided 72 healthy adults into three groups — current smokers, current vapers, and people who have never smoked or vaped.

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Timmy's eyes were rolling side to side in his head as his floppy body did not respond to his mother's calling. He was rushed to the hospital and admitted to the ICU. The 4-year-old ate one of his mother's Cannabis Infused Rainbow Sherbet flavored gummies and ended up with marijuana poisoning and coma. There is no antidote to THC, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis, so Timmy had to wait and detoxify over the next couple of days.

Timmy is one of 7043 children under the age of 6 exposed to cannabis in the United States between 2017-2021. According to the National Poison Data System pediatric exposures increased 1375% during that time. Diagnosis data from Children's Hospitals found 15% of marijuana-related hospital encounters required hospitalization and 4% required mechanical ventilation.

To view article click here.

• The Food and Drug Administration said 1/26/23 there are too many unknowns about CBD products to regulate them as foods or supplements and called on Congress to create new rules for the massive and growing market.
• Questions remain about CBD’s effects on liver, male reproductive system and on pregnant women and children. 
• New rules could include clear labels, regulations regarding contaminants, limits on CBD levels and requirements, such as a minimum purchase age. Regulations are also needed for CBD products for animals.
• The FDA will continue to take action against CBD and other cannabis products to protect the public. The agency has sent warning letters to some companies making health claims for CBD.  Go to AP News click here.

1. All patients who undergo procedures that require regional orgeneral anesthesia should be asked if, how often, and in what forms they use the drug, according to recommendations from the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA).
2. One reason: Patients who regularly use cannabis may experience worse pain and nausea after surgery and may require more opioid analgesia, the group said.
3. Kenneth Finn, MD, president of the American Board of Pain Medicine, welcomed the publication of the new guidelines. Finn, who practices at Springs Rehabilitation in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has edited a textbook about cannabis in medicine and founded theInternational Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis.
4. "The vast majority of medical providers really have no idea about cannabis and what its impacts are on the human body," Finn said.

Click here for medscape guidelines.