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What Is The Impact Of Marijuana Usage On Sexual Dysfunction Among Individual And How Do Factors Such As Frequency Of Use, Dosage, And Duration Of Marijuana Consumption Influence Sexual Function, Zachary A. Harris, Russell Levi, Saad Ahmed

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Sexual health is an integral piece of human vitality, encompassing a multitude of psychological & physiological factors. There has been an unprecedented amount of interest surrounding cannabis and its impact on sexual function in the past decade. The interplay between the acceptance of cannabis and its widespread use presents the need for research into the correlation between cannabis and sexual health outcomes. The primary components of cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have attracted scrutiny for their potential effects on sexual function. Anecdotal accounts suggest heightened sexual desire and pleasure, however there are conflicting reports raising concerns regarding performance issues …

Individual Differences In Cannabis Use Disorder With Implications For Endocannabinoid Modulation In Therapeutics Development, Erin Martin

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is increasingly prevalent in the United States, but there is no effective pharmacological means to treat it. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system has emerged as a candidate therapeutic target demonstrating some evidence of efficacy in treating CUD. However, clinical trials evaluating eCB-modulating therapeutics have historically undervalued individual differences that could contribute to variation in treatment outcome (e.g. sex, comorbid psychiatric illness). To address this gap in the literature, the present set of studies (a) compared plasma eCB tone in groups underrepresented in treatment trials for CUD (females, individuals with comorbid major depressive disorder; MDD/CUD) with males or …

Characterization Of Childhood Trauma, Hippocampal Mediation And Cannabis Use In A Large Dataset Of Psychosis And Non-Psychosis Individuals, Elisabetta C. Del Re, Walid Yassin, Victor Zeng, Sarah Keedy, Ney Alliey-Rodriguez, Elena Ivleva, Scott Hill, Nicole Rychagov, Jennifer E. Mcdowell, Jeffrey R. Bishop

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Background

Cannabis use (CA) and childhood trauma (CT) independently increase the risk of earlier psychosis onset; but their interaction in relation to psychosis risk and association with endocannabinoid-receptor rich brain regions, i.e. the hippocampus (HP), remains unclear. The objective was to determine whether lower age of psychosis onset (AgePsyOnset) is associated with CA and CT through mediation by the HP volumes, and genetic risk, as measured by schizophrenia polygene scores (SZ-PGRS).

Methods

Cross-sectional, case-control, multicenter sample from 5 metropolitan US regions. Participants (n = 1185) included 397 controls not affected by psychosis (HC); 209 participants with bipolar disorder type-1; …

Cannabis Cues And Effects On Social Anxiety, Erica Steinberg

All Master's Theses

Prior research has shown that individuals experiencing social anxiety may use cannabis for self-medication; therefore, the current study evaluated if viewing cannabis cues would reduce feelings of social anxiety. Central Washington University undergraduates enrolled in psychology courses (n = 124; 66.7% female; M_age = 19.8, SD_age = 4.7) were shown cannabis cues after viewing expressive facial images that prior research has shown induces feelings of social anxiety. Contrary to prior research, the current study found that emotional faces did not significantly affect state-trait anxiety as measured by the 6-item State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-6) but that trait social …

Changes In Mental Health As A Predictor Of Cannabis Coping Motives And Consequences: Examining The Impact Of Covid-19 Among College Students, Rebecca Dunaief, Adrian Jorge Bravo, James Henson

Psychology Faculty Publications

Objective: Cannabis use is common among college students and many students use cannabis to cope with negative affect. The COVID-19 pandemic was a particularly stressful time for college students. Subsequently, the present study compared college students who reported increases in anxiety/depression symptoms since COVID-19 stay at home orders to those who reported no change in anxiety/depression symptoms on cannabis coping motives, use frequency, and negative consequences. Specifically, we examined whether self-reported changes (i.e., group that indicated increases) in poor mental health during COVID-19 were associated with problematic cannabis use via higher cannabis coping motives. Method: College students (analytic n = …

Cannabis Sleep Aid Use In Daily College Life: An Intensive Longitudinal Assessment Approach, Patricia A. Goodhines

Dissertations - ALL

Objective: Emerging evidence suggests that college cannabis sleep aid use may increase vulnerability to diurnal impairment, despite proximal sleep-related benefits. In contrast, relatively little is known about proximal precipitants of cannabis sleep aid use in daily college life. The identification of modifiable, situational intervention points preceding cannabis sleep aid use in daily college life is critical to accelerate the development of college harm reduction efforts. This 14-night mixed methods study tested temporal associations of THC-based cannabis sleep aid use with cognitive arousal-based precipitants (consistent with cognitive theory of insomnia) and sleep outcomes.

Method: Daily diary (pre-sleep and waking) and actigraphy …

Congenital Anomaly Epidemiological Correlates Of Δ8thc Across Usa 2003–16: Panel Regression And Causal Inferential Study, Albert Stuart Reece, Gary Kenneth Hulse

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Δ8-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8THC) is marketed in many US states as ‘legal weed’. Concerns exist relating to class-wide genotoxic cannabinoid effects. We conducted an epidemiological investigation of Δ8THC-related genotoxicity expressed as 57 congenital anomaly (CA) rates (CARs) in the USA. CARs were taken from the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia. Drug exposure data were taken from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, with a response rate of 74.1%. Ethnicity and income data were taken from the US Census Bureau. National cannabinoid exposure was taken from Drug Enforcement Agency publications and multiplied by state cannabis use data to derive state-based …

Lessons Of The Opioid Epidemic - December 3, 2021, Mitchell J. Cohen, Md, Joey Flaxer, Md, Phd, Marianna Lanoue, Phd

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Grand Rounds

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Prenatal Cannabis Exposure On Offspring Emotional Development And Stress Response, Alexandra Pritchett

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

While cannabis may be used by women during pregnancy, its effects on their offsprings’ developing stress response system are still largely unknown. The binding sites for the active chemicals in cannabis are operational at early time points in fetal development and are expressed in key limbic brain structures. The body’s natural endocannabinoid system serves as an important regulator of the stress response. Longitudinal studies have associated prenatal exposure with increased fearfulness and mood disturbances in offspring, but, despite the growing evidence of emotional dysfunction, there remains a critical gap in knowledge explaining how early prenatal exposure may lead to future …

Genetic Variation And Sex Mediate Differential Responses To ∆-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Among Inbred Mice, Cory Parks

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The plant Cannabis sativa has been used by people for both recreational and medicinal use for thousands of years, but scientific investigation of the plant and its components didn’t begin until the early nineteen hundreds when Cannabis components known as phytocannabinoids were characterized and later isolated. In the 1970’s, ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was isolated and recognized as the major constituent responsible for the psychoactive and intoxicating effects associated with consumption of cannabis. This opened the door for intensive research in the field that lead to the discovery of the endogenous cannabinoid system and its associated receptors, effectors of signaling, and biosynthetic …

Associations Of First Trimester Co-Use Of Tobacco And Cannabis With Prenatal Immune Response And Psychosocial Well-Being, Kristin Ashford, Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Andrea Mccubbin, Amanda T. Wiggins, Sheila Barnhart, Joshua A. Lile

Perinatal Research and Wellness Center Faculty Publications

PURPOSE: This study aims to describe the association of first trimester co-use of tobacco and cannabis with maternal immune response and psychosocial well-being, relative to tobacco use only.

METHODS: A preliminary midpoint analysis included 138 pregnant women with biologically verified tobacco use, 38 of whom (28%) also tested positive for recent cannabis use. Maternal perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), and serum immune markers (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNFα, CRP, MMP8), were collected, although cytokine data were only available for 122 women.

RESULTS: Participant average age was 29.1 years, approximately half had a high …

Cannabis And Psychosis Through The Lens Of Dsm-5, Nathan T. Pearson, James H. Berry

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Evidence for an association between cannabis and psychosis has been documented in literature in many forms including experimental studies, epidemiological data, and case series. The association has implications for psychotic outcomes ranging from mild to severe and occurring over minutes to years. Due to the huge variety of exposures and outcome measures reported, creating a coherent account of all the available information is difficult. A useful way to conceptualize these wide-ranging results is to consider the association between cannabis and psychosis as it occurs within the context of widely used DSM-5 diagnoses. In the present review we examine cannabis/psychosis associations …

A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial Of N-Acetylcysteine For Cannabis Use Disorder In Adults, Kevin M. Gray, Susan C. Sonne, Erin A. Mcclure, Udi E. Ghitza, Abigail G. Matthews, Aimee L. Mcrae-Clark, Kathleen M. Carroll, Jennifer S. Potter, Katharina Wiest, Larissa J. Mooney, Albert Hasson, Sharon L. Walsh, Michelle R. Lofwall, Shanna Babalonis, Robert W. Lindblad, Steven Sparenborg, Aimee Wahle, Jacqueline S. King, Nathaniel L. Baker, Rachel L. Tomko, Louise F. Haynes, Ryan G. Vandrey, Frances R. Levin

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background—Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is a prevalent and impairing condition, and established psychosocial treatments convey limited efficacy. In light of recent findings supporting the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for CUD in adolescents, the objective of this trial was to evaluate its efficacy in adults.

Methods—In a 12-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial, treatment-seeking adults ages 18–50 with CUD (N=302), enrolled across six National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network-affiliated clinical sites, were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to a 12-week course of NAC 1200 mg (n=153) or placebo (n=149) twice daily. All …

Comparing Adult Cannabis Treatment-Seekers Enrolled In A Clinical Trial With National Samples Of Cannabis Users In The United States, Erin A. Mcclure, Jacqueline S. King, Aimee Wahle, Abigail G. Matthews, Susan C. Sonne, Michelle R. Lofwall, Aimee L. Mcrae-Clark, Udi E. Ghitza, Melissa Martinez, Kasie Cloud, Harvir S. Virk, Kevin M. Gray

Center on Drug and Alcohol Research Faculty Publications

Background—Cannabis use rates are increasing among adults in the United States (US) while the perception of harm is declining. This may result in an increased prevalence of cannabis use disorder and the need for more clinical trials to evaluate efficacious treatment strategies. Clinical trials are the gold standard for evaluating treatment, yet study samples are rarely representative of the target population. This finding has not yet been established for cannabis treatment trials. This study compared demographic and cannabis use characteristics of a cannabis cessation clinical trial sample (run through National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network) with three nationally …

Sex Differences In The Subjective Effects Of Oral Δ9-Thc In Cannabis Users, Jessica S. Fogel, Thomas H. Kelly, Philip M. Westgate, Joshua A. Lile

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Previous studies suggest that there are sex differences in endocannabinoid function and the response to exogenous cannabinoids, though data from clinical studies comparing acute cannabinoid effects in men and women under controlled laboratory conditions are limited. To further explore these potential differences, data from 30 cannabis users (N=18 M, 12 F) who completed previous Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC) discrimination studies were combined for this retrospective analysis. In each study, subjects learned to discriminate between oral Δ⁹-THC and placebo and then received a range of Δ⁹-THC doses (0, 5, 15 and a “high” dose of …

Perceived Harms And Benefits Of Parental Cannabis Use, And Parents’ Reports Regarding Harm-Reduction Strategies, Kathleen J. Donoghue

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research focussed on families in which at least one parent was a long-term cannabis user; I explored family members’ perceptions of the benefits and harms of cannabis use and the strategies parents used to minimise cannabis-related harm to themselves and their children. In depth, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 43 individuals from 13 families, producing a series of family case studies that enabled examination of multiple perspectives within each family. In Study 1, I used an interpretive framework guided by Miles and Huberman’s (1994) thematic content analysis technique to analyse interview data, while study 2 yielded detailed descriptive vignettes …

Cannabis & Psychosis: The Interface Emerging Frontiers For Research, Amresh Shrivastava

Amresh Srivastava

INTRODUCTION: CANNABIS CONTINUES TO AFFECT MENTAL HEALTH. ITS ABUSE IS ON RISE GLOBALLY. IN CANADA A RISE BY 30% IN LAST TEN YEARS HAS BEEN OBSERVED IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. INTERRELATIONSHIP OF CANNABIS WITH PSYCHOSIS AND SCHIZOPHRENIA IS A COMPLEX ONE. CANNABIS IS HIGHLY COMORBID WITH PSYCHOSIS, & RELATED TO FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY AND OUTCOME. IT POSES SEVERAL CHALLENGES IN UNDERSTANDING CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP FOR COMORBIDITY, UNDERLYING NEUROCHEMICAL BASIS AND SPECIFICS OF SERVICE DEVELOPMENT. PREVALENCE OF CANNABIS VARIES FROM 20 TO 50% EARLY PSYCHOSIS. OBJECTIVE OF THIS PAPER IS TO REVIEW AVAILABLE LITERATURE TO IDENTIFY CHALLENGES FOR NEWER TARGETS OF RESEARCH AND …

Interface Of Cannabis And Early Psychosis--Priorities In Research And Service Development, Amresh Srivastava

Amresh Srivastava

Introduction: cannabis continues to affect mental health. Its abuse is on rise globally. In Canada a rise by 30% in last ten years has been observed in high school students. Interrelationship of cannabis with psychosis and schizophrenia is a complex one. Cannabis is highly comorbid with psychosis, & related to functional disability and outcome. It poses several challenges in understanding causal relationship for comorbidity, underlying neurochemical basis and specifics of service development. Prevalence of Cannabis varies from 20 to 50% early psychosis. Objective of this paper is to review available literature to identify challenges for newer targets of research and …

Interface Of Cannabis And Early Psychosis--Priorities In Research And Service Development, Amresh Srivastava

Psychiatry Presentations

Introduction: cannabis continues to affect mental health. Its abuse is on rise globally. In Canada a rise by 30% in last ten years has been observed in high school students. Interrelationship of cannabis with psychosis and schizophrenia is a complex one. Cannabis is highly comorbid with psychosis, & related to functional disability and outcome. It poses several challenges in understanding causal relationship for comorbidity, underlying neurochemical basis and specifics of service development. Prevalence of Cannabis varies from 20 to 50% early psychosis. Objective of this paper is to review available literature to identify challenges for newer targets of research and …

Cannabis & Psychosis: The Interface Emerging Frontiers For Research, Amresh Shrivastava

Psychiatry Presentations

INTRODUCTION: CANNABIS CONTINUES TO AFFECT MENTAL HEALTH. ITS ABUSE IS ON RISE GLOBALLY. IN CANADA A RISE BY 30% IN LAST TEN YEARS HAS BEEN OBSERVED IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. INTERRELATIONSHIP OF CANNABIS WITH PSYCHOSIS AND SCHIZOPHRENIA IS A COMPLEX ONE. CANNABIS IS HIGHLY COMORBID WITH PSYCHOSIS, & RELATED TO FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY AND OUTCOME. IT POSES SEVERAL CHALLENGES IN UNDERSTANDING CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP FOR COMORBIDITY, UNDERLYING NEUROCHEMICAL BASIS AND SPECIFICS OF SERVICE DEVELOPMENT. PREVALENCE OF CANNABIS VARIES FROM 20 TO 50% EARLY PSYCHOSIS. OBJECTIVE OF THIS PAPER IS TO REVIEW AVAILABLE LITERATURE TO IDENTIFY CHALLENGES FOR NEWER TARGETS OF RESEARCH AND …