Medical cannabis use in Australia seven years after legalisation: findings from the online Cannabis as Medicine Survey 2022-2023 (CAMS-22).

Background: Cannabis was legalised for medical purposes in 2016. Uptake was initially slow, but since 2019 there has been a large increase in the number of Australians who have been prescribed cannabis for medical reasons. Yet a significant number of consumers continue to treat their medical conditions via illicitly-sourced cannabis.

Driving-related behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions among Australian medical cannabis users: results from the CAMS 20 survey.

Road safety is an important concern amidst expanding worldwide access to legal cannabis. The present study reports on the driving-related subsection of the Cannabis as Medicine Survey 2020 (CAMS-20) which surveyed driving-related behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions among Australian medical cannabis (MC) users. Of the 1063 respondents who reported driving a motor vehicle in the past 12 months, 28% (297/1063) reported driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC).

The Effectiveness and Adverse Events of Cannabidiol and Tetrahydrocannabinol Used in the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in a PTSD Subpopulation: An Interim Analysis of an Observational Study.

Anxiety is a condition for which current treatments are often limited by adverse events (AEs). Components of medicinal cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), have been proposed as potential treatments for anxiety disorders, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To evaluate quality-of-life outcomes after treatment with various cannabis formulations to determine the effectiveness and associated AEs.

Medical Cannabis Use Patterns for Sleep Disorders in Australia: Results of the Cross-Sectional CAMS-20 Survey.

Introduction: Sleep disorders are the third most common indication for the prescription of medical cannabis products in Australia, after pain and anxiety. While the use of cannabis for medical purposes is growing in Australia, underlying consumer behaviours and patterns of use, particularly around sleep disorders, are poorly understood.

Methods: We conducted a subanalysis of the cross-sectional "Cannabis as Medicine Survey" 2020-2021 (CAMS-20) (N = 1600), to explore the characteristics of a sample of Australians who were using prescribed and/or illicit medical cannabis to treat a self-reported sleep disorder.

Medical cannabis use in Australia: consumer experiences from the online cannabis as medicine survey 2020 (CAMS-20).

Background: Australia has had a framework for legal medicinal cannabis since 2016, yet prior online surveys in 2016 and 2018 indicated that most consumers continued to use illicit medical cannabis products. Regulatory data indicate an increase in the prescription of medicinal cannabis since 2019, and this survey examines consumer experiences of prescribed and illicit medical cannabis (MC) use in Australia.

Methods: A cross-sectional anonymous online survey was administered September 2020 to January 2021.

Attitudes and Knowledge of Australian Gastroenterologists Around the Use of Medicinal Cannabis for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background: Medicinal cannabis (MC) is being used for symptomatic relief by many patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), often independently of clinical guidance. Such use presents challenges for supporting clinicians. The aim of this study was to determine the current attitudes, knowledge, and experience of gastroenterologists toward patient use of MC for symptom management in IBD.

Medicinal Cannabis for Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Survey of Perspectives, Experiences, and Current Use in Australian Patients.

Background: Medicinal cannabis (MC) is an increasingly utilized treatment option for various refractory diseases. While robust clinical evidence supporting MC efficacy in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is lacking, many IBD patients report using MC to obtain symptomatic relief. Understanding this use and associated outcomes may help inform future clinical trials.

Coadministered cannabidiol and clobazam: Preclinical evidence for both pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions.

Objective: Cannabidiol (CBD) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat intractable childhood epilepsies, such as Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. However, the intrinsic anticonvulsant activity of CBD has been questioned due to a pharmacokinetic interaction between CBD and a first-line medication, clobazam. This recognized interaction has led to speculation that the anticonvulsant efficacy of CBD may simply reflect CBD augmenting clobazam exposure.

Genetic deletion of P-glycoprotein alters stress responsivity and increases depression-like behavior, social withdrawal and microglial activation in the hippocampus of female mice.

P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an ABC transporter expressed at the blood brain barrier and regulates the brain uptake of various xenobiotics and endogenous mediators including glucocorticoid hormones which are critically important to the stress response. Moreover, P-gp is expressed on microglia, the brain's immune cells, which are activated by stressors and have an emerging role in psychiatric disorders. We therefore hypothesised that germline P-gp deletion in mice might alter the behavioral and microglial response to stressors.