Author: Vanessa

Children exposed to cannabis in the womb do not show signs of impaired cognitive or language development by age three, according to new research that challenges concerns about prenatal cannabis use.The study, published in the journal Early Human Development, found that children with prenatal cannabis exposure actually scored higher on language assessments than unexposed children, and performed equally well on cognitive tests.Recent data shows that past-month cannabis use amongst pregnant women in the US has grown from 3.8% in 2002 to 7% in 2017, and daily use during pregnancy increased from 0.9% to 3.5% in the same period.This prompted the…

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have discovered that cannabis compounds could offer a new approach to treating obesity and type 2 diabetes, despite the plant’s well-known appetite-stimulating effects.The study, published in The Journal of Physiology, found that while both pure delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and whole-plant cannabis extracts reduced body weight in obese mice, only the full-spectrum extracts from the whole plant successfully normalised glucose metabolism.Professor Nicholas V. DiPatrizio, who led the research at UC Riverside’s School of Medicine, said the findings could explain a longstanding medical paradox. “We would think that chronic cannabis users would be eating more…

It’s not an understatement to say Bam Margera is a cultural icon. Pro skateboarder. Jackass and Viv La Bam star. Merch magnate. His innate penchant for filming every aspect of his life paid dividends early on. Before MTV, reality television, and Jackass, Bam built his reputation through homemade skate videos, prank footage, and a tight-knit West Chester, Pennsylvania crew that became known as CKY, short for “Camp Kill Yourself.” The videos blended aggressive street skating, absurd stunts, destruction, music, and the kind of chaotic humor that later contributed to the blueprint for Jackass. The original CKY circle included Bam, his…

People at clinical high risk (CHR) of developing psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia who use tobacco and cannabis together are nearly three times more likely to develop psychosis, according to a new study published in Nature Mental Health.Researchers from Vanderbilt Health analysed data involving more than 1,000 participants from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study, a multisite psychotic disorder study conducted across North America that collected data on CHR individuals.Clinical data from CHR people who use tobacco and cannabis concurrently were compared to that of people who use both substances together and were not considered to be at risk of…

More than half of older adults seeking cannabis for health concerns are choosing combination THC-CBD edible products over single-cannabinoid options, according to new research published in JAMA Network Open.Researchers from the University of Utah Health and the University of Colorado Boulder interviewed 169 adults over the age of 60 who were about to purchase cannabis for the first time between November 2021 and November 2023.The study identified six primary motivations for trying cannabis: seeking alternatives to pharmaceutical medications, having exhausted other treatment options, experiencing worsening age-related symptoms, influence of evidence or social claims of benefit, interest in recreational use, and…

A new systematic review and meta-analysis of multiple studies investigating the use of cannabis as a medicine for fibromyalgia has found that it is a safe and effective way for patients to treat their pain.A Hong Kong-led team of researchers also found cannabis to be a useful therapy for sleep, anxiety, quality of life, and depression, all of which are symptoms often experienced by those living with fibromyalgia. Their analysis shows that cannabis treatment was well tolerated amongst participants with no serious adverse events and only a small number of minor adverse events such as dizziness, fatigue and dry mouth.The…

Nearly all patients prescribed medical cannabis for mental health conditions reported symptom improvement, according to the largest multi-clinic patient survey of its kind in the UK.The survey, conducted across Mamedica, Alternaleaf, CB1 Medical and Curaleaf in April 2026, gathered responses from 6,282 patients. Of the 5,128 patients prescribed treatment for anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 97.6% reported improvement in symptoms, whilst 92.3% reported better sleep, and 93.5% said their ability to function day to day had improved.Most strikingly, 88.3% of respondents said medical cannabis was the most effective treatment they had tried for their condition, with 90.7% reporting…

People with major depressive disorder (MDD) are more than 10 times more likely to have cannabis use disorder (CUD) than the general population, according to a major new study analysing data from over 3 million participants.The meta-analysis, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, found that 31.12% of those with CUD also had MDD, whilst 10.13% of those with MDD were dealing with CUD – compared to less than 0.3% in the general population. The link works bidirectionally, meaning high rates of co-occurrence exist regardless of which condition develops first.The multinational team of researchers said that despite the simultaneous occurrence…

Cannabis has long been spoken about in feminine terms: the Green Goddess, lunar cycles, pot girls, and canna-moms. Cannabis growers speak about the “mother plant,” the living genetic anchors from which entire harvests emerge. A healthy mother plant is not rushed. She is protected, tended to carefully, relied upon for consistency, resilience, and future growth. And yet, despite the cannabis industry’s dependence on the language and labor of caregiving, motherhood itself is still frequently underestimated inside the business. Mothers are often treated as peripheral to innovation rather than central to it. They are expected to nurture quietly while an industry…

Researchers at Imperial College London have demonstrated that a 25mg dose of psilocybin – the primary active compound in magic mushrooms – produces significant changes in brain activity within just one hour of administration, with structural alterations still detectable one month later.The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, examined 28 healthy volunteers who had never previously used psychedelic substances. Using electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, scientists tracked both immediate and long-term effects on brain structure and function.Within hours of taking psilocybin, participants showed a marked increase in brain entropy – a measure of signal complexity that…