Tag: Cannabidiol

Reading of the Week: Catatonia – the new NEJM Review; CBD for Bipolar and Dr. Samuels on Medical Assistance in Dying

November 23, 2023 /

From the Editor

Catatonia has been well described but is poorly understood.

So write Drs. Stephan Heckers and Sebastian Walther (both of Vanderbilt University) in a new review. We could add: catatonia is often striking. I remember a patient who literally sat for hours in his chair with catatonia secondary to schizophrenia. His family, in some denial, had insisted that his poor eating was related to hospital food and that his lack of activity had to do with the boredom of the ward.

Drs. Heckers and Walther’s review, just published in The New England Journal of Medicine, notes: “Catatonia is common in psychiatric emergency rooms and inpatient units,” with an estimated prevalence of 9% to 30%. They describe the diagnosis and treatment. We consider the paper and its implications.

Waxy flexibility (from catatonia) in an undated photo

Interest in CBD has surged in recent years. Can it help with the tough clinical problem of bipolar depression? In the second selection, Dr. Jairo Vinícius Pinto (of the University of São Paulo) and his co-authors attempt to answer that question in a new Canadian Journal of Psychiatry paper. They describe a pilot study, with 35 patients randomized to CBD or placebo, finding: “cannabidiol did not show significantly higher adverse effects than placebo.”

And in the third selection, Dr. Hannah Samuels (of the University of Toronto) discusses medical assistance in dying in a paper for Academic Psychiatry. This resident of psychiatry describes a patient who, dealing with pain, opted for MAiD. Dr. Samuels considers the decision but her ambivalence in part stemming from her training. “I felt sad, confused, and morally conflicted. Mrs. L never faltered in her confidence that this was the right decision for her, but I could not understand it.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Substances, Substances, Substances – Papers from CJP & JMIR, and Dr. Devine on Our Federal Strategy

August 3, 2023 /

From the Editor

Creams, gummies, drinks. Cannabidiol (CBD) is increasingly popular and found in various products. Given its supposed benefits, including as an anxiolytic, could CBD be part of a harm reduction strategy?

In new paper for The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Lindsay A. Lo (of the University of Toronto) and her co-authors attempt to answer that question with a rapid review of 27 studies, including 5 randomized trials, covering opioids, cocaine, and polydrug use. “Low-quality evidence suggests that CBD may reduce drug cravings and other addiction-related symptoms and that CBD may have utility as an adjunct harm reduction strategy for people who use drugs.” We discuss the paper and its implications.

In the second selection, Dr. Braden O’Neill (of the University of Toronto) and his co-authors consider cannabis clinic websites. Focusing on Ontario, they find 29 clinic websites. In new paper for Journal of Medical Internet Research, they look at the claims made, and analyze the supporting literature. “The recommendation of cannabis as a general therapeutic for many indications unsupported by high-quality evidence is potentially misleading for medical practitioners and patients.”

And in the third selection, Dr. Jeremy Devine (of McMaster University) writes about federal drug policy in an essay for The Toronto Star. He feels that the current approach to the opioid crisis is flawed, with its focus on “regulation” – and he is particularly critical of safe supply programs. “The core ideological flaw in our drug policy is that it fails to recognize a hard truth: the drug user cannot have both their addiction and a free, safe, and self-determined life.”

DG

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