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JULY 1, 2022
AIKEN-AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006
YAY!
OR NOT
As you may have noticed, news of the pandemic’s death has been greatly exaggerated. We checked the numbers for June 27 and on that day more than 103,000 new cases were reported in the U.S. Anecdotally, we’ve heard reports from area employers where entire departments tested positive and are out of commission. News reports talk about new variants on the rise. The good news: COVID has gradually become less of a killer and more of an inconvenience. Even at that level, however, it still poses the possibility of long-term symptoms. The best strategy: continue to use preventive measures. +
AUGUSTARX.COM
GOING TO POT
People who smoked marijuana in the 60s and 70s ran the risk of going to prison for using, and many of them did — not just for a few days or weeks, either; sometimes for years. Their children and grandchildren in many places around the world and right here at home can walk down the street smoking weed in broad daylight that they bought in a store that advertises what they sell with neon signs. The trend of legalization, decriminalization and availability is steadily growing everywhere, and along with it grows the perception that weed is safe and harmless and is finally enjoying the free access that it should have always had. The medical community, meanwhile — at least some elements within it — is saying “not so fast.” After all, tobacco is perfectly legal and available everywhere, and no one thinks its use is safe or healthful. Legality and salubriousness are two entirely different matters. On the positive side, marijuana use does not have many of the problems of other adult indulgences. As just one example, hangovers are an alcohol problem, not a weed problem. But there are other issues that concern doctors, and should be of concern to partakers of the various elements of the marijuana family: cannabis, CBD, and THC. As a starting point, it’s common knowledge that the potency of marijuana
today is tremendously higher than it was a generation ago. Some products can have THC concentrations as high as 90%. By comparison, an analysis published in Biological Psychiatry in 2017 noted that cannabis potency in 1995 was about 4%. As weed comes more and more into the mainstream of recreational use, it’s easy to forget that it still delivers a drug that can affect mental clarity, and its potency is increasing. For that reason, marijuana addiction or cannabis withdrawal is actually a thing, even though that possibility was viewed as a ridiculous notion even just a few years ago. In fact, in 2018 the journal Neuropsychopharmacology reported study results showing that as many as 90% of heavy marijuana users who quit experience withdrawal symptoms. Given increasing use and potency, it’s hard to imagine that the incidence of withdrawal issues has dropped since 2018.
Another point of concern is product safety. While traditional medications are heavily regulated for purity and the accuracy of their claims of effectiveness, CBD and THC products are the type that make impressive promises but have ads or packaging with disclaimers like, “These claims have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.” The very fact that CBD products are sold everywhere — from pharmacies to off-brand convenience stores — is a good reminder that CBD products are can be of unknown quality. You wonder if the product you’re buying is made in a sterile facility under meticulous manufacturing guidelines, or by some entrepreneurial stoner in his garage. In one study of 20 legal cannabis dispensaries, contaminants were found in plant-based products from all 20. The same concerns are often raised about vaping products, which are available in about a million flavor and additive options (which in some places can include THC and CBD). The entire industry has exploded so rapidly that health information and safety regulations are having a hard time keeping pace. The FDA’s website admits, “The FDA has seen only limited data about CBD safety [but] these data point to real risks that need to be considered before taking CBD for any reason.” Please see GOING TO POT page 9
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