By Derek J. Connor Esq. A significant portion of my practice is dedicated to providing patients and entrepreneurs with legal advice regarding Nevada’s complex marijuana laws and regulations. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of confusion regarding marijuana laws due…
By Lance C. Lambert The last few months within the cannabis industry, both domestically and internationally, have been busy. California released its permanent regulations, while Portugal’s parliament legalized medical cannabis on the other side of the globe. We also saw…
1. **Regardless of either quantity or potency, cannabis cannot cause lethal overdose in humans**:
– Calabria, B., Degenhardt, L., Hall, W., & Lynskey, M. (2010). Does cannabis use increase the risk of death? Systematic review of epidemiological evidence on adverse effects of cannabis use. *Drug and Alcohol Review*, 29(3), 318-330.
– Volkow, N. D., Baler, R. D., Compton, W. M., & Weiss, S. R. (2014). Adverse health effects of marijuana use. *New England Journal of Medicine*, 370(23), 2219-2227.
2. **State-based cannabis legalization has lowered crime rates**:
– Morris, R. G., TenEyck, M., Barnes, J. C., & Kovandzic, T. V. (2014). The effect of medical marijuana laws on crime: evidence from state panel data, 1990-2006. *PloS One*, 9(3), e92816.
3. **In states where medical cannabis is legal, opioid-related mortality has fallen significantly**:
– Bachhuber, M. A., Saloner, B., Cunningham, C. O., & Barry, C. L. (2014). Medical cannabis laws and opioid analgesic overdose mortality in the United States, 1999-2010. *JAMA Internal Medicine*, 174(10), 1668-1673.
4. **Cannabis is more likely to be used as an “exit” from dangerous drugs than to act as a “gateway” drug**:
– Lucas, P., Reiman, A., Earleywine, M., McGowan, S. K., Oleson, M., Coward, M. P., & Thomas, B. (2016). Cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs: A dispensary-based survey of substitution effect in Canadian medical cannabis patients. *Addictive Behaviors*, 64, 27-34.
– Lucas, P., & Walsh, Z. (2017). Medical cannabis access, use, and substitution for prescription opioids and other substances: A survey of authorized medical cannabis patients. *International Journal of Drug Policy*, 42, 30-35.
Cannabis:
Mushrooms: