MedCanna Today

Interview with Dr. Ceasar about Cannabis and Pregnancy

Rachel Carmen Ceasar, PhD [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelceasar/], is a medical anthropologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the University of Southern California [https://keck.usc.edu/faculty-search/rachel-carmen-ceasar/] (USC) Keck School of Medicine. She leads the USC Maternal Cannabis Lab [https://sites.usc.edu/maternal-cannabis-lab/], where her and her team document historic and systematic inequities people face when they use cannabis during pregnancy. Their goal in this work is to research and partner with maternal health providers, patients, and cannabis dispensaries to develop person-centered and harm reduction-based education that supports--rather than criminalizes—parents during pregnancy and postpartum.  She is working to figure out the best way to educate medical professionals and make sure pregnant women have access to proper education if they are using Cannabis while pregnant.

Interview with Dr. Lehfeldt about Medical Cannabis

On this episode we interview Dr. Lehfeldt who is a life long Cannabis advocate who serves as the Senior Director of Clinical Science and Partnerships for Vireo Health. Vireo Health is a Physician-led Cannabis company that provides both products and education. She is responsible for overseeing and managing all Social Equity and Educational Development initiatives across Vireo's network. She is also the co-chair of the INclusion Council and the Chair of the National Cannabis INdustry Association's Scientific Advisory Committee. She is passionate about Cannabis health equity, social equity and Cannabis as a treatment for mental health issues. You can find her on LinkedIn where she posts great content about Cannabis here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paloma-lehfeldt-md-80084112/]. Here is the link to the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23670490/] that was discussed about PTSD and changes in the brain regarding the CB1 receptor. 0:00 Cannabis Education with Dr. Lehfeldt 02:08 Cannabis and Western Medication 07:12 Cannabis and Medical Education 11:18 Alternative medicine and Cannabis 14:19 Educating Healthcare providers on Cannabis 19:24 Endocannabinoid System education 20:23 Descheduling Cannabis 23:48 The Medicinal benefits of Cannabis 29:38 Cannabis and Schizophrenia 34:09 Pro-Cannabis associations 39:25 Safe access to Cannabis 41:29 Psychedelics as a treatment 45:53 CBD benefits for medical professionals.

What is the FDA's opinion about CBD?

CBD continues to be in the gray area in the eyes of the FDA and all other 3 lettered agencies. Stephanie and Charlie discuss the FDA's newest "ruling" about CBD in regards to its legal status. Legitimate CBD and hemp business owners in the industry want regulation so they know what the rules are to better serve the industry.  Hat tip to WherezHemp for the article: https://wherezhemp.com/article/the-fda-just-refused-to-regulate-the-popular-cannabis-product-as-a-dietary-supplement.html [https://wherezhemp.com/article/the-fda-just-refused-to-regulate-the-popular-cannabis-product-as-a-dietary-supplement.html]

Does Cannabis Cause Psychosis?

Come listen as we discuss recently published JAMA article titled, " State Cannabis legalization and Psychosis- Related Health Care Utilization". It is a robust retrospective study looking at the effects of legalized cannabis on psychosis diagnosis.    Link to article: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2800728 [Come listen as we discuss recently published JAMA article titled, " State Cannabis legalization and Psychosis- Related Health Care Utilization". It is a robust retrospective study looking at the effects of legalized cannabis on psychosis diagnosis. Link to article: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2800728]

Cannabis and Pregnancy- Review of a published article

Stephanie Ochoa, PA-C and Charlie Piermarini, PA-C discuss a recently published research article about Cannabis use in pregnant woman from the Healthy Start program in Colorado. This was a NIH funded paper, which is great and shows the progress the field is making. But, were the conclusions and study design fair? Come listen! Here is a copy of the published article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9202691/