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Biological Responses in Context
Published in Arthur T. Johnson, Biology for Engineers, 2019
Psychoactive drugs modify the normal functioning of synaptic neurotransmitters in the brain. LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide) mimics the neurotransmitter serotonin and can also substitute for dopamine. These drugs excite the same neuronal receptors as serotonin in the primitive part of the brain, the brainstem. Continued use of LSD, however, leads to tolerance and decreased effectiveness (Jacobs, 1987; Jacobs and Trulson, 1979).
General Aviation
Published in Suzanne K. Kearns, Fundamentals of International Aviation, 2021
License holders are not permitted to use psychoactive substances, as these can impair a person’s mental processes and create a safety risk. Psychoactive substances include alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, cocaine, other psychostimulants, hallucinogens, and volatile solvents. Coffee and tobacco are excluded from this category, as their use is generally considered acceptable [9].
Operations
Published in Suzanne K. Kearns, Fundamentals of International Aviation, 2018
Licence holders are not permitted to use psychoactive substances as these can impair a person’s mental processes and create a safety risk. Psychoactive substances include alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, cocaine, other psychostimulants, hallucinogens, and volatile solvents. Coffee and tobacco are excluded from this category as their use is generally considered acceptable.5
Occupational health and safety in cannabis production: an Australian perspective
Published in International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2018
Maggie Davidson, Sue Reed, Jacques Oosthuizen, Greg O’Donnell, Pragna Gaur, Martyn Cross, Gary Dennis
The most notable difference between the health risk associated with medicinal cannabis and hemp is the presence of the psychoactive THC. Exposure to THC can cause mood disturbance, diminished memory, and disorientation. Surface contamination with THC has been observed in commercial recreational cannabis farms [20], forensic botany laboratory (unpublished data), and in illegal indoor grow houses [69]. Air sampling for THC resulted in a considerable number of samples below the limit of detection, indicating this may be a less common exposures pathway [21,69]. The health impacts from long-term occupational exposure to THC are unknown, and there are no published exposures limits for aerosols or surfaces contaminated with THC. Workplace THC exposures should be kept ALARP, and workers should report any changes to mood, memory, or disorientation to supervisors that may result from working in either the cultivation or production facilities. Worker exposure to THC can be minimised through implementation of routine cleaning programs, promotion of good personal hygiene (washing hands prior to eating or drinking), and the supply and use of appropriate PPE (gloves, respirator, and coveralls) for tasks where exposure could be significant.
Postharvest blanching and drying of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) with infrared and hot air heating for enhanced processing efficiency and microbial inactivation
Published in Drying Technology, 2023
Chang Chen, Ke Wang, Ivan Wongso, Zhaokun Ning, Ragab Khir, Daniel Putnam, Irwin R. Donis-González, Zhongli Pan
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has historically been cultivated worldwide for a long time for textile, clothing and building materials.[1] In recent years, this crop has re-gained its popularity in both academic research and industrial productions, particularly in biomedical, food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical areas, due to high nutrient and bioactive compound contents. Hemp seeds contain high contents of protein (31.5 g protein/100 raw hemp seed) with all 9 essential amino acids. Gorissen et al.[2] showed that the essential amino acids compromised 22% of the total protein in hemp seed proteins, which was higher than lupins, oats, or wheat. In addition, hemp seeds contain 25% to 30% lipids with high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Particularly, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in hemp seeds is around 3:1, which is recommended for a healthy diet for human.[3] Recently, the colas (including flower and leaf) of industrial hemp plants are gaining increased interest, due to the bioactive compounds with medical and health-promoting values.[4] Particularly, hemp flower (also known as inflorescence) is rich in cannabidiol (CBD) and terpene compounds, which become popular substances in the therapeutic and pharmaceutical industries. Current studies have shown that CBD intake benefits distress/anxiety reduction, pain relief, and relaxation.[5] Recent studies have also shown that terpene compounds in hemp could generate “entourage effects” with the cannabinoids, and improve the medicinal properties.[6] According to the regulations on the contents of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the well-known psychoactive compound in cannabis, cannabis is classified into two major categories. With THC > 0.3%, it is named “marijuana,” which is known as the recreational cannabis and is legally regulated in lots of countries in the world. On the other hand, when THC < 0.3%, it is called “Industrial hemp.” Due to the low content of THC, industrial hemp shows more potential in daily uses, such as pharmaceutical and cosmetical, or even food applications.[7] Particularly, the pass of the “2018 Farm Bill” by the United States FDA legalized the production of industrial hemp and WHO removed CBD from the restricted substance list 2021 have created an incentive for innovative and essential research and applications of industrial hemp. However, the postharvest technologies of it have not been well studied in the past.
Collisions and cannabis: Measuring the effect of recreational marijuana legalization on traffic crashes in Washington State
Published in Traffic Injury Prevention, 2023
There is an urgent need for a better method of testing drivers for acute cannabis intoxication. The current process is considerably less accurate than that employed to measure alcohol intoxication: while alcohol’s inebriating effects can be closely tracked by measuring blood alcohol concentration, a parallel marker of impairment doesn’t exist for cannabis. That’s because serum levels of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, do not well correlate with a user’s impairment. Indeed, regular cannabis users might test positive for the inactive THC metabolite carboxy-THC (THC-COOH) several days or even weeks after consumption—well after the intoxicating effects of the drug have worn off (Bergamaschi et al. 2013; Mørland and Bramness 2020; Ramaekers et al. 2009). This makes accurate testing for acute cannabis intoxication among drivers particularly challenging. Nonetheless, Washington’s Initiative 502 established a per se DUI limit for cannabis of 5 ng/mL (5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood). This policy threshold, though, is problematic because “cannabis-sober” drivers, particularly chronic users who have consumed cannabis within days (but not hours) of driving, could potentially test “positive” for THC metabolites without being impaired by consumption. Indeed, Robbe (1998) finds that plasma levels of THC did not well correlate with driving impairment. This obviously presents a challenge for policymakers who wish to legislate traffic safety among cannabis users, but it makes studying the consequences of DUI-C more difficult as well. Without a clear litmus test of cannabis impairment, it’s particularly challenging to attribute collision culpability to the effects of cannabis (Ramaekers et al. 2009). Despite these measurement drawbacks, many studies continue to use serum levels of THC to measure impairment. Indeed, studies which rely on drug indicators with FARS data are subject to this caveat: FARS data report “drug positivity” as the presence of the drug, not intoxication by said substance (Berning and Smither 2014). This ambiguity also presents a challenge for drivers who wish to use cannabis responsibility. How much is too much? How long should one wait after consuming before they can safely drive? Do these guidelines differ depending upon the method of cannabis consumption (e.g., smoking, vaping, edibles)? Much of the prior empirical research treats cannabis as binary (e.g., it’s either legal or not; one is either intoxicated or not), but of course it’s more nuanced than that. I attempt to circumvent this by using cannabis sales as an independent variable, but others might want to focus on how clinical impairment increases with dosage, timing, and/or method of consumption. This is particularly important because it seems commercially available recreational cannabis is of a much higher potency and might impact drivers differently compared to the relatively low doses administered during most drive tests/simulations. Burt et al. (2021) provides an excellent discussion of these concerns.