Introduction And Aims: The news media is often touted as an important, yet inaccurate source of information about drug issues for the general public. This paper investigates the accuracy of reporting in the Australian media regarding the value of cannabis seizures made by the police.
Design And Methods: A sample of Australian newspaper articles, which featured both a direct estimate of the value of a cannabis seizure and the number of plants seized, were examined. The reported values from these articles were then compared with a range of estimates made using data on cannabis plant yield and price, taken from research literature.
Results: Fifteen articles were examined, referring to fourteen different seizures. The reported value of cannabis seizures in this sample of articles was highly inflated when compared with the authors' estimated value. The reported newspaper values of seizures were between 1.8 and 11.9 times higher than our middle estimate.
Discussion And Conclusions: The most likely reason for the wide difference between the reported and estimated value of these seizures is the possible variability in cannabis plant yield. Whatever the reason for the discrepancy between the reported values and our estimates, greater transparency surrounding the valuations of cannabis seizures would help to better determine the true impacts of law enforcement interventions on this illicit drug supply chain
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3362.2010.00189.x | DOI Listing |
Trends Pharmacol Sci
January 2025
Dept. Science, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy; Neuroendocrinology, Metabolism and Neuropharmacology Unit, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. Electronic address:
Cannabidiol (CBD), the primary non-intoxicating compound in cannabis, is currently approved for treating rare, treatment-resistant seizures. Recent preclinical research suggests that CBD's multifaceted mechanisms of action in the brain, which involve multiple molecular targets, underlie its neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, and antipsychotic effects. Clinical trials are also exploring CBD's therapeutic potential beyond its current uses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEClinicalMedicine
August 2024
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane, Oxford, OX3 7JX, United Kingdom.
Background: While semaglutide, approved for type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is being investigated as a treatment for brain disorders, concerns over adverse neuropsychiatric events have emerged. More data are therefore needed to assess the effects of semaglutide on brain health. This study provides robust estimates of the risk of neurological and psychiatric outcomes following semaglutide use compared to three other antidiabetic medications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProstaglandins Other Lipid Mediat
January 2025
Discipline of Pharmacology, Sydney Pharmacy School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia; Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, The University of Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia; Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia. Electronic address:
Objective: Dravet syndrome is a severe, intractable epilepsy in which 80 % of patients have a de novo mutation in the gene SCN1A. We recently reported that a high seizure burden increased hippocampal concentrations of an array of pro-inflammatory prostaglandins in the Scn1a mouse model of Dravet syndrome. This raised the possibility that a high seizure burden might also trigger the accumulation of specialized pro-resolving mediators that facilitate the resolution of neuroinflammation and brain repair.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Pharmacol
November 2024
Brazilian Academic Consortium for Integrative Health (CABSIN), São Paulo, Brazil.
The therapeutic potential of medical cannabis has garnered significant attention in recent years, prompting an urgent need for a comprehensive understanding of its effectiveness across various health outcomes. This article presents an Evidence Map that systematically summarizes clinical evidence on the use of medical cannabis, including the health conditions it addresses, the interventions employed, and the resulting clinical outcomes. The objective is to map the effectiveness of medical cannabis in relation to a wide range of health outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Pharm
January 2025
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, (DISFARM), University of Milan, 20133 Milano, Italy.
Cannabidiol (CBD), a small nonpsychoactive molecule derived from , exerts a variety of therapeutic actions, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial. Epidiolex is the only FDA-approved medicine containing pure CBD as an oral solution for seizure-controlling therapy. Nevertheless, the oral bioavailability of CBD is challenging due to its physical-chemical properties such as low solubility in water and high first-pass metabolism.
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