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Screen All Patients for Cannabis Use Before Surgery: Guideline

  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.

Stoned California Seniors Headed to ER's By the Thousands: UCSD Study

Stoned seniors — and we're not talking high-school kids — are visiting emergency rooms for cannabis-related issues in unprecedented numbers, according to a new study by UC San Diego researchers.

Click here for article.

Is there a link between a public health crisis, developing brains, and cannabis?

However, according to Dr. Ken Finn, a Pain Medicine Specialist in Colorado Springs with more than 33 years of experience in the medical field, we are now in the middle of a multi factorial mental health crisis with youth substance abuse, particularly cannabis, affecting developing brains. “I think the medical literature is pretty clear that during the pandemic kids were not in school, they were isolated, they tend to use substances in isolation, particularly cannabis,” explained Finn.

To view media click here.

Number of young children who accidentally ate cannabis edibles jumped 1,375% in five years, study finds

In just five years, the number of small children in the US exposed to cannabis after accidentally eating an edible rose 1,375%, a new study says.

 

Supervisors Approve Plan to Address Illicit Fentanyl Crisis

San Diego County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to fight the illicit fentanyl crisis by increasing education, outreach and early intervention, working to detect “outbreaks” or clusters of overdoses, and expanding distribution of overdose medication.

Tuesday’s action comes after the Board of Supervisors and County District Attorney’s office declared fentanyl deaths a public health crisis in late June.

View County news article here.