Benefits and Challenges of Integrated Treatment
Stephen M. Stahl, Bret A. Moore in Anxiety Disorders: A Guide for Integrating Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapy, 2013
As an aside, marijuana, as a treatment for anxiety, should be considered along with other pharmacotherapies (Tambaro & Bortolato, 2012); for, although still a Schedule I drug with the Drug Enforcement Administration in the United States, it would appear from anecdotal sources that it is being increasingly prescribed within jurisdictions with local medical marijuana laws. Until recently, studies on marijuana have nearly always focused on its pernicious effects (side effects, if you will) and on the recovery from marijuana abuse (discontinuation syndrome). If cannabis and derivatives are to become increasingly available for medical treatment, then it behooves the clinical psychophar-macologist to know of these substances’ potential therapeutic uses, as well as their potential for adverse effects (Leung, 2011). The few studies examining marijuana's medical use tend to focus on physical maladies, most notably Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, and conditions involving spasticity and/or pain. Of evident absence are studies exploring its well-known anxiolytic characteristics. While at least one study substantiates marijuana as a powerful anxiolytic (Fabre & McLendon, 1981), and a separate preliminary study (Ganon-Elazar & Akirav, 2009) hints at the cannabinoid receptor's role in mitigating acquisition of, and facilitating recovery from, PTSD, the integration of this substance within the balanced treatment of anxiety would tend to argue, as with all pharmacology in the realm of anxiety disorder, for an adjunctive role to complement first-line behavioral therapy.
Health Consequences of Marijuana Use
John Brick in Handbook of the Medical Consequences of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 2012
The number of individuals who enroll for treatment of marijuana-related problems is not small. Seeking treatment for marijuana abuse or dependence increased twofold between 1993 and 2005, such that the percentage of illicit-drug-abuse-treatment admissions in U.S. state-approved agencies for marijuana was 16 percent, was approximately 14 percent, for cocaine, and 14 percent for heroin (SAMHSA, 2005a, b). The response to treatment and relapse rates observed among marijuana-dependent outpatients appeared similar to those observed with other substances of abuse (Budney et al., 2006; Moore and Budney, 2003; Stephens, Roffman, and Curtin, 2000; Stephens, Roffman, and Simpson, 1994). In summary, clinical evidence for a cannabis dependence disorder is strong and indicative of a disorder of substantial severity.
Medical cannabis in mental health–substance use
David B Cooper in Ethics in Mental Health–Substance Use, 2017
While the evidence regarding the physical harms of cannabis might still be reported as somewhat equivocal (Meier et al. 2016), it is associated with a range of real harms. In summarizing a review of the literature, Crépault (2015) found that it may lead to cannabis use disorders (Lopez-Quintero et al. 2011) and both short term and chronic health problems (Hall and Degenhardt 2009; Volkow et al. 2014; World Health Organization 2016). From a public health perspective, they found reports of clear and concerning harms such as lung cancers from smoking it and traffic-related injuries when driving under its influence (Fischer et al. 2016, Imtiaz et al. 2016). The growing body of evidence indicates that younger individuals are most likely to be harmed. Notably, the risk of developing cannabis use disorder is increased if the exposure is started at early age (Le Strat, Dubertret, and Le Foll 2014). Regular cannabis use in adolescence can interfere with the normal development of the brain (George and Vaccarino 2015) with potentially permanent detrimental effects. Those who have a personal or family history of mental illness are more at risk (McLaren et al. 2009). Other key risk factors they found identified in the literature include earlier age and frequency of use, the potency of the product, its formulation and the manner in which it is used (Fischer et al. 2011).
Confirming Savoring’s Link to Fewer Cannabis Problems
Published in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2021
Maha N. Mian, Brianna R. Altman, Luna F. Ueno, Mitch Earleywine
In 2018, nearly 43.5 million people reported using cannabis in the United States (US) alone (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 2019). Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance, and not without consequences: 4.4 million US users met criteria for cannabis use disorder. While the demand for substance use disorder treatment is great, only 11% of individuals in need of care actually receive it (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 2019). Heavy cannabis use, besides being linked to the development of cannabis use disorder, can be detrimental in general (Cousijn et al. 2014; Koenders et al. 2016). Problematic cannabis use covaries with a host of social, cognitive, and health concerns, and co-occurs frequently with psychopathology (Caldeira et al. 2008). These concerns, coupled with the increasing prevalence of cannabis use and cannabis use disorder, prompt interest for developing effective interventions that appeal to users.
Photovoice as a tool for exploring perceptions of marijuana use among Appalachian adolescents
Published in Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 2023
Dana Harley, Theda Rose, Trenette Clark Goings, James Canfield
Marijuana is the second most common drug for which rural people receive substance abuse treatment (Rural Health Reform Policy Research Center, 2014). However, substance use among rural and Appalachian adolescents remains understudied relative to their counterparts. Substance use has increased in rural Appalachia over the past 20 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). In light of marijuana’s legalization in several states and the known negative consequences of its use during adolescence, more information is needed about the factors that contribute to and protect against marijuana abuse (Hawkins et al., 1992). Identifying these factors is essential to the development of effective prevention programs and policies. This article describes how a qualitative technique referred to as photovoice may be used to identify factors associated with marijuana use among understudied cultural groups. These results may, in turn, inform the development of prevention programs and policies.
A scoping review of the prevalence of use of substance among African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) people in Canada
Published in Journal of Substance Use, 2020
Joseph Bertrand Nguemo Djiometio, Asfaw Buzuayew, LaRon E Nelson, Geoffrey Maina, Irene Njoroge, Meldon Kahan, Josephine Wong
equipment which increases the risk of HIV infection (Baidoobonso et al., 2012). This review identified that when people are drunk, they cannot refuse their partners, and some engage in unsafe sexual activities such as unprotected sexual activities (Baidoobonso et al., 2012). This review identified that cigarette smoking can lead to or causes lung cancer, gum/mouth disease, heart disease, asthma, premature/early death, chronic bronchitis/emphysema, bladder cancer, or vision loss/blindness (Elton-Marshall et al., 2018). It was reported that cannabis use can lead to harm such as cannabis use disorder. The cannabis uses disorder identified in this review includes problematic cannabis use. The prevalence of problematic cannabis use (moderate/high) among was 8% among Caribbean and 4% African. (Tuck et al., 2017). Codeine and NSAID prescription use can to lead overdose and death (Ray et al., 2014) whereas opioid use can lead to abuse/addiction (Armstrong, 2017).
Related Knowledge Centers
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- Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
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