What happens when a town goes all-in on legal pot; Scientists find genes for risk of pot addiction; Youth vaping drops, but not of disposables; More

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EFFECTS

Uncovering genetic roots of marijuana use disorder
An international team of researchers led by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified two regions in our DNA that appear to contribute to one’s risk of becoming addicted to marijuana.

The team analyzed DNA from some 21,000 people with marijuana use disorder and 360,000 people who did not have the disorder. They found an association in those who had the disorder with a gene on chromosome 7 that is linked to language development and risk-taking behavior. A second finding replicated an association with a gene on chromosome 8 that previously had been linked to both marijuana and nicotine addiction.

Using data from the ABCD Study, the researchers also found that children with greater genetic susceptibility for marijuana problems had a slightly lower volume of white matter in their brains on average, a finding that was identified before any use of the drug. This means some may be vulnerable to marijuana addiction before they first use the drug.

The researchers say that while their discoveries are not useful in helping people identify their personal risk, they may lead to better treatments for marijuana addiction.

Read Medical Express article here.
Read full text of The Lancet Psychiatry article here.

Do you have the heart for marijuana?
Yesterday’s New York Times reports that a growing body of medical evidence suggests marijuana can produce serious heart problems, especially in those who have underlying cardiovascular disease.

“Compared with tobacco, marijuana smoking causes a fivefold greater impairment of the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity,” say experts the Times interviewed.

Physicians are especially concerned about the increasing number of heart attacks among marijuana users younger than 50. Marijuana use was associated with twice the hazard of death among those under age 50 who suffered their first heart attack.
In one survey of marijuana smokers, the risk of stroke was increased more than threefold.

Read New York Times article here.

Entering adulthood: Getting help for mental and substance use disorders
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has created an Infographic titled “Entering adulthood: Getting help for mental and substance use disorders.”

It notes that 8.8 million young adults reported having a mental illness, but 42 percent went untreated.

And 5.1 million young adults reported having a substance use disorder, but 87 percent went untreated.

Access SAMHSA’s Infographic here.

VAPING

Youth e-cigarette use drops, more warnings issued
Here’s the good news. E-cigarette use by youth fell by one-third after two years of spectacular increases, according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey. The survey is conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Conducted between January 16 and March 16 this year, e-cigarette use among high school students dropped from 4.11 million (27.5 percent) in 2019 to 3.02 million (19.6 percent) this year. Use among middle school students was cut in half, from 1.24 million (10.5 percent) in 2019 to 550,000 (4.7 percent) this year. Before you get too excited, see the bad news, below.

Despite the decrease, 40 percent and 20 percent of high school and middle school users, respectively, reported using e-cigarettes on 20 or more of the past 30 days, while 22.5 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively, used them daily.

FDA has sent many warning letters to companies to stop selling unauthorized e-cigarettes to young people, as youth shifted to disposable e-cigarettes and menthol flavored products, neither of which was included in FDA’s flavor ban.

Here's the bad news. Some 26.5 percent of high school students and 15.2 percent of middle schoolers used disposables, while 82.9 percent of both choose flavored products such as fruit, mint, candy, and menthol.

Read JAMA Network story here.

INDUSTRY

Jay-Z launches his very own cannabis line called Monogram
Jay-Z, husband of Beyoncé and entrepreneur, has partnered with a California marijuana company called Caliva to introduce his own marijuana brand, Monogram. A playlist entitled “Monogram: Sounds from the Grow Room” was also released at the same time on Jay-Z’s streaming service platform, Tidal.

The product’s super slick website says, “Monogram marks a new chapter in cannabis defined by dignity, care, and consistency. It is a collective effort to bring you the best, and a humble pursuit to discover what the best truly means.” Jay-Z joins other familiar names who have entered the marijuana industry, including Snoop Dog, Whoopi Goldberg, and Martha Stewart.

Read CNN Business story here.

Campaign to overturn California’s flavored tobacco sales ban accused of misleading voters
Last August, the California Legislature passed a law that bans all flavored tobacco products, including menthol and e-cigarettes. The law will become effective January1, 2021.

Two months later, the tobacco industry filed a federal lawsuit against the state seeking an injunction to block the new law.

Now the industry has contributed $15 million for a referendum to overturn the law. Its coalition has until November 26 to collect enough signatures to make it to the 2022 ballot.

Tobacco Free Kids Action Fund and the American Heart Association have filed complaints with both the state’s Attorney General and Secretary of State asking for an investigation because many of those collecting signatures are misleading voters by asking them to sign petitions for a referendum “to ban tobacco flavors” when the referendum actually seeks to overturn the ban.

Read Los Angeles Times article here.

LEGALIZATION

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant: Initiative 65 is about money, not marijuana medicine
Former-Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant beseeches the state’s citizens to vote no on Initiative 65, which would legalize marijuana for medical use in his state.

He says a $14 billion out-of-state industry “has devised a scheme to give themselves special protections in our State Constitution, and they won’t pay any sales taxes – so no money for our schools, road, or cities. . . . They’ve already spent over $3 million to insert their business plan in our State Constitution.”

“Initiative 65 would empower an un-elected group of 11 Mississippians to run this new industry with unprecedented taxing, spending, and regulatory authority, inconsistent with our system of government and not answerable to the State Legislature or any elected official,” he says.

He adds that studies show marijuana has many harmful effects, yet the industry claims, “this is safe and healthy. It’s a lie from BIG MARIJUANA just like the lies BIG TOBACCO used to tell us.”

Read the Clarksdale Press Register op-ed here.

A second governor says no to legal pot for either use
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem says she also opposes the marijuana initiatives that are on her state’s ballot. Initiated Measure 26 would legalize marijuana for medical use while Constitutional Amendment A would legalize recreational pot.

“I ran for governor telling people that I wanted to build stronger families and create more opportunities for our kids, and I just don’t see smoking pot as a gateway to helping people be better,” she said.

Read Sioux Falls Argus Leader article here.

The true cost of marijuana: A Colorado town that went all-in
Here is a devastating story, written by Charlotte Cuthbertson at The Epoch Times, of what happens when a town embraces legal marijuana.

Pueblo, Colorado tried to replace the loss of its steel industry by welcoming marijuana in 2014, when legal pot became effective. The county commissioner at the time promoted Pueblo as the “Napa Valley of cannabis.” Today, with some 2,000 Pueblo County citizens employed in the marijuana industry, he explains that about half the construction since 2014 is related to marijuana. “We’re well positioned to be a national cultivation hub after federal legalization,” he says.

But at what cost?

Reporter Cuthbertson digs deep to explain. She interviews doctors in “View from the ER” and assesses “Tax Revenue,” “Number on Medicaid,” and “Finding a Sober Workforce.”

Pueblo ER Dr. Karen Randall tells her that every shift brings in a patient with cannabinoid hyperemesis. “In layman’s terms, Cuthbertson writes, “that means someone is screaming and vomiting uncontrollably. The sound is wretched and apocalyptic.”

ER Dr. Brad Roberts tells Cuthbertson he’s seeing increasing cases of psychosis in patients with no previous psychiatric history who are testing positive only for THC. Most of those are “teenagers – so 17, 18, 10,” who admit they “dabbed” right before their psychotic episode.

Taxes - Pueblo City’s mayor says eight marijuana retail stores generate about $100,000 a month in tax revenue. In 2016, citizens tried to opt the city out of retail marijuana but failed. “It’s a great business plan,” says one - give a little bit of my profits to the city so it will never shut me down.

Medicaid – About 41 percent of Puebloans are on Medicaid, Cuthbertson writes, up from 34 percent in 2010.

Workforce – Cuthbertson interviews businesspeople. One tells her that before legalization, “15 to 20 percent of possible hires were denied due to drugs or alcohol.” Today, it’s well over half.

You can read this story in The Epoch Times here by signing up for the digital edition for free.

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Executive Editor, Sue Rusche. Editor, Nicole Carter. Proofreading, Harry Rusche, Professor Emeritus. IT Consultant, Lee Clontz. Social Media Coordinators, Margarita Eberline, Shannon Murphy, MD, FAAP, and Nicole Carter.
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William F. Carter, Chairman of the Board, Coldwell Banker Atlanta. Sue Rusche, President and CEO, Atlanta. Richard L. Brown, Secretary, Attorney (Ret.), Founder & Chairman, Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association, Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Jeannine F. Adams, Director, President and CEO, J. Addams & Partners, Atlanta. Jack L. Arbiser, MD, PhD, Director, Thomas J. Lawley Professor of Dermatology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta. LLP, Atlanta. Debbie Berndt, Director, Parent Movement 2.0, Walnut Creek, California. Margarita Eberline, Director, Strategy Director, Ultim Marketing, Atlanta. Robert Margolis, PhD, Director, Founder, Caron Solutions Intensive Outpatient Program, Roswell, Georgia. Shannon Murphy, MD, FAAP, Director, Birmingham, Alabama.
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