Legal Recreational Cannabis Sales and Opioid-Related Mortality in the 5 Years Following Cannabis Legalization in Canada: A Granger Causality Analysis.

Objective: Little is known about the population-level impact of recreational cannabis legalization on trends in opioid-related mortality. Increased access to cannabis due to legalization has been hypothesized to reduce opioid-related deaths because of the potential opioid-sparing effects of cannabis. The objective of this study was to examine the relations between national retail sales of recreational (non-medical) cannabis and opioid overdose deaths in the 5 years following legalization in Canada.

Evaluating the impact of Canadian cannabis legalization on cannabis use outcomes in emerging adults: Comparisons to a US control sample via a natural experiment.

Background: Recreational cannabis legalization marked a significant policy shift in Canada, but has been difficult to evaluate because of the absence of a control group. Although it is unfeasible to evaluate legalization using a randomized controlled trial design, sophisticated statistical techniques can employ quasi-experimental designs using natural experiments. This study evaluates the impact of cannabis legalization in a longitudinal cohort of Canadian emerging adults by comparing changes in cannabis use frequency and related consequences over time to changes in a similar cohort in a United States jurisdiction where no policy change took place.

Enzymatic epimerization of monoterpene indole alkaloids in Kratom.

Monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs) are a large, structurally diverse class of bioactive natural products. These compounds are biosynthetically derived from a stereoselective Pictet-Spengler condensation that generates a tetrahydro-β-carboline scaffold characterized by a 3 stereocenter. However, a subset of MIAs contain a non-canonical 3 stereocenter.

High-Valent Cobalt-Difluoride in Oxidative Fluorination of Saturated Hydrocarbons.

The heme paradigm where Fe=O acts as the C-H oxidant and Fe-OH rebounds with the formed carbon-centered radical guides the design of the prototypical synthetic hydroxylation catalyst. We are exploring methods to evolve beyond the metal-oxo oxidant and hydroxide rebound, to incorporate a wider array of functional group. We have demonstrated the application of Co(OTf) (10 mol% catalyst; OTf=trimfluoromethanesulfonate) in combination with polydentate N-donor ligands (e.

Prevalence of TB-related symptoms and self-reported disability among adult TB survivors.

Background: Growing evidence suggests that post-TB-related morbidity occurs often among TB survivors, but there is limited epidemiological data on the burden of symptoms and disability after successful completion of treatment. We evaluated the prevalence of TB-related symptoms, self-reported disability, and factors associated with disability among adult TB survivors who recently completed treatment in Uganda.

Methods: Between January 2022 and October 2023, we conducted a study of adults who completed treatment for drug-susceptible TB in Kampala, Uganda.