Sergio Rueda 🇨🇦🇻🇪

We need better ways to measure cannabis quantities across different product types. This study supports the predictive validity of using ecological momentary assessment to estimate THC and CBD use across various forms of cannabis @CAMHnews @UofTPsych onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…

New from our team at CAMH - we find nuanced evidence for next-day performance effects of smoked cannabis, likely associated with higher-THC-potency products sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

@melrod42 That Matisse-inspired cartoon is very good, although applies more to psychedelic research:) I’m glad physicians recommending smoking is a thing of the 50s. No reason to go back there with all the alternative modes of administration; maybe vaping could rhyme w tobacco cessation

@melrod42 IMHO, regulatory and research-grade cannabis supply issues are much bigger challenges than methodological ones. Also, following the NHP path wouldn't solve the seemingly intractable problem of healthcare uptake.

"Cannabis is hard to administer ‘blind’, it has a distinct effect, smell and taste. It is made up not of one active compound, but hundreds. Each human responds uniquely to cannabis. Simply put, RCTs don’t suit cannabis, so fewer exist."

CAMH is aware that provincial funding for supervised consumption sites will end on June 13, 2026. We share the concerns of our community partners about the impact this will have on clients, staff, and communities across Ontario.

@melrod42 @rogueherbalism This nonsense about SSRIs is the type of misinformation that borders their anti-vaxx cousins; not staying around for that.

@ruedagento @rogueherbalism I don't pretend to understand, but maybe the industry takes the path on least resistance to profits the way patients take the path of least resistance to cannabis. I'm skeptical clinicians are deterred by the lack of evidence, given their embrace of SSRIs. stratcann.com/news/medical-c…

This is an actual quote from the article linked, and a much more accurate quote to headline: “Though our paper didn’t specifically look at this, the routine use of medicinal cannabis could (NOT conclusive!!) be doing more harm than gpod”. Very presumptive conclusion and not evidence based whatsoever.

@melrod42 @rogueherbalism Cannabis is not even part of the NHP regulations because industry only seems interested in manufacturing GMP products for export, not medical use. It’s not surprising that there’s no uptake of cannabis by clinicians in the absence of stronger evidence.

@ruedagento @rogueherbalism It's also that whole cannabis and CBMs more closely resemble NHPs than pharmaceuticals. The drug approval process and RCT are more suited to the latter, and it seems most doctors aren't as comfortable with, or trained to work with, inexact NHPs.

@rogueherbalism @melrod42 Cannabis has been legal for medical purposes in Canada for 25 yrs so it’s not prohibition but an inflexible regulatory environment and a conflicted industry with no interest/incentives to properly test it as medicine. Observational studies won’t recognize it as evidence-based txt

Working on it ✅. Since prohibition is a barrier to research, I argue that the 10,000 years prior of safe and effective medicinal cannabis use should account for something. Real life patient outcomes are the best evidenced we have until they allow us to run formal human trials.

@melrod42 @rogueherbalism Medicines are not tested/ accepted based on observational data. Cannabis won’t be taken seriously as a medicine if not tested thru clinical trials; physicians won’t prescribe it in the absence of trial evidence unless the ultimate aspiration is to become a natural health product

@ruedagento @rogueherbalism It's hard to argue whole cannabis doesn't have mental health benefits given the longitudinal observational studies involving much larger cohorts' suggesting efficacy for anxiety and other mental health disorders. Eg. sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

@melrod42 @rogueherbalism The opposite is also true. Hard to argue that cannabis is medicine for mental health when it hasn’t even been properly tested in clinical trials.

@ruedagento @rogueherbalism Right, which means all the "cannabis doesn't work" headlines are misleading. At best we can say the evidence for single cannabinoids is lacking in quantity and quality, which is what the study concluded.

@melrod42 @rogueherbalism This is a solid review. The main exclusion criteria was RCT as study design, not cannabis type, appropriate to testing efficacy/safety of medicines. They didn’t include “narrow parameters to exclude whole cannabis”. Whole cannabis studies excluded themselves from clinical trials

@rogueherbalism Further, the researchers didn’t review studies involving cannabis. They reviewed RCTs involving oral dosing of isolated cannabinoids. The narrow inclusion parameters of the study excluded studies of whole cannabis, of which there are many.

@iamGermania Hay espacio en Bocadillo Bistró! Puro beisbol y con narración a voz alta.

I’ve been informed there’s a hockey game tonight and all sports places will likely be showing that 😭😭

@polscitoall Corrijo el último comentario 🤦‍♂️ Me imagino que una posible aceptación a ser parte de EEUU sería mucho mayor en Venezuela.

@polscitoall Sabes de alguna encuesta que le haya preguntado esa preferencia a los venezolanos? 90% de los canadienses se oponen 🙋‍♂️ Y posiblemente algún porcentaje (25%?) podría considerarlo en favorables circunstancias económicas? Sospecho que estos porcentajes serán mayores en Venezuela

Trump menciona la idea de que Venezuela (ya no Canadá) sea el estado #51, tras su pase a la final del mundial de béisbol. Puede ser solo un mal chiste, pero tal vez sea una revelación de intenciones que no debería sorprender, ¿tendría coro en la oposición y el gobierno? Veremos.

"These trends illustrate how the public health consequences of cannabis use continue to evolve and underscore the importance of ongoing surveillance to effectively monitor, understand, and respond to the burden of CHS and other cannabis-related harms" frontiersin.org/journals/publi…

~40% of adults in Uruguay access cannabis more frequently through legal means (pharmacies, social clubs, home cultivation, or sharing) gub.uy/junta-nacional…

🧵 1/5 ¿Qué tiene que decirnos Doña Bárbara de Rómulo Gallegos sobre la Venezuela de 2026? El doctor Ángel Álvarez desde Toronto trajo hoy una de las conversaciones más lúcidas que hemos tenido en este espacio. 👇

@polscitoall @cmrondon @Floralicianzola Excelente entrevista!! Impecable.

Acá el programa de @cmrondon y @Floralicianzola en YouTube, en el que tuve el ese participar hoy. Fue una grata conversación con un excelente equipo de periodistas: youtube.com/live/cOAQdIecZ…

@AgIzarra Chávez vive y seguirá viviendo en todos y cada uno de los magazolanos actuales.

En algún lugar de Venezuela se gesta hoy un Chávez. El pueblo lo parirá.

New data on the control and sale of alcoholic beverages and cannabis in Canada are now available for the period of April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025: www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quoti…