Learning from the Community
Northern California is the home of the “Emerald Triangle”, a three county region where Cannabis is traditionally cultivated, used, and historically traded as a commodity. Using the lessons I learned from the Framingham Heart Study, I embarked on an Epidemiological Study of Cannabis use in the “Emerald Triangle”. – Dr. Talleyrand
The Framingham heart study, under the direction of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), formerly known as the National Heart Institute, has been committed to identifying the common factors or characteristics that contribute to cardiovascular disease (CVD). We have followed CVD development over a long period of time in three generations of participants. Since 1971, the Boston University School of Medicine has served as NHLBI contractor and academic partner for the study.
Over the years, careful monitoring of the Framingham Study population has led to the identification of major CVD risk factors, as well as valuable information on the effects of these factors such as blood pressure, blood triglyceride and cholesterol levels, age, gender, and psychosocial issues. Risk factors for other physiological conditions such as dementia have been and continue to be investigated. In addition, the relationships between physical traits and genetic patterns are being studied.
At the turn of the 21st century, Cannabis use was again permitted and has spread throughout the globe. The Dosing Project™ is a crowd-sourced surveillance tool that takes advantage of a depth of historical use in order to understand Cannabis dosage, anticipated effects and adverse events. The Dosing Project™ surveys Cannabis users to inform on Cannabis dosage and adverse events with an intent to facilitate safety and optimal product development.
As I look to the future, I imagine approaching Cannabis in a new way. Our science currently combines multi-agent pharmacognosy with detailed evaluations of community use patterns to identify the health risks and benefits of Cannabis use. We have embarked on trials of future applications that incorporate multivariate algorithms (AI) to derive formulations that personalize Cannabis as medicine. The future therapeutic potential of Cannabis is tremendous and I am happy to be part of the journey.
