As of March 2019, "medical marijuana" has been approved in 33 states; however, these products are not FDA-regulated. This article summarizes the evidence for marijuana in psychiatric indications, as well as risks, side effects, and drug interactions.
Tobacco has known associations with psychosis, but less is known about the relationship between tobacco use and subclinical psychotic-like experiences (PLEs). This study sought to disentangle the association of tobacco with PLEs in a large nationally representative sample—read the article to learn what the authors found.
How common is illicit drug use among current and former cigarette smokers? If marijuana isn' t considered illicit, does that change the prevalence of illicit drug use? Can illicit drug use interfere with smoking abstinence? Learn about these topics in this CME journal article.
For bipolar patients resistant to treatment with standard mood-stabilizing medications, the unique anticonvulsant lamotrigine has been beneficial. On occasion, however, its rare side effects have led to discontinuation. This study determines if a rechallenge is possible, and if so, the best approach to attempt the rechallenge.
Cigarette smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to use cannabis, and cannabis users are cigarette smokers more often than are nonusers. Read this article to learn how cannabis use relates to transitions in cigarette smoking over time.
Cognitive impairment often limits the ability of patients with schizophrenia to function in the community, but no medications are approved to treat this impairment. Read this article to learn if a selective α7-nicotinic partial agonist, which showed promise in nonsmokers, reduced cognitive impairment in a group of smokers with schizophrenia.
Despite the known dangers of cigarette smoking, many smokers do not use effective means for cessation. This report describes these smoking-cessation options and provides guidance for physicians.
In this Letter to the Editor, Henri-Jean Aubin, MD, PhD, et al discuss "Risk and Protective Factors For Suicide Mortality Among Patients With Alcohol Dependence" by Hung, et al. The authors question the omission of tobacco smoking as a possible risk factor for suicide from the study, since the prevalence of tobacco smoking among individuals in treatment for alcohol use disorder is very high. Drs Hung and Kuo reply.
The legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use is spreading, but studies on its efficacy and risks are still limited. In this article, Dr Andrade reviews recent data on the medical benefits and short- and long-term risks of cannabis use.
Baclofen, a French Exception, Seriously Harms Alcohol Use Disorder Patients Without Benefit
To the Editor: Dr Andrade’s analysis of the Bacloville trial in a recent Clinical and Practical Psychopharmacology column, in which he concluded that “individualized treatment with high-dose baclofen (30-300 mg/d) may be a useful second-line approach in heavy drinkers” and that “baclofen may be particularly useful in patients with liver disease,” deserves comment.1
First, Andrade failed to recall that the first pivotal trial of baclofen, ALPADIR (NCT01738282; 320 patients, as with Bacloville), was negative (see Braillon et al2).
Second, Dr Andrade should have warned readers that Bacloville’s results are most questionable, lacking robustness. Although he cited us,3 he overlooked the evidence we provided indicating that the Bacloville article4 was published without acknowledging major changes to the initial protocol, affecting the primary outcome. Coincidentally (although as skeptics, we do not believe in coincidence), the initial statistical team was changed when data were sold to the French pharmaceutical company applying for the marketing authorization in France. As Ronald H. Coase warned, “If you torture the data long enough, it will confess.”
MY ACCOUNT