A user’s guide to cannabinoid therapies in oncology

“Cannabinoid” is the collective term for a group of chemical compounds that either are derived from the Cannabis plant, are synthetic analogues, or occur endogenously. Although cannabinoids interact mostly at the level of the currently recognized cannabinoid receptors, they might have cross reactivity, such as at opioid receptors. Patients with malignant disease represent a cohort within health care that have some of the greatest unmet needs despite the availability of a plethora of guideline-driven disease-modulating treatments and pain and symptom management options. The use of cannabinoid therapies could be effective in improving quality of life and possibly modifying malignancy by virtue of direct effects and in improving compliance or adherence with disease-modulating treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes Regarding the Use of Medical Cannabis in the Hospice Population: An Educational Intervention

Currently, 28 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for medical use despite its remaining Schedule I federally. Benefits of medical cannabis (MC) have been demonstrated in nausea/vomiting associated with chemotherapy, cachexia associated with HIV/AIDS, and certain types of neuropathic pain. The aim of this study is to determine changes in knowledge, self-perceived skills, and attitudes (KSA) of hospice providers regarding MC after an online educational intervention. Providers’ attitudes regarding the importance of MC knowledge were strong and the same before and after. Both the self-perception of skills and direct knowledge were significantly increased after the educational intervention.

Cannabis Bonanza by Ziv Genesove

After years of conservatism and “Reefer Madness” style propaganda, the Israeli “Anti Drug Authority” had surprisingly decided to support decriminalization of all drugs. The Minister of Internal Security is strongly against the idea, but many Israelis feel now they finally have a chance to change the drug policy in the country – and they aren’t going to let this opportunity go to waste.

Modulating the endocannabinoid pathway as treatment for peripheral neuropathic pain: a selected review of preclinical studies

Chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain is a distressing and commonly occurring side effect of many commonly used chemotherapeutic agents, which in some cases may prevent cancer patients from being able to complete their treatment. Cannabinoid based therapies have the potential to manage or even prevent pain associated with this syndrome. These studies also provide in-sight into the biological mechanism behind the therapeutic utility of cannabis compounds in managing chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain, and provide a basis for the conduct of future clinical studies in patients of this population.