Significant changes have taken place in the policy landscape surrounding cannabis legalization, production, and use. During the past 20 years, 25 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis and/or cannabidiol (a component of cannabis) for medical conditions or retail sales at the state level and 4 states have legalized both the medical and recreational use of cannabis. These landmark changes in policy have impacted cannabis use patterns and perceived levels of risk. However, despite this changing landscape, evidence regarding the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use remains elusive. While a myriad of studies have examined cannabis use in all its various forms, often these research conclusions are not appropriately synthesized, translated for, or communicated to policy makers, health care providers, state health officials, or other stakeholders who have been charged with influencing and enacting policies, procedures, and laws related to cannabis use. Unlike other controlled substances such as alcohol or tobacco, no accepted standards for safe use or appropriate dose are available to help guide individuals as they make choices regarding the issues of if, when, where, and how to use cannabis safely and, in regard to therapeutic uses, effectively. Shifting public sentiment, conflicting and impeded scientific research, and legislative battles have fueled the debate about what, if any, harms or benefits can be attributed to the use of cannabis or its derivatives, and this lack of aggregated knowledge has broad public health implications. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids provides a comprehensive review of scientific evidence related to the health effects and potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis. This report provides a research agendaâ€"outlining gaps in current knowledge and opportunities for providing additional insight into these issuesâ€"that summarizes and prioritizes pressing research needs.

At the last Annual Representative Meeting of the British Medical Association a motion was passed that `certain additional cannabinoids should be legalized for wider medicinal use.'' This report supports this landmark statement by reviewing the scientific evidence for the therapeutic use of cannabinoids and sets the agenda for change. It will be welcomed by those who believe that cannabinoids can be used in medical treatment. The report discusses in a clear and readable form the use and adverse effects of the drug for nausea, multiple sclerosis, pain, epilepsy, glaucoma, and asthma.

Cannabis products are the most widely trafficked drugs worldwide, and it also remains the most widely used drug worldwide. At the same time, production methods have become increasingly sophisticated, resulting in the availability in illicit markets of a wide range of cannabis products. This updated and significantly revised manual has been prepared taking into account both developments in analytical technology and advances in the science of cannabis. It is aimed at the harmonization and establishment of recommended methods of analysis for national drug analysis laboratories. The manual suggests approaches that may assist drug analysts in the selection of methods appropriate to the sample under examination and provide data suitable for the purpose at hand, leaving room also for adaptation to the level of sophistication of different laboratories and the various legal needs.

A volume in the Emerging Issues in Analytical Chemistry series, The Analytical Chemistry of Cannabis: Quality Assessment, Assurance, and Regulation of Medicinal Marijuana and Cannabinoid Preparations provides analytical chemistry methods that address the latest issues surrounding cannabis-based products. The plethora of marketed strains of cannabis and cannabinoid-containing products, combined with the lack of industry standards and labelling requirements, adds to the general perception of poor quality control and limited product oversight. The methods described in this leading-edge volume help to support the manufacturing, labelling, and distribution of safe and consistent products with known chemical content and demonstrated performance characteristics. It treats analytical chemistry within the context of the diverse issues surrounding medicinal and recreational cannabis in a manner designed to foster understanding and rational perspective in non-scientist stakeholders as well as scientists who are concerned with bringing a necessary degree of order to a field now characterized by confusion and contradiction. Addresses current and emerging analytical chemistry methods - an approach that is unique among the literature on this topic Presents information from a broad perspective of the issues in a single compact volume Employs language comprehensible to non-technical stakeholders as well as to specialists in analytical chemistry

Analysis of Cannabis, Volume 91, contains a wide variety of information on the analysis of cannabis and hemp, including cannabinoids, terpenes, volatile solvents and metals. Specific chapters in this new release include the Comprehensive Analytical Testing of Cannabis and Hemp, Machine Learning Methods for Inferring Chemotype Profiles in Cannabis Sativa, Recent Analytical Methodologies and Strategic Pharmacological Applications of Cannabinoids, Analysis of Cannabinoids in Plants, Marijuana Products and Biological Tissues, LC-based (UV and MS) Analysis of Cannabinoids, Testing Cannabis Samples for Heavy Metal Contamination using Microwave Assisted Digestion and ICP-MS Techniques, Applications of GC-MS Techniques for Cannabis Analysis, and much more. Contains diverse, state-of-the-art methodologies for the analyses of cannabinoids and terpenes in a variety of matrices Analyzes different cannabis and hemp-based products Provides the expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors

This book highlights current Cannabis research: its botany, authentication, biotechnology, in vitro propagation, chemistry, cannabinoids biosynthesis, metabolomics, genomics, biomass production, quality control, and pharmacology. Cannabis sativa L. (Family: Cannabaceae) is one of the oldest sources of fiber, food and medicine. This plant has been of interest to researchers, general public and media not only due to its medicinal properties but also the controversy surrounding its illicit use. Cannabis has a long history of medicinal use in the Middle East and Asia, being first introduced as a medicine in Western Europe in the early 19th century. Due to its numerous natural constituents, Cannabis is considered a chemically complex species. It contains a unique class of terpeno-phenolic compounds (cannabinoids or phytocannabinoids), which have been extensively studied since the discovery of the chemical structure of tetrah ydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), commonly known as THC, the main constituent responsible for the plant’s psychoactive effects. An additionally important cannabinoid of current interest is Cannabidiol (CBD). There has been a significant interest in CBD and CBD oil (extract of CBD rich Cannabis) over the last few years because of its reported activity as an antiepileptic agent, particularly its potential use in the treatment of intractable epilepsy in children.

Although primarily used today as one of the most prevalent illicit leisure drugs, the use of Cannabis sativa L., commonly referred to as marijuana, for medicinal purposes has been reported for more than 5000 years. Marijuana use has been shown to create numerous health problems, and, consequently, the expanding use beyond medical purposes into recreational use (abuse) resulted in control of the drug through international treaties. Much research has been carried out over the past few decades following the identification of the chemical structure of THC in 1964. The purpose of Marijuana and the Cannabinoids is to present in a single volume the comprehensive knowledge and experience of renowned researchers and scientists. Each chapter is written independently by an expert in his/her field of endeavor, ranging from the botany, the constituents, the chemistry and pharmacokinetics, the effects and consequences of illicit use on the human body, to the therapeutic potential of the cannabinoids.