Latest news with #NationalInstituteofDrugAbuse
Axios
18-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
THC levels have quadrupled since the 1990s
U.S. cannabis has way more THC than it did decades ago. Why it matters: As more people go " California sober," new or returning cannabis users may underestimate the potency — and get dangerously high. By the numbers: In the 1990s, 5% THC cannabis was some of the strongest you could find. Today, "it's very difficult to find cannabis that's less than 20% THC" in a Los Angeles dispensary, says Ziva Cooper, director of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids. According to National Institute of Drug Abuse data, cannabis samples seized in 1995 averaged less than 4% THC. In 2022, they averaged more than 16%. The percentage has only increased since, experts say. It's a common misconception that the highest high is the best high, "but that's bogus," said Martin Lee, director of nonprofit Project CBD and author of "Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana." "That's not the way to judge the plant." And THC levels aren't limited to what can be produced by the highest-THC cannabis plant. "You're taking the plant out of the equation at this point," Cooper said, because manufacturers can extract THC to make superficially potent products, like THC-infused prerolls and dabs. Zoom in: Older adults — who favor cannabis edibles — are inadvertently eating too much THC. A study in California found a 1,808% relative increase in the rate of cannabis-related trips to the ER among adults 65 and older from 2005 to 2019. The state legalized medical marijuana in 1996 and recreational cannabis in 2016. And a study of senior citizens in Canada suggests ER rates for cannabis poisoning increased after cannabis flower was legalized in 2018, and increased even more after edibles were legalized in 2020.
CBS News
27-01-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Denver Health unveils naloxone vending machine that offers live-saving drug free of charge
Denver Health unveiled a no-cost naloxone vending machine on its hospital campus on Monday. The vending machine distributes the life-saving drug naloxone, otherwise known as Narcan, free of charge. It's available to the community through the National Institute of Drug Abuse's VEnding machine Naloxone Distribution in Your community, or VENDY, program. "We really engaged our community members with substance use experience to help us build this program. They told us how this could work to build the program," said Nicole Wagner, PhD, Assistant Professor, CU School of Medicine. "This machine is simple and elegant and so is the message: your life matters regardless of your disease," said Sarah Christensen, MD, Medical Director of Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Treatment, at Denver Health. Those who want access to naloxone can visit the vending machine at the Denver Health Hospital Campus, outside Pavilion K, located at 667 Bannock St. There are also medication and hygiene kits available for free 24 hours a day.
