Cannabis is the most extensively used illegal substance in the world, and concerns about its mental health impacts are rising. The rise in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels and the substantial growth in recreational and medicinal cannabis usage are at least partially to blame for these issues. Older adults and persons with brain illnesses including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia often use cannabis to self-medicate.
Objective:
In patients with ALS, MS, AD, PD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, this review examines the reported advantages and negative mental health impacts of cannabis usage.
Results:
Cannabis usage seems to alleviate certain symptoms associated with these illnesses, according to the research evaluated. Cannabis usage reduces pain and spasticity in MS patients, tremor, stiffness, and pain in Parkinson's patients, and enhances the quality of life of ALS patients by increasing appetite and reducing pain and spasticity. Cannabis usage is more prevalent in schizophrenic patients than in healthy controls. Cannabis usage is a risk factor for schizophrenia, since it promotes positive symptoms while decreasing negative symptoms in schizophrenia patients. Cannabis usage exacerbates bipolar illness, and there is no evidence that cannabis helps bipolar patients. Cannabis products may help late-stage Alzheimer's patients eat more, sleep better, and be less agitated.
Conclusion:
Some of the negative consequences of neurological and mental illnesses are reduced when cannabis is used. Chronic cannabis usage, on the other hand, may lead to cognitive deficits and dependency.
Cannabis, dependency, cognition, neurological problems, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder are some of the terms used in this study.
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1. INTRODUCTION
Cannabis is one of the world's most commonly used illegal narcotics. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 3-5 percent of people globally use cannabis [1]. Cannabis usage is quite common in nations like Ghana (21.5 percent), Zambia (17.7%), Canada (17.0 percent), the United States of America (US, 12.3%), and New Zealand (13.3 percent) [1]. In the United States, there are an estimated 20 million cannabis users, including 1.2 million medicinal cannabis users [2, 3]. At some time in their lives, around 6% of Americans over the age of 18 will fulfill the DSM-5 criteria for cannabis use disorder [4]. To get a medical marijuana card baltimore follow the link.
Federal law prohibits the use of cannabis for recreational or medicinal purposes in the United States. However, a growing number of states have made recreational and medicinal cannabis usage legal. Cannabis is now legal for medicinal use in 23 states and the District of Columbia, as well as recreational use in four states. Cannabis usage is likely to continue to rise, due to a rising tolerance for the drug and an increase in the number of people who use cannabis for medicinal reasons [5]. The majority of cannabis research has focused on the effects of cannabis on healthy teenagers and young adults. Older individuals and patients with neurological and mental problems, on the other hand, consume cannabis recreationally and to relieve symptoms related with their conditions. According to a big research including participants from 31 nations, 24.1 percent of cannabis users are between the ages of 51 and 60, 5.8 percent are between the ages of 61 and 70, and 0.6 percent are above the age of 70 [6]. Between 2002 and 2012, cannabis consumption more than tripled among 55-59 year olds (1.6 to 7.4%) and more than doubled among 60-64 year olds (2.4 to 4.4%) [7].
A rise in cannabis usage among the elderly has been accompanied by an increase in cannabis use for the treatment of neurological diseases [8, 9]. This, together with the substantial rise in THC levels in cannabis, may result in an increase in the number of persons suffering from negative mental health impacts [10].
In addition to cannabis, there are cannabis-based medicines available, including as
People with brain illnesses have also taken nabiximols (commercial name Sativex, cannabis plant extract, 1:1 ratio of CBD:THC), dronabinol (trade name Marinol, synthetic THC), and nabilone (trade name Cesamet, synthetic cannabinoid with chemical structure comparable to THC). The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized nabilone and dronabinol for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, as well as to increase appetite in AIDS patients with wasting syndrome. Nabiximols is already being used in 15 countries to treat spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), and the FDA is now reviewing Sativex for the treatment of cancer pain in the United States. The purpose of this review is to shed light on the possible positive and negative consequences of cannabis usage and cannabis-based therapies in persons with prevalent neurological and mental diseases, as well as elderly adults.
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2. CANNABINOIDS
For thousands of years, cannabis has been utilized in religious rites and for medicinal reasons [11]. The principal non-psychoactive component of cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD), was isolated in the 1940s and its structure was identified in the 1960s [12, 13]. It wasn't until 1964 that tetrahydrofuran was discovered.
THC (cannabinol) was discovered [14]. THC's psychotropic effects are reduced by cannabidiol, which does not cause intoxication. Phytocannabinoids, endocannabinoids, and synthetic cannabinoids are the three types of cannabinoids [17]. More than a hundred phytocannabinoids have been identified, but only THC is generated in substantial concentrations in most commercial cannabis cultivars [18]. Another phytonutrient
cannabis with a high degree of expression on occasion
CBD stands for cannabidiol. Furthermore, two endocannabinoids, 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) and anandamide [19-21], have been found. Some synthetic cannabinoids are even more potent than THC and have been linked to serious mental health problems [22]. The activation of the cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2) receptors is how cannabinoids work. 2-AG and anandamide are natural ligands for these receptors. One of the most frequent receptors in the central nervous system is the CB1 receptor. CB1 receptors have been found in high concentrations in the hippocampus, basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex, and cerebellum [23]. The presence of this receptor in the basal ganglia, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex emphasizes the cannabinoid system's crucial involvement in the control of motor function and cognition [24]. CB2 receptors are mostly present in the peripheral nervous system (thymus and spleen), but they have also been discovered on cerebellar and brain stem neurons [25]. In the healthy brain, cannabinoid type 2 receptor levels are very low, but they rise following injury and inflammation [26, 27]. The CB2 receptors are mostly found on active microglia, which not only help remove dying cells but also trigger the production of cytotoxic chemicals that may cause cell death [28, 29]. The CB2 receptor is activated, which reduces the production of cytokines and chemokines, as well as inflammation and cell death [30, 31].
