university of colorado Archives

Trump Nominates Judge Neil M. Gorsuch for Supreme Court: Does He Support Marijuana?

February 14, 2017January 31, 2017

President Donald Trump has officially nominated Judge Neil M. Gorsuch as the next member of the U.S. Supreme Court. What is his opinion on marijuana legalization?

In a press conference this evening Donald Trump announced that he has officially nominated Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to become the ninth and tie-breaking member of the United States Supreme Court. Gorsuch is a federal appeals judge as part of the 10th District Court of Appeals, based in Denver; he is also an adjunct law professor at the University of Colorado.

Gorsuch, 49, has a history of conservative values and rulings. He would seamlessly assume the ideological lean the position had when it was held by the late Judge Antonin Scalia. Many liberals, and even moderates, fume at this thought; they had the opportunity for the first time in decades to take control of the Supreme Court when former President Obama nominated Merrick Garland last year. Of course, as everyone knows, Republicans spent months refusing to vote for Garland; this gave Trump an immediate opportunity to fill the vacancy.

Study: Heart Attack Patients with History of Cannabis Use Less Likely to Die During Hospitalization

April 15, 2016

Those with a history of cannabis use who suffer from a heart attack are less likely to die during hospitalization, according to a new study presented this month at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology (which took place April 3 in Chicago).

For the study, researchers took hospitalization results of 3,800 heart-attack patients who said that they’ve used cannabis in the past, and compared them to over a million similarly matched patients who didn’t have a history of cannabis use.

Researchers at the University of Colorado found that patients who had consumed cannabis had a significantly lower mortality rate during hospitalization, and were also at lower risk for shock and the use of an IABP (intra-aortic baloon pump).

Study: Daily Cannabis Use Has No Effect on Brain Volume or Shape

February 11, 2015February 10, 2015

A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience has found that daily cannabis use has no effect on the volume or shape of an individual’s brain.

For the study, researchers at the University of Colorado “examined brain morphology in a sample of adult daily marijuana users versus nonusers and a sample of adolescent daily users versus nonusers. ”

Researchers “acquired high-resolution MRI scans, and investigated group differences in gray matter using voxel-based morphometry, surface-based morphometry, and shape analysis in structures suggested to be associated with marijuana use, as follows: the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum.”

Study: Cannabis Holds Promise as a Treatment for Digestive Disorders

November 14, 2014November 14, 2014

Cannabis holds promise as a safe and effective treatment for digestive disorders, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, and published online by the National Institute of Health.

According to researchers; “It is increasingly clear that the endocannabinoid system plays a role in diverse biological pathways that affect gastrointestinal and hepatic physiology and pathology.”

University of Colorado Begins Mapping Cannabis Genome

March 12, 2014February 13, 2014

With cannabis recently legalized in parts of the country, scientists who have been sitting on their hands for years can now study the plant in its natural form – scientists like those at the University of Colorado Boulder, who have announced the launch of the Cannabis Genome Research Initiative. The goal of the eighteen-month endeavor is to map the DNA makeup of cannabis, and to provide more knowledge about the plant’s history.

Study: Cannabis Provides Substantial Relief to Those With Back Problems

October 25, 2013October 13, 2013

Recent research out of the University of Colorado, which was presented recently at the North American Spine Society’s annual meeting, has found that nearly 90% of those with back problems who consume cannabis find either great, or moderate relief from their cannabis consumption, and 81% believe it helps them as much, or more than traditional painkillers.

For the study, researchers examined 184 patients at a Colorado spine center. According to Michael Finn, MD, a coauthor of the study, 19% reported using cannabis for pain relief. Of these people, slightly less than half – 46% – were qualified medical cannabis patients in the State of Colorado.

Updated Study Finds that Medical Cannabis Legalization Reduces Traffic Fatalities

September 9, 2013August 26, 2013

We’ve written in the past about a 2011 study – conducted by researchers at Montana State University and the University of Colorado – which found that states which have legalized medical cannabis have seen a drastic reduction in traffic fatalities, due to a simultaneous decrease in alcohol consumption. This study was recently updated after researchers further analyzed the data, and was published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Law and Economics.