Publication Date: October 26, 2020 by CBD School Editorial Team
Jump ahead if you’re interested in these articles:
- The NFL Players Association warns against CBD endorsements
- CBD treatment found effective for severe seizures in batten disease
The University of Cincinnati adds Certificate in Cannabis Studies
The University of Cincinnati (UC) has launched one of the first higher education programs in the United States to offer a cannabis studies certificate, the course focuses on different fields of knowledge such as history, culture, society, and regulations. The program has UC professors from different fields of knowledge, such as political science, biology, psychology among others.
The creation of the program was influenced by Sue Trusty, professor of the horticulture program in the Faculty of Design, Art, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) who had already been given introductory courses in hemp and medicinal cannabis.
Trusty says “the cannabis industry is a huge job market”. This is one of the main reasons she was an advocate for pushing for this certificate program.
There is a complex process from the time you grow cannabis, to its distribution and sale. There must be people who know how to grow it, know the right humidity, light, and temperature conditions and know all the stages of the plant’s development.
Then you need to know how to harvest and process it. You must be careful with the drying of the plant depending on the objective you are looking for and watch for the appearance of fungi which damage the crop for human consumption.
Then you have to perform tests, and there you need people in the laboratory. Then comes the process of distribution, sale and manufacturing of all the products that are produced with the crop.
These include oils, vape cartridges, edibles and all the other products. Finally, it is sold in a dispensary, where we have business owners and people who need to know about marketing strategies, advertising, and regulatory laws.
Trusty says that much of the information on the Internet about cannabis is false due to the lack of research opportunities.
“Because it is illegal, a lot of the information on it [cannabis] is just garbage and faux,” she said. “There is not a lot of research-based information. The government and universities have avoided doing that kind of research because it’s illegal.”
She hopes that providing this education to students can help break the stigma around the plant and learn more about its utility in the field of medicine and explore it as a sustainable alternative.
The two-year program includes five 3-credit courses, according to the university’s website, including Trusty’s medical hemp and cannabis course, a hands-on hop and hemp field experience course, and three courses chosen from various possibilities, based on the student’s interest or work preference.
Students already pursuing a degree in any college at UC can add the certificate to their program.
With all that said, progress is being made with bringing cannabis to the University level, and this is good for everyone involved.
This article was summarized by an article that originally appeared on newsrecord.org1
The NFL Players association (NFLPA) issues statement about cbd endorsements
On October 15, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) issued a statement warning its members not to endorse alcoholic drink, tobacco, or cannabinoid companies.
“Subject to the limited exception in the NFL Alcohol Sponsorship Policy for use of player imagery in advertisements for beer, NFL players, coaches, and other employees must not endorse or appear in advertisements for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, or cannabinoid products”. 1
This statement was apparently released after the syndicate received questions about players’ ability to participate and support CBD companies.
According to Front Office Sports, these questions came from agents and marketing representatives after Baker Mayfield, quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, announced on Oct. 13, two days before the statement was published. Mayfield is one of many athletes who currently have sponsorship agreements with CBD companies after the world anti-doping agency classified CBD as a banned substance in 2018.
This decision could be problematic because, in March of this year, the players and owners of the NFL had reached an agreement involving changes in the league’s cannabis policy. As a result of this agreement, cannabis testing would only be done for the first two weeks of training during the month of July, and the value for considering a test positive for THC was raised from 35 nanograms/ml to 150 nanograms/ml.
On the other hand, CBD is used by athletes by its capacity to alleviate the pain that undergoes after its sports activities, in addition, helps to reduce the sustained inflammation that is generated as a result of demanding sport participation.
A Treatment using CBD is found to be effective for severe seizures in Batten Disease
In a case report published in September of this year, cannabinoids were used to treat a 25-year-old patient diagnosed with Batten’s disease. 3
A broad spectrum of antiepileptic drugs failed to assist him with his seizures and after many, many trials cannabinoids were used.
The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs), also known as Batten disease, are a group of neurodegenerative disorders. They are considered the foremost common of the neurogenetic storage diseases that occur at a frequency of 2-3 per 100,000 individuals.
It is a degenerative disorder of the nervous system and a disease of genetic origin that manifests from childhood.
The case describes a 25-year-old man who was admitted to a hospital in Cyprus for severe seizure activity, up to 50 seizures per day at the time of admission.
The parents of the patient, who previously had reviewed literature with respect to the use of cannabinoids in refractory seizures, asked to use cannabinoids in conjunction with the medical treatment established.
Three weeks after the beginning of treatment with cannabinoids the patient for the first time remained without convulsions.
On day 60, the patient was moving in his wheelchair and continued to breathe through a tracheotomy. After no more seizures, the patient left the hospital on day 73.
He remained seizure-free, although he had sporadic myoclonic spasms in the palms of his hands for the next three months. Six months after discharge, his zonisamide was removed and his tracheostomy was removed.