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Alcohol urge reduced by CBC from cannabis, new study

Isabella Hannah — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 11:30:06 +0000

CBD can have a positive effect on the love hormone. New research says it holds back the urge for alcohol.

CBD, a component from medical cannabis, may hold promise as a tool to help people reduce problem drinking, according to a new study published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, modifies the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system and reduces physical signs of anxiety and self-reported craving for alcohol in people with alcohol use disorder. No adverse side effects, such as drowsiness or cognitive issues, were observed during the short-term regimen.

The authors of the study recommend more research to determine whether CBD could be an effective treatment to help people recover from alcohol use disorder.

CBD is non-psychotropic chemical found naturally in cannabis. It can be isolated from other molecules such as THC so that you don’t experience the high when you use it. CBD can be found in drinks, vitamins and even coffee products in the US.

The latest study sought to examine whether CBD could modify craving and dysregulated responses to alcohol cues in people with alcohol use disorder. CBD is a natural component of the cannabis plant that does not produce psychoactive effects.

Australian researchers administered 800 milligrams of CBD per day or a placebo for three days to adults with alcohol use disorder. Participants’ craving and mood were assessed periodically using questionnaires, and physiologic responses were measured using electrodes on the skin, including while the participants were in the presence of alcohol, and audio and visual cues related to drinking.

CBD was found on several measures to have beneficial effects on anxiety and craving, compared to placebo. Participants who had been administered CBD showed elevated high-frequency heart rate variability, indicating increased activity in the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body relax during times of stress and may reduce the feeling of needing a drink.

Participants in the CBD sessions also reported reductions in anxiety from baseline to exposure to alcohol cues, while the placebo group reported increases in anxiety. During exposure to alcohol cues, activity in the parasympathetic nervous system did lessen somewhat, but after the alcohol cue task, the CBD group reported reduced craving for alcohol, whereas the placebo group did not.

The study also found that participants tolerated CBD well; no significant side effects were reported. There were no significant differences between the CBD and placebo groups on any measures of cognitive functioning, including visual attention, processing speed, and basic motor function. Participants did not report significantly higher sedation following CBD administration compared to placebo.

Previous research has found that heavy drinking is associated with heightened levels of anxiety and stress and contributes to relapse. Animal studies have found CBD to have neuroprotective effects and reduce anxiety and craving. The current study’s findings that CBD may reduce symptoms of anxiety and craving without negatively affecting executive function or alertness signify that it may have therapeutic potential for people with alcohol use disorder. The study’s generalizability is limited by its small sample size, particularly of male participants, but it provides guidance for larger and longer human therapeutic efficacy studies.

Israeli American physician Alan Shackelford was the first to treat children, using CBD. He helped legalize cannabis as medicine in Colorado where he practices.

CBD has been found to reduce seizures in children with epilepsy, and it can help autism and with pain management. Green Prophet’s exclusive work with medical doctor Alan Shackelford in the US has helped us understand the limitless medical possibilities with CBD.

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Hydroponics in Bhutan

Julie Steinbeck — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 10:15:58 +0000

It developed out of the cannabis and medical marijuana industry, but now hydroponics is a good source of food in Bhutan.

Like millions around the world, Kinley Wangmo and her family were left without a source of income during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Unlike most of the world, this Bhutanese mother found a livelihood solution in hydroponics farming, which involves growing plants in a special nutrient-rich water instead of using soil.

What began as a simple interest soon blossomed into a profound passion. She attended online trainings and saw that this innovative technique was also full of promise for addressing the challenges of food security and land fragmentation in her landlocked Himalayan homeland.

Hydroponics uses less water and is more productive than soil-based agriculture and can be carried out all year round. Though hydroponics can be expensive and difficult to install, all it requires at its most basic level is the plants, water, a container and a source of light.

To save on the cost of importing hydroponics systems, she learned extensively from international experts and customised their approaches for Bhutanese farmers.

Using her previous experience as a contractor, undertaking everything from plumbing to electrical jobs, Kinley, who also currently runs a hardware shop, leveraged her skills and self-taught know-how to build a hydroponics system using the deep flow technique, which catches and recycles water using pipes. The system is low-cost, efficient and made using readily available materials.

It’s also easy to maintain, making it accessible and practical for small-scale farmers in Bhutan’s rugged terrain.

Kinley started Bhutan Hydroponics in a small-scale greenhouse in the Changzamtok area of the capital, Thimphu, back in 2020.

In early 2024, Kinley was one of the 30 recipients of funding support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as part of its Peri-urban and Urban Farming project in Bhutan, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

The project helped her with land development, equipment and materials for the farm, as well as seeds on a cost-sharing basis, and technical support with installing the greenhouses, garden structures, irrigation systems and digital equipment she needed for the venture.

Her vision is steadily taking shape with the establishment of three spacious greenhouses.

“The main benefit of hydroponics is that it helps plants and vegetables grow faster than traditional soil farming, and it takes up less space,” Kinley explains. “In a greenhouse, we can control everything to make sure the plants grow well.”

Kinley is keen to share her knowledge to help communities in Bhutan become more independent. “The pandemic showed us how important self-sufficiency is.”

She’s been a passionate advocate for increasing the use of hydroponics in the country, offering her expertise in setting up systems and selling her adapted hydroponics system at a cost that’s highly favourable compared with imported equipment.

About one-third of Bhutan’s population faces food insecurity. With shrinking, fragmented land holdings and many working-age adults moving from rural to urban areas, labor-intensive agriculture is becoming increasingly challenging.

The pandemic also showed the reliance of urban areas on food imported from abroad or from rural areas. In this, Bhutan’s Department of Agriculture has been pushing ahead with its strategy to promote urban farming.

Kinley also advocates for self-sufficiency and safe food in urban areas, like the capital in which she lives.

“In urban areas where food security is a pressing issue, I am dedicated to making freshly harvested, nutritious food accessible to everyone. Amidst busy lifestyles and the challenge of accessing quality food, we aim to reduce food waste and promote healthier eating habits,” says Kinley.

Bhutan’s economy relies heavily on agriculture, livestock and forests; this sector supports about 57 percent of the population. Even though the agriculture sector is growing in absolute terms, the share of the national Gross Domestic Product has been steadily decreasing due to rapid growth in other economic sectors.

On top of that, agricultural productivity is being undermined by an array of factors including urbanization and rapid development, crop damage by wild animals, land fragmentation, pests and diseases, rising temperatures and a shortage of agricultural inputs. As a result, Bhutan’s goals of food security and self-sufficiency are becoming harder to achieve.

FAO’s project is addressing these issues by helping to move crop production closer to consumers and meeting growing demand in urban areas while showcasing new technologies for transforming agrifood systems, as well as creating more jobs and income opportunities especially for women and young people.

Now, Kinley employs nine people, mostly single mothers and youth. Her current focus is on growing lettuce, which her team has harvested three times in five months and supplied to chain of hotels in the country. She currently grows two lettuce varieties and plans to cultivate three more types and recruit more staff in the future as her business continues to grow.

“Despite the challenges, I promote technology to inspire young people and women in agriculture because it’s simple,” Kinley says, adding that technology makes agriculture more appealing because it is less physically arduous and cleaner than conventional farming.

Since she expanded her business early this year, she has been selling lettuce and salads in the capital and nearby towns. She says that if she can further expand the business, she would be able to meet the rapidly growing market demand.

With her initiative full of innovative promise, Kinley is making an important contribution to the future of food, inspiring others and forging a new agricultural development model for Bhutan.

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A majority of Thais want to reclassify cannabis a drug

Karin Kloosterman — Sun, 19 May 2024 09:00:12 +0000

Buying and selling cannabis in Thailand. Be aware of shifting policies as the government moves to reclassify it as a drug

Even before it was recreationally legal it was easy to find cannabis on the streets of Thailand. Head to a busy Phuket a couple of years ago, and cannabis pre-rolls were as easy to find as a Thai pancake. Last year when we were in Koh Phangan we went on an ATV tour to an organic farm. They offered hydroponically-grown lettuce and organic honey to us, along with jars of cannabis – all for sale.

But what could have been a boost to local and international tourism (it was the Thais from Bangkok who bought the cannabis in the end on our ATV trip) is falling out of favor with the mainstream Thai public.

About 76% of people who took part in a survey in Thailand said they “totally agreed” or “rather agreed” with their leader’s policy u-turn to re-criminalize the plant, according to a survey by the National Institute of Development Administration.

The poll was conducted via phone between May 14 and 15 among 1,310 Thai nationals aged 18 and above. About 23.4% disagreed with the move, while 0.9% declined to answer or said they had no interest in the issue. Thailand’s latest prime minister Srettha Thavisin, nicknamed Nid, is a Thai businessman and politician currently serving as the prime minister of Thailand since 22 August 2023.

The proposed policy reversal is a blow for Thailand’s nascent cannabis industry after decriminalization was pitched as a way to boost agricultural income and the country’s wellness tourism industry.

Srettha has vowed to restrict the use of marijuana to medical purposes. Canada is one of few countries in the world where medical cannabis legal. Varying stages of legality can be found in the United States but laws vary from state to state. While Israel is a medical cannabis research leader, recreation cannabis is not legal. A Telegram drug dealer recently got 8 years in jail for enabling cannabis buying and selling. Cannabis use, and even detection in your blood from previous use can put you in jail in the United Arab Emirates.

With changing laws in Thailand, tourists should exercise caution when using cannabis there. Thailand can be cruel and strict with tourists who break their laws.

About 75% of respondents in Thailand support the restricted use of cannabis for medical reasons, while 19% said the government shouldn’t implement any policies to support the use of the plant, the latest poll showed.

Cannabis advocacy groups last week rallied to protest Srettha’s order, asking the government to reconsider the plan to protect the interest of a rising industry and a large community of growers. Thailand’s lush tropical climate could be a great place to establish cannabis factories for export.

Almost 8,000 dispensaries and a large number of consumer-agro firms have cropped up across Thailand.

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Israel plans for medical cannabis stock index

Karin Kloosterman — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 12:28:51 +0000

Cannabis treatments that include low THC and high CBC can treat children. The first notable case in the US was with the late Charlotte Figi.

Since the 60s Israel became known for its scientific look at cannabis. It was never illegally federally for cannabis to be studied so decades of progress have been in Israel thanks to those early pioneers, most notably chemist Raphael Mechoulam who I got to interview more than a decade ago, before the cowboys rushed in.

While the industry is still rife with a lot of smokescreens and penny stock companies there are veritable potential breakthroughs waiting for business. Some 11 companies now with products from healthcare to pharmacology will take on their own sub-index on the TASE, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The new index will start trading on November 1, according to the TASE.

Stock market investors are betting that Israel will be a medical cannabis powerhouse and have invested about $205 million USD in shares so far. Those that only sell medical cannabis will not be part of the new index TA-Biomed that will focus on research and healthcare.

The exchange said that investors were looking for this kind of index, and it will now also help mutual fund investors invest in cannabis.

About 71,000 Israelis use medical cannabis in Israel, an almost 40% increase from last year. I’d argue the numbers are in the millions as Israelis self-medicate regularly with street cannabis, most of them medicating the effects of PTSD.

Medical cannabis index companies on the TASE

Dr. Alan Shackelford is a well-known Israeli-American physician who is developing products to treat various indications. I met him in 2015 when I was running my own startup in the space. He was treating a young American girl named Charlotte Figi with a high CBD strain of cannabis to quell seizures. She had Dravet syndrome and the cannabidiol oil prevented daily seizures, giving her respite until she succumbed from Covid in April this year. The name of the medical cannabis strain made for her then is now called Charlotte’s Web.

There are also loads of antics locally, as more people want cannabis to be legal recreationally as well like in Canada. Drones have been dropping cannabis packs into crowds in various Israeli cities.

The companies to be listed on the new index include: Tikkun Olam, Cannbit, Intelicanna, Intercure, Univo Pharmaceuticals, Pharmocann, Cannomed and Seah Medical Group.

Some companies already trading include Evogene. They are dual-listed on the TASE and the NASDAQ, which is common for Israeli stocks.

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