Finally, figuring out how to convince people to support legalization

15 Responses to Finally, figuring out how to convince people to support legalization

1. DdC says:

   March 7, 2019 at 7:16 pm

   Study: No Correlation Between
   THC Levels In Blood And Psychomotor Impairment
   https://t.co/yzoU9KFOE5

   Report: State-Licensed Marijuana Businesses
   Employ Over 200,000 Full-Time Workers
   https://t.co/SB0E7UCtGb

   NORML op-ed: Marijuana legalization
   not driving violent crime
   https://t.co/ofpVgRMCYh

   Is a marijuana breathalyzer for real?
   Don’t hold your breath
   https://t.co/UmXVnfpcP1

   I’m a LEO and cancer survivor;
   I support cannabis law reform
   https://t.co/vj9C1ANQen

   NORML Advisory Board Member debates Kevin Sabet
   https://t.co/J4oDcPEtkY
2. Servetus says:

   March 7, 2019 at 8:46 pm

   Sex?

   AAAS PUBLIC RELEASE: 27-OCT-2017
   Regular marijuana use linked to more sex

   STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
   A study by investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine indicates that, despite concerns among physicians and scientists that frequent marijuana use may impair sexual desire or performance, the opposite appears more likely to be the case.

   The findings, to be published online Oct. 27 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, are based on an analysis of more than 50,000 Americans ages 25-45. And they’re unambiguous.

   “Frequent marijuana use doesn’t seem to impair sexual motivation or performance. If anything, it’s associated with increased coital frequency,” said the study’s senior author, Michael Eisenberg, MD, assistant professor of urology. The lead author is Andrew Sun, MD, a resident in urology. […]

   Some 24.5 percent of men and 14.5 percent of women in the analysis reported having used marijuana, and there was a positive association between the frequency of marijuana use and the frequency of sexual intercourse. This relationship applied to both sexes: Women denying marijuana use in the past year, for example, had sex on average 6.0 times during the previous four weeks, whereas that number was 7.1 for daily pot users. Among men, the corresponding figure was 5.6 for nonusers and 6.9 for daily users.

   In other words, pot users are having about 20 percent more sex than pot abstainers, Eisenberg noted. […]

   Moreover, Eisenberg said, the positive association between marijuana use and coital frequency was independent of demographic, health, marital or parental status.

   In addition, the trend remained even after accounting for subjects’ use of other drugs, such as cocaine or alcohol. This, Eisenberg said, suggests that marijuana’s positive correlation with sexual activity doesn’t merely reflect some general tendency of less-inhibited types, who may be more inclined to use drugs, to also be more likely to have sex. In addition, coital frequency rose steadily with increasing marijuana use, a dose-dependent relationship supporting a possible active role for marijuana in fostering sexual activity.

   AAAS PUBLIC RELEASE: 5-FEB-2019
   Marijuana smoking linked with higher sperm concentrations

   HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

   …Men who have smoked marijuana at some point in their life had significantly higher concentrations of sperm when compared with men who have never smoked marijuana, according to new research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The study, conducted in the Fertility Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital, also found that there was no significant difference in sperm concentrations between current and former marijuana smokers. […]

   Analysis of the semen samples showed that men who had smoked marijuana had average sperm concentrations of 62.7 million sperm per milliliter of ejaculate while men who had never smoked marijuana had average concentrations of 45.4 million sperm per milliliter of ejaculate. Only 5% of marijuana smokers had sperm concentrations below 15 million/mL (the World Health Organization’s threshold for “normal” levels) compared with 12% of men who had never smoked marijuana.

   The study also found that among marijuana smokers, greater use was associated with higher serum testosterone levels. […]

   AAAS PUBLIC RELEASE: 4-AUG-2016
   Comparing sexual experiences related to alcohol and marijuana use among adults: NYU researchers asked participants about their behaviors before, during, and after sex while under the influence of marijuana and alcohol

   NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

   …Compared to marijuana, alcohol use was more commonly associated with social outgoingness and use often facilitated connections with potential sexual partners; however, alcohol was more likely than marijuana to lead to atypical partner choice or post-sex regret.

   Alcohol was commonly used as a social lubricant to meet sexual partners, and this was related, in part, to alcohol being readily available in social gatherings.

   “Interestingly, some users reported that the illegality of marijuana actually facilitated sexual interactions,” notes Dr. Palamar. “Since smoking marijuana recreationally is illegal in most states and smoking it tends to produce a strong odor, it usually has to be used in a private setting. Some individuals utilize such private or intimate situations to facilitate sexual encounters”.

   While users often described favorable sexual effects of each drug, both alcohol and marijuana were reportedly associated with a variety of negative sexual effects including sexual dysfunction. For example, marijuana use was linked to vaginal dryness and alcohol was commonly described as increasing the likelihood of impotence among males.

   The researchers noted that the sexual effects tended to be similar across males and females, and both alcohol and marijuana were generally associated with loss of inhibitions. Both drugs appear to be potentially associated with increased feelings of self-attractiveness, but possibly more so for alcohol, and participants reported feelings of increased sociability and boldness while consuming alcohol.

   While some participants reported that marijuana use made them more selective in choosing a partner, many participants– both male and female–felt that their “standards” for choosing a partner were lowered while under the influence of alcohol.

   “It wasn’t surprising that alcohol use reportedly led to less post-sex satisfaction than marijuana,” said Dr. Palamar. “Participants reported feelings of regret more frequently after sex on alcohol, but compared to alcohol they generally didn’t report poor judgment after using marijuana.”

   When smoking marijuana, participants tended to reported increased feelings of anxiety or a sense of wariness in unfamiliar situations that they did not generally seem to experience after using alcohol. Therefore, these drugs appear to have different effects with regard to socialization that may precede a sexual encounter.

   “Sexual encounters on marijuana tended to be with someone the individual knew,” comments Dr. Palamar. “Sex on alcohol was often with a stranger so the situation before sex may be much more important than the drug used.”

   Marijuana and alcohol are associated with unique sexual effects, with alcohol use reportedly leading to riskier sexual behavior. Both drugs appear to potentially increase risk for unsafe sex.

   AAAS PUBLIC RELEASE: 15-MAY-2017
   Study: Trying new marijuana products and edibles is associated with unexpected highs

   RTI INTERNATIONAL
   The study, published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, found that in the context of legalization, many marijuana users will try new marijuana products and use edibles, and that doing so markedly increases the odds of experiencing an unexpected high.

   The research shows that most people who experienced an unexpected high slept it off, and others engaged in protective behaviors such as deciding not to drive or changing or cancelling plans. However, respondents also reported having unintended sex as a result of the unexpected high, and some ended up in the hospital, clinic or emergency room.

   “Marijuana users who reported using new marijuana products or edibles were at greater risk of experiencing an unexpected high, regardless of their age, gender, education, mental health status, or amount of marijuana consumed in the past month,” said Jane Allen, study author and research public health analyst at RTI.

   Sex so great you end up in a hospital. Will this be the new trend?
3. kaptinemo says:

   March 9, 2019 at 7:47 pm

   Hypertension alert! Danger! Medicate prior to viewing!

   If this video doesn’t piss you off and get your blood pressure to dangerous heights out of sheer apoplexy, you’re a freakin’ cyborg with a water pump for a heart: Pancreatic cancer marijuana hospital hassle

   Stupidity. Utterly unforgivable stupidity. Let’s see the prohibs try to use their pretzel logic to justify this insanity. I’ll bet Corpulent Kevvie’s phone is ringing and vibrating off the table.
4. Servetus says:

   March 14, 2019 at 8:42 am

   Elderly people with chronic symptoms can benefit from marijuana:

   28-FEB-2019 — Medical marijuana may bring relief to older people who have symptoms like pain, sleep disorders or anxiety due to chronic conditions including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, neuropathy, spinal cord damage and multiple sclerosis, according to a preliminary study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. The study not only found medical marijuana may be safe and effective, it also found that one-third of participants reduced their use of opioids. […]

   According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 80 percent of older adults have at least one chronic health condition. […]

   The study involved 204 people with an average age of 81 who were enrolled in New York State’s Medical Marijuana Program. Participants took various ratios of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to cannabidiol (CBD), the main active chemicals in medical marijuana, for an average of four months and had regular checkups. The medical marijuana was taken by mouth as a liquid extract tincture, capsule or in an electronic vaporizer. […]

   Initially, 34 percent of participants had side effects from the medical marijuana. After an adjustment in dosage, only 21 percent reported side effects. The most common side effects were sleepiness in 13 percent of patients, balance problems in 7 percent and gastrointestinal disturbances in 7 percent. Three percent of the participants stopped taking the medical marijuana due to the side effects. Researchers said a ratio of one-to-one THC to CBD was the most common ratio among people who reported no side effects.

   Researchers found that 69 percent of participants experienced some symptom relief. Of those, the most common conditions that improved were pain with 49 percent experiencing relief, sleep symptoms with 18 percent experiencing relief, neuropathy improving in 15 percent and anxiety improving in 10 percent.

   Opioid pain medication was reduced in 32 percent of participants.

   “Our findings show that medical marijuana is well-tolerated in people age 75 and older and may improve symptoms like chronic pain and anxiety,” said Mechtler. “Future research should focus on symptoms like sleepiness and balance problems, as well as efficacy and optimal dosing.”

   AAAS Public Release: Could medical marijuana help grandma and grandpa with their ailments?–New study shows it may be safe and effective for symptoms of chronic disease

   The research was funded by the Dent Family Foundation.
5. Servetus says:

   March 14, 2019 at 9:46 am

   “It’s astonishing that only two species of plants, separated by 300 million years of evolution, produce psychoactive cannabinoids,” says Swiss scientist Jürg Gertsch:

   24-OCT-2018 — THC in its pure form was first isolated from cannabis in 1964 by Raphael Mechoulam at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Until now, it was thought that cannabis was the only plant that produces THC. However, as early as 1994, Japanese phytochemist Yoshinori Asakawa had discovered a substance in the liverwort plant Radula perrottetii which was related to THC and had named this natural substance “perrottetinene”. In this natural product, the individual atoms are linked together in a manner similar to that of THC, however they differ in their three-dimensional structure and further exhibit an additional benzyl group. […]

   A few year ago, Jürg Gertsch from the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bern discovered that liverworts were being advertised as so-called “legal highs” on the internet. At the time, nothing was known about the pharmacological effects of this substance. Together with chemists from Erick Carreira’s team from the Department of Chemistry at the ETH Zürich, Gertsch’s research team in Bern biochemically and pharmacologically compared THC and perrottetinene.

   Using animal models, they were able to demonstrate that perrottetinene reaches the brain very easily and that, once there, it specifically activates cannabinoid receptors. It even demonstrates a stronger anti-inflammatory effect in the brain than THC, something which makes perrottetinene particularly interesting when you consider its potential medical application. […]

   “This natural substance has a weaker psychoactive effect and, at the same time, is capable of inhibiting inflammatory processes in the brain.” In particular, in contrast to THC, perrottetinene inhibits the prostaglandins in the brain which are factors causing inflammation. In doing so, perrottetinene has an effect on cannabinoid receptors which is similar to that of the endocannabinoids produced by our own bodies. […]

   AAAS Public Release: A type of moss could prove to be more medically effective than hemp

   Liverwort grows only in Japan, New Zealand and Costa Rica. Will their governments’ drug laws now require them to prohibit a species of moss?

   Perrottetinene poses an international legal dilemma for prohibitionists and those needing medicinally effective treatments for brain inflammations, making it a potentially useful feature for drug law reform.
6. DdC says:

   March 14, 2019 at 12:15 pm

   Perspectives

   Belladonna (bell ah DON ah)

   Belladonna and Opium Suppository
   This drug has not been found by FDA to be safe and effective, and this labeling has not been approved by FDA.

   Belladonna’s so toxic that eating a small quantity of its leaves or berries can be fatal to humans

   Some places it is still illegal to use Cannabis

   Ah America,
   where you can shove Belladonna & Smack up your ass,
   but you can’t smoke a joint!

   One for the funny pages. The Black Caucus has blocked Cannabis legalization for 50 years being on the wrong side of logic. As more blacks are incarcerated overall. So now they try to block the legislation without social justice, in New York of all places. So siding with racist Prohibitionist will bring justice?

   Black Lawmakers to Block Legalization
   Without Social Justice in New York

   BAN Lifetime Bans!

   Law Firm Sues U.S. Customs
   Over Lifetime Bans for Canadian Cannabis Workers

   Damn, all these years buying pot
   without a DNA test kit.
   How did I ever get high?

   Using DNA to Make Informed Cannabis Purchases

   Life in Prison for Selling $20 of Weed

   Pot has brought more prison time
   than Paul Manfrauds Treason crime.

   .

   Not sure about shooting people on acid. Wrong mindset. Although I bet tracer bullets, bombs bursting in air and the rockets red glare are pretty.

   Can American Troops Win Wars by Dropping Acid?
   An active duty officer argues that military intelligence analysts can benefit from a mental “flow” state to help them think more creatively—and claims LSD might help.

   “Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne.”
   ― Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions
   • darkcycle says:

     March 15, 2019 at 2:43 pm

     The drug we get from Nightshade is Atropine (from the latin name, Atropa Belladonna). It is indispensable. Used in heart disease and as an antidote to many poisons, including Ricin…I take it in combination with phenobarbitol for my IBS when it’s really bad. In high concentration it is a deadly poison…but it’s medicinal properties have been known for a very long time…there’s a reason every witch’s garden has Nightshade.
     • DdC says:

       March 15, 2019 at 4:39 pm

       I agree DC, Belladonna can be a sufficient homopathic remedy. I believe they do the same as big pharma in “treating” symptoms, verses supplementing the ECS. Just thought it odd that the FDA doesn’t think its too dangerous to pull from buying it at Amazon when some places still cage you for doobies. Amazon should sell THC products since the FDA has never tested Cannabis.

       CBD vs. CBN: Differences, Benefits, And Uses For Two Potent
       https://t.co/uYdvl2haSH
   • Servetus says:

     March 15, 2019 at 8:08 pm

     I encountered a fellow mind tripper in the 70s who did a bit too much belladonna (+ strontium nitrate). It’s no voyage for amateurs or the ill-informed.

     He imbibed the witch’s concoction in his parent’s home. Then he spent a week hallucinating that the Beatles were hanging out in the family living room. His parents kicked him out of their house permanently for his odd behavior. I presumed it was because his Mormon mom and dad hated the Beatles. Too bad. He was a good pianist.
   • Servetus says:

     March 17, 2019 at 11:19 am

     More on the lore and legend of belladonna in an excerpt taken from The Witches’ Ointment: The Secret History of Psychedelic Magic :

     …This bewitching plant found utility in a variety of ways. In the early eleventh century the Earl of Macbeth— the very Macbeth on whom William Shakespeare would model his infamous character— decided on one last effort to expel the invading Norse from Scotland. After surrendering to King Svein Knutson and taking refuge in Perth, Macbeth sent provisions to his conquerors. “A great quantity of bread was therefore sent, together with wine and ale into which had been infused a poisonous herb . . . commonly called sleeping nightshade”— a shrewd form of medieval psycho-chemical warfare. The results did not disappoint: Macbeth sent Lord Banquo and his army to seize the enemy camp; the panicked and intoxicated Norsemen stood no chance. Other soldiers remained asleep, perhaps not even awakened by Banquo’s sword piercingof the spoils; he couldn’t be roused and had to be quickly “thrown like a burden over a baggage horse.” However, Macbeth had already dispatched forces to the harbor. That was the end of King Svein and his brief victory over the Scots.

     Women found uses for nightshade in the beauty products of the early modern period. The word belladonna (beautiful mistress) probably came from the red juice of the berries that was used as rouge. A second plausible explanation behind the name might come from the other use of the nightshade berry’s juice: as an eyedrop to enlarge women’s pupils to make them more attractive. This latter beauty practice, however, seems to have been local to Venice, as there is scant indication that it existed elsewhere in Europe. […]

     Nightshade’s reputation seems to have attracted criticism. It was said by Ardoyni that eating the root of “solatro” “in sufficient amounts . . . causes insanity, or synesthesia . . . a kind of foolishness . . . bizarre color patterns . . . speech impediments or talkativeness . . . hiccups . . . chest pain, and spasms . . . [and] death.” Like other psychoactive drugs already mentioned it is also listed as a sex inhibiter. And yet the drug remained in use. The Macer floridus de viribus herbarum (On the Strengths of Herbs), a late ninth-century catalog of seventy-seven herbs and their supposed medicinal properties written in a kind of vulgar Latin verse, contains some pithy plant descriptions. The Greeks called nightshade strignum (a linguistic association with strix), and said that a plaster made from it helps eye ulcers, headaches, “St. Anthony’s Fire and stinging herpes.” Some medieval medical faculties recommended belladonna as a counteraction to incubi possession, a holdover from ancient Greece dating back to as early as 460 BCE.

     Deadly nightshade was also found in sleep ointments and potions, this practice resulting in a highly unstable medicine. Even a safe quantity of the juice mixed with vinegar or wine and rubbed on the temples “causeth sleep,” “troubleth the mind, [and] bringeth madness” to users. Drunk by children to treat “hooping-cough,” a measurement that “exceeds ever so little the proper dose . . . occasion[ ed] the most painful dreams.” Italian scholar, scientist, polymath, and playright Giambattista della Porta (ca. 1535– 1615) warned of belladonna’s powers: “So that it is a most pleasant spectacle to behold such mad whimsies and visions, which is also cured by sleep. . . . Nevertheless, we give this precaution, that all those roots or seeds which cause the takers of them to see delightful visions, if their dose be increased, will continue this alienation of mind for three days. But if quadrupled, it brings death.”

     (pp. 93-96). 2015 Inner Traditions/Bear & Company. Kindle Edition.
7. NCN says:

   March 15, 2019 at 12:08 pm

   On cannabis and sex. For old hippies, the fact weed can enhance orgasm is old news. Really old news.

   What role (if any) does newfound celebrity CBD play in sexual encounters? Everyone is different and it’s possible CBD has aphrodisiac qualities but I’ve never noticed any at all.

   The ability to improve sex lives and orgasms is a feature of THC and the entourage that comes with it. So, feed your CBD to your pets, grab some THC-rich weed, and learn to get psychoactive if you want better sex.

   And, on this topic, cannabis is certainly a gateway to psychedelics if enhanced orgasm is what you’re seeking. Weed makes sex better, LSD makes it incredible.
8. Servetus says:

   March 19, 2019 at 12:41 pm

   People 51 and older benefit from medicinal marijuana’s pain relieving capabilities, with improvements that include reducing their sick leave from the workplace:

   19-MAR-2019 — A study that examined older Americans’ well-being before and after medical marijuana laws were passed in their state found reductions in reported pain and increased hours worked. The study, co-written by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Temple University, suggests medical marijuana laws could be improving older Americans’ health.

   The paper analyzed more than 100,000 responses from survey participants age 51 and older from 1992 to 2012. Researchers found a 4.8 percent decrease in reported pain and a 6.6 percent increase in reported very good or excellent health among respondents with a health condition that would qualify for medical marijuana after their states passed medical marijuana laws relative to similar respondents whose states did not pass a law. […]

   “Our study is important because of the limited availability of clinical trial data on the effects of medical marijuana,” says Lauren Hersch Nicholas, PhD, assistant professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management. “While several studies point to improved pain control with medical marijuana, research has largely ignored older adults even though they experience the highest rates of medical issues that could be treated with medical marijuana.” […]

   AAAS Public Release: Medical marijuana laws linked to health and labor supply benefits in older adults: Findings show that pain declines, assessments of health improve and Americans remain in the workforce
9. Servetus says:

   March 19, 2019 at 5:08 pm

   The CB1 cannabinoid receptor plays a vital role in motivating exercise. Later research will focus on CB1 receptors links to diseases affecting eating and exercise such as anorexia nervosa:

   19-MAR-2019 — A study by Inserm and CNRS researchers published on March 7, 2019 in JCI Insight reveals that the cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors play an essential role in the choice between running and eating chocolatey food.

   The authors of this paper had previously reported that the cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors, present on several types of neurons, play a key role in performance during physical activity in mice… When exposed to this test, the mice lacking CB1 receptors showed an 80 % deficit in the maximum effort they were prepared to make to unlock [a] wheel, and without a decrease in performance during their access to it. This finding indicates that the CB1 receptors play a major role in controlling motivation for exercise. The use of other genetically-modified mice also enabled the researchers to demonstrate that these CB1 receptors controlling motivation for exercise are located on GABAergic neurons.

   The researchers then examined whether the CB1 receptors in the GABAergic neurons control the motivation for another reward: chocolatey food (like humans, mice love it even when they are otherwise well-fed). While the CB1 receptors also play a role in motivation for food – albeit to a lesser extent than in motivation for exercise – the CB1 receptors located on the GABAergic neurons are not implicated in the motivation for eating chocolatey food… The motivation for exercise was greater than that for chocolatey food, with the exception of the mice lacking CB1 – whether generally or just on GABAergic neurons – whose preference was for the food. […]

   In addition to these findings indicating that the cannabinoid receptor is essential for the motivation for exercise, this study opens up avenues for researching the neurobiological mechanisms behind pathological increases in this motivation. One illustration is provided by anorexia nervosa which often combines the decreased motivation to eat with an increased motivation to exercise.

   AAAS Public Release: Go for a run or eat chocolate: A choice dictated by the cannabinoid receptors
10. Servetus says:

    March 26, 2019 at 9:52 am

    Research confirms medicinal marijuana patients make distinctions in cannabinoid ratios based on the types of diseases or symptoms they’re treating:

    26-Mar-2019…In a report publishing in the Journal of Palliative Medicine on March 26, researchers say that cancer patients were more likely to favor forms of medical marijuana with higher amounts of THC, which relieves cancer symptoms and the side effects of cancer treatment, including chronic pain, weight loss, and nausea.

    By contrast, marijuana formulations higher in cannabidiol (CBD), which has been shown to reduce seizures and inflammation in other studies, were more popular among non-cancer patients, including those with epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, say the study authors.

    Cancer patients were also more likely to prefer taking oil droplets containing medical marijuana under the tongue than “vaping”. […]

    For the study, researchers analyzed data from 11,590 men and women in New York, of whom 1,990 (17.2 percent of the total patient cohort) were cancer patients who purchased and used cannabis products from Columbia Care LLC., a dispensary licensed in New York State, between January 2016 and December 2017.

    The researchers caution that their data did not include the type of cancer the purchasers had, how much of what they bought was used, or whether marijuana was used for symptoms unrelated to the cancer. Nevertheless, the patterns of use among cancer patients were distinctly different from those of non-cancer patients.

    Specifically, the study found that cancer and non-cancer patients used different dosages of cannabis formulations with dramatically different THC:CBD ratios. The two most common formulations contained THC and CBD, but one had twenty times more THC than CBD, whereas the other had the opposite ratio.

    Over the two years of the study, the research team found that all types of patients increased their THC dose by approximately 0.20 milligrams per week. […]

    Researchers say they next plan to get more detailed information about how medical marijuana affects patient response to therapy and functional status at different stages of their disease, as well as the risks and side effects of treatment. Furthermore, the profiles of other cannabinoids besides THC and CBD in medical marijuana products warrant further research, according to the study authors.

    AAAS Public Release: Study shows that patients with or without cancer use different forms of marijuana
11. Servetus says:

    March 31, 2019 at 5:41 pm

    A new Fentanyl OD antidote may be five years away. Making cannabinoids a substitute for opioids is still an easily available option for now:

    March 31, 2019 — …Fentanyl’s powerful effects are long-lasting, and even tiny amounts of the drug can lead to an overdose. Antidotes, such as naloxone, do not last long enough in the body to fully counter the drug, requiring repeated injections. Now, scientists report that they are developing single-dose, longer-lasting opioid antidotes using polymer nanoparticles. […]

    Fentanyl, which is much stronger than morphine, another opioid, can be absorbed into fat tissue, which protects it from being metabolized right away. It is then slowly released from this tissue, causing effects for several hours. Naloxone, an MOR antagonist and antidote, only stays in the system for about 30 minutes to an hour, however. Because of this mismatch, repeated doses are required to help the patient recover. But not all patients want to undergo the entire treatment course, and they can end up succumbing to an overdose after the naloxone is metabolized.

    “In collaboration with the Benedict Kolber laboratory at Duquesne University, proof-of-concept research has shown that these nanoparticles can deliver sufficient naloxone in a linear time-release fashion to block morphine’s analgesic effect for 24 hours,” Averick notes. “As a next step, the study will be extended to fentanyl.” Although the most recent work was performed with mice, future studies will include an animal model that more closely simulates how humans metabolize opioids. […]

    Given the fact that naloxone and the other compounds the team uses are already deemed safe, Averick predicts that the time-to-market could be less than five years for the nanoparticle system.

    AAAS Public Release: Next-generation single-dose antidotes for opioid overdoses

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