Am J Public Health
November 2024
To estimate changes in medical cannabis patient activity after Canada's recreational cannabis legalization. I used linear regressions of interrupted times series models to analyze medical cannabis patient registrations per 10 000 residents, purchases per 100 registrations, and packages per purchase in Canada's 10 provinces between April 2017 and December 2022. I tested relationships between the recreational law's passage in June 2018, recreational sales starting in October 2018, and the arrival of edibles and vapes in December 2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth Policy
February 2023
The extent to which legalizing cannabis use might lead to increased or decreased alcohol use has important implications for public health, economic growth, and government policy. This study analyzed Canada's monthly per capita sales of alcohol and legal medical cannabis using fixed effect panel data linear regressions. The data covered seven Canadian regions from January 2011 to September 2018, and controlled for changing levels of retail activity, alcohol prices, tertiary education, unemployment, and impaired driving penalties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: There were repeated reports of increased cannabis sales, use and health impacts in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it was unclear whether the increases were due to pandemic effects or industry expansion.
Methods: We performed interrupted time series regressions of monthly per capita legal cannabis sales from March 2019 to February 2021, first with national averages, then with provincial/territorial data after adjusting for store density.
Drug Alcohol Depend
November 2021
Background: This study estimated the relationships between increases in legal cannabis stores, legal cannabis sales, and cannabis prevalence in Canadian provinces between 2018 and 2020.
Method: Government data were used to calculate changes in licensed store numbers, retail sales dollars, and past-three-month users in 10 provinces across six time periods. The resulting N = 60 observations were standardized per million residents aged 15 and up, and then analyzed via linear regression.
Int J Drug Policy
February 2021
Background: This study estimated legal products' share of Canada's total cannabis consumption during the first year of recreational legalisation, October 2018 to September 2019.
Methods: Government data was used to estimate monthly recreational sales in dollars per capita, grams per user, and percentage share of kilograms or litres consumed. As explanatory factors, the analysis considered provincial differences in retail pricing (percentage mark-ups) and store density (stores per million users), as well as national monthly production of dry cannabis (kilograms) and cannabis oil (litres) finished products.
Video-assisted parathyroidectomy (VAP) is a new approach to parathyroid exploration for primary hyperparathyroidism (PH). We examined the VAP learning curve and hypothesized that compared with conventional minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIS), VAP has similar complication rates and the added benefit of a shorter hospital length of stay. Using a case-control study design, patients with PH with single-focus imaging results undergoing VAP or MIS were compared during a 5-year VAP implementation period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInternational guidelines for cytotoxicity limits for the in vitro chromosomal aberration assay require reductions in cell growth of greater than 50%. This sets no upper limit on toxicity and there is concern about the number of false or irrelevant results obtained in the aberration assay, i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF3-Methylindole (3MI), melatonin (Mel), serotonin (Ser), and tryptamine (Tryp) were evaluated in vitro for their potential to induce DNA adducts, DNA strand breaks, chromosomal aberrations (Abs), inhibition of DNA synthesis, and mutations. All compounds produced DNA adducts in calf thymus DNA in the presence of rat liver S9. In cultured rat hepatocytes, all produced DNA adducts but none induced DNA strand breaks.
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