Scrutiny Of Illicit Market THC Products
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After the EVALI outbreak of 2019, vaping remained on the minds of many in the industry. While researchers continued to look closely at the causes for the outbreak, the scrutiny of illicit market THC products also prompted interest into the effects of vaping cannabis and cannabis oils. Dispensaries near me that deliver
With respect to EVALI, federal researchers found that THC is capable of forming a complex with vitamin E acetate – a diluent thickener used in some illicit vape products that was strongly linked to the outbreak by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the researchers were careful to not declare this complex as the cause of any injuries, they did say that the discovery warranted further work looking at how vape byproducts might harm the lungs. A second group of researchers from the University of California, Irvine, (UCI) School of Medicine and the Huntington Medical Research Institutes, also found that specific heating elements in vape devices, not vitamin E acetate, could be considered the primary factor in EVALI cases. Marijuana Shop Online
On more general vaping, several recent state studies have raised concerns about contamination issues. A Californian lab found nearly 80 percent of vape cartridges sourced from the illicit market were “unfit for consumption,” as over 60 percent of those studied containing dangerous levels of pesticides.
Lead contamination has also become an area of particular focus for vape products in the legal market. In August, two laboratories that were re-testing old disposable cannabis vape cartridges coming out of storage found concerning levels of lead. After closer inspection, they concluded that undisclosed lead from the cartridge hardware was leaching into vape liquid contained inside.
Additionally, this summer, an investigation of vape cartridges sold by legal dispensaries in Hawaii flagged the sale of a cartridge containing dangerously high levels of lead. But equally concerningly, four of the nine cartridges investigated also contained amounts of ethanol exceeding five-times the legal limit in states that have imposed restrictions on the substance.
Trust in the safety of THC vapes took a bad hit at the start of the EVALI outbreak when initial investigations began to speculate about a possible relation to cannabis vaping. With 2020 bringing yet more concerning news over vape contamination, studying this issue is sure to continue well into 2021 and beyond.
Medical cannabis forges ahead, despite skepticism
The efficacy of medical cannabis treatments has always been a somewhat controversial topic. While many existing patients testify to how the drug has improved their quality of life, the scientific literature paints a more mixed picture.
For example, take opioid use. This year, one study found that people who inject opioids like heroin are less likely to accidentally overdose if they are also using cannabis to treat feelings of pain. The study also suggested that those using cannabis for pain relief used illicit opioids less frequently overall. But just months later, another study on cannabis and concurrent opioid use concluded that opioid use was not affected by cannabis at all. In fact, some of the study’s participants used more opioids on days when they also used cannabis. This second study also saw no associations between drug use and self-reported levels of pain.
The only way to fully explain these mixed observations, and many others like them, is more research. And when it comes to research efforts, 2020 has delivered.
In June, the London-based Sapphire Medical Clinic launched a new medical cannabis registry initiative with the intention of collecting real-world evidence on the experiences of medical cannabis patients in the UK. A lack of such UK-specific information was one of the hurdles cited by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, at the beginning of the year when speaking on the country’s medical cannabis access issues.
Scrutiny Of Illicit Market Products The following month, University Health Network, a hospital network in Toronto, Canada, announced the launch of its first medical cannabis clinical trial. Similarly, the Network wants to create a greater real-world knowledge base on the efficacy of medical cannabis, and to explore this a six-month-long trial was launched. Following around 2,000 patients from across Canada, the study will provide the patients with a range of tested cannabis products to assess the effects on chronic pain, insomnia, anxiety, and depression. weed shop online
But maybe the biggest headline medical cannabis news from 2020 is the official commencement of Project Twenty21, Europe’s largest medical cannabis project. Firstly, it is important to note that the project is not a traditional clinical trial, it is a patient registry. But with the aim of recruiting and documenting the treatment journeys of up to 20,000 patients, it will create the largest single body of evidence on medical cannabis treatment and safety ever seen in Europe.
Going into 2020, there was a lot of skepticism and questions over medical cannabis. Coming out of 2020, those questions understandably still remain. But with numerous large-scale endeavors now dedicated to widening this scope of knowledge, this decade must surely have some answers in store. Order Medical Marijuana