The dissertation that follows is the result of extended collaboration with, and co-labouring among women working in an illicit, value-added cannabis production facility, 400115335 BC, in the southeastern interior of British Columbia, Canada, in the lower Slocan Valley. An extended case study of the political economy leveraged against these workers ensues, which exposes the mechanisms depriving them of state provisions and protections normally afforded to Canadian citizens. Illegal firms employing unprotected workers, with the full consent of local and provincial authorities, represent the significant findings of this research. Further, the work engages in ethnographic content analysis to evaluate the intentional exclusion of illicit cannabis producers in the West Kootenay region, and in Canada more generally, from the approvals and licenses that would permit them to participate in legal markets. An examination of late capitalist financialisation is presented to illustrate that ex-politicians and law enforcement persons prioritised their personal access to cannabis production licenses and markets over that of a five decades-old, established industry, excluding hundreds of functioning production farms, opting instead to create cannabis production firms incapable of producing at scale, many of which either engaged, or continue to engage in malfeasant practices such as deployment of the deceptive IFRS accounting methodology, the over-compensation of corporate principals, and the “pump and dump” stock valuation scam, a form of insider trading. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The dissertation that follows is both a result of co-labouring among workers in an illicit, value-added cannabis production facility in the south-eastern interior of British Columbia, Canada, and an ethnographic content analysis that takes as its subjects the intentional exclusion of Canadian small-scale, craft cannabis farmers, the ‘natural/rational’ cannabis market Canada created when it legalized the substance in late 2018, and the access granted to that market for powerful politicians and law enforcement officials. An investigation of the political economy leveraged against illicit workers ensues, depriving them of state provisions and protections normally afforded to Canadian citizens. Legal firms engaging in fraudulent financial activities, and illegal firms employing unprotected workers, within the purview and full consent of authorities, represent significant findings.

Objectives: The objective of this body of work was to begin addressing four questions about the association between cannabis use and anxiety and related disorders: 1. How is cannabis used?, 2. What are the motives for cannabis use?, 3. Is marijuana use temporally associated with anxiety symptoms?, 4. Does cannabis use impact anxiety and related disorder cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) outcomes? Methods: Using self-report questionnaires, study 1 focused on understanding patterns of cannabis use in those seeking anxiety and related disorders services, while study 2 extended the findings from study 1 by examining motives for cannabis use in this population. Further, an experience sampling method was implemented for study 3 to explore whether clinical anxiety symptoms and marijuana use (i.e., dried cannabis material) were temporally associated. Using smartphone technology, marijuana use and anxiety data were captured over a 2-week period. Finally, study 4 investigated whether pre-treatment cannabis use impacted the change in anxiety and related disorder symptoms throughout CBT. Results: Individuals seeking anxiety and related disorder services often used cannabis, primarily via smoking joints. They used cannabis for various reasons but most commonly for coping and enhancement. Coping and expansion motives were significantly more common in frequent users compared to infrequent users. Further, earlier worry, but not anxiety or negative affect, was associated with increased likelihood of later marijuana use, however no long-term reduction in worry following marijuana use, suggesting that it is not an effective worry management strategy. Finally, frequent cannabis use was associated with dampened CBT outcomes compared to non-users, however their anxiety symptoms improved significantly from pre- to post-CBT. Conclusions: Collectively, results suggest that cannabis use plays an important role in anxiety and related disorders. The findings contribute to the understanding of the association between cannabis use and anxiety and related disorders, highlighting important clinical implications upon replication. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Individuals with anxiety and related disorders have been shown to use cannabis at an elevated rate and are at higher risk of problematic cannabis use than those with low anxiety. Unfortunately, little is known about the association between cannabis use, and anxiety and related disorders. This body of work begins to address four important questions about cannabis use in those with anxiety and related disorders: 1. How is cannabis used?, 2. Why is cannabis used?, 3. Is marijuana use temporally associated with anxiety symptoms?, 4. Does cannabis use impact anxiety and related disorder psychological treatment outcomes? Understanding the answers to these questions may inform mental health care workers about how to best care for individuals struggling with anxiety and related disorders, who also use cannabis.

The genus Cannabis has been treated taxonomically by several authors, but two main hypotheses predominate. Small and Cronquist (1976) concluded that the genus is monotypic and contains only Cannabis sativa L. Subspecies were named according to the economic purpose of the plants, i.e. fibre or drug, and varieties were assigned according to habitat (wild or cultivated). Schultes (1974) believed the genus is polytypic, with Cannabis sativa L. representing the fibre plants, C. indica Lam, the drug plants, and C. ruderalis Janis. the wild and weedy plants. A study of flavonoid variation was undertaken to determine which of the taxonomic schemes would be supported by this variation. Individual plants were examined by thin-layer chromatography and presence/absence data for nine flavonoids were analyzed by three types of computer programs. The infraspecific variation of flavonoids in the genus Cannabis supports the monotypic theory of Small and Cronquist (1976). No consistent, distinguishable groups were noticeable in the data. Wild taxa were more closely related to their cultivated progenitors than they were to each other. A division of the genus Cannabis into several species would not be supported by flavonoid variation. / Science, Faculty of / Botany, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (LLM (Research))--Murdoch University, 2006. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Arts. Bibliography: leaves [228]-272.

As legalization of cannabis continues to spread across the United States, many question the public health implications. The term “cannabis” is often used to refer to anything that comes from the plant and can be used recreationally (to get high or alter one’s current state) or medically (to treat a medical condition). While previous research has primarily focused on the impact of recreational cannabis use, few studies have examined cognitive outcomes associated with medical cannabis (MC) use and the potential for development of problematic use in MC patients. Given important distinctions among recreational users and MC patients, it is likely that these distinct populations of cannabis consumers will experience differential cognitive effects and potential for problematic cannabis use. This dissertation is comprised of three studies. The first is a cross-sectional study that explores executive function and verbal learning and memory in recreational cannabis users relative to healthy controls who do not use cannabis, while also assessing whether cannabis use patterns (e.g., age of onset, urinary THC levels) influence findings. The second study is an observational, longitudinal study which examines executive function and memory, as well as changes in mood, anxiety, sleep, and quality of life in MC patients over 12 months of MC treatment relative to pre-MC treatment. In the third study, symptoms and behaviors associated with problematic cannabis use are examined in cohorts from study 1 and study 2. Specifically, scores on the Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test – Revised (CUDIT-R) are assessed in MC patients over the course of treatment and also compared to a previously recruited cohort of recreational cannabis users; the validity of the CUDIT-R is also explored. Despite previous research, in the current study recreational users did not exhibit cognitive decrements relative to healthy controls. In MC patents, cognitive performance was stable over the course of 12 months of MC treatment relative to pre-MC treatment performance, and overall they reported improved ratings of mood, anxiety, sleep, and some aspects of quality of life. Although the CUDIT-R suggests MC patients’ average scores do not meet the threshold for possible cannabis use disorder, analyses revealed this measure is not valid and therefore not appropriate in MC patients. Although changes in cognition were not detected in recreational users or MC patients in the current studies, a number of methodological limitations (e.g., sample size and limited ability to adjust for confounding variables) must be considered as these factors likely affected study results. Future studies evaluating the impact of cannabis use will benefit from carefully considering the definition of cannabis itself, goal of use, product choice, and age of onset of use. Researchers and clinicians will also benefit from the development of screening tools specifically designed to assess cannabis use disorder in those who use cannabis for medical purposes.

Le cannabis médical et récréatif (Cannabis sativa L.) est une industrie en pleine expansion au Canada depuis sa légalisation en octobre 2018. Cependant, le peu de connaissance scientifique sur la fertilisation est un enjeu important pour les producteurs afin d'obtenir de meilleurs rendements et d'offrir un produit de qualité. Cela se traduit souvent par une fertilisation excessive ou non adaptée à cette espèce, ce qui impacte la qualité des produits et engendre des coûts plus élevés de production. Le but de cette étude était donc, dans un premier temps, de caractériser les taux de prélèvement des éléments nutritifs du Cannabis sativa lors de la phase de floraison et, dans un second temps, de déterminer pour un génotype l'effet de N, P et K sur la croissance, la productivité et la qualité des inflorescences. Pour ce faire, nous avons réalisé deux expériences. La première expérience s'est déroulée chez un producteur autorisé (IsoCanMed Inc.) utilisant des tours verticales aéroponiques et où deux doses de N (150 et 250 ppm) ont été comparées et l'absorption minérale des plantes caractérisée au cours de la phase de floraison, et ce, pour 2 cycles de production par niveau d'azote. La deuxième expérience s'est tenue dans une serre de l'Université Laval et a permis d'étudier les effets de cinq concentrations de P (25, 50, 100, 150 et 200 ppm) et deux concentrations de K (175 et 250 ppm) pour des plantes cultivées dans un système hydroponique en eau profonde. Nos résultats ont démontré qu'une concentration élevée en N (> 150 ppm) a entrainé une surcroissance des plantes (hauteur des plantes), a diminué la teneur en THC des inflorescences (-9,5%), mais a permis d'augmenter la biomasse florale (+29%) d'un des deux génotypes étudiés. Des concentrations supérieures à 25 ppm de P et 175 ppm de K n'ont toutefois pas amélioré la productivité et la qualité des inflorescences. Les résultats obtenus ainsi que la caractérisation des taux d'absorption des éléments nutritifs au cours du développement de la plante nous ont permis de suggérer une fertilisation de référence en N, P et K pour des plantes en phase de floraison et cultivées dans un système hydroponique. Il serait toutefois intéressant de poursuivre ces travaux avec un plus grand nombre de phénotypes et sous différentes conditions lumineuses. / Drug-type cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) in a booming industry following its legalization in Canada in 2018. However, few scientific studies on the optimal fertilization is a main challenge for producers who aim to harvest high yields with a high cannabinoid content. Thus, this often results in the overuse of fertilizers or not well adapted fertilization that impact the quality and the cost of production. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize the nutrient plant uptake during the flowering phase and to determine the impact of N, P and K on growth, productivity, and quality of the inflorescence. The first experiment was done within a plant factory at a licensed producer (IsoCanMed Inc.) who uses vertical aeroponic towers. Two levels of N (150 and 250 ppm) were used in two cycles for each treatment to identify their impact on Cannabis and to characterize the nutrient uptake throughout the flowering phase. The second experiment was conducted in a greenhouse located at Laval University in order to test five (25, 50, 100, 150 and 200 ppm) and two (175 and 250 ppm) concentrations of P and K, respectively, by using a deep-water system. Based on our results, N fertilization above 150 ppm resulted in an overgrowth (plant height), a reduction in THC content in the inflorescences (-9.5%), but an improvement in floral biomass productivity (+29%) for one genotype. Concentrations above 25 ppm P and 175 ppm K, however, did not improve the productivity and the quality of the inflorescences. The results obtained as well as the characterization of the absorption rates of nutrients during the development of the plant allowed us to suggest a reference N, P and K fertilization for flowering plants grown in a hydroponic system. However, it would be interesting to continue this work with a larger number of phenotypes and under different light conditions.

Marihuana continues to be a controversial topic in todays society. The plant material is used recreationally as a stupefacient and has a purported medicinal use. In fact, anecdotal information about its medicinal properties has been such that Health Canada has recently started an initiative to provide a well characterized supply of plant tissue to researchers interested in examining its potential medicinal properties. Simultaneously this same material is being provided for those subjects who are licensed to use marihuana as a medicine. <p>In order to further study marihuana and its component cannabinoids it is essential to be able to discern both the cannabinoid content in the product being supplied and more importantly the cannabinoid profile in the delivery system. At present the most common route of administration is via inhalation of the combusted plant material. Consequently methods capable of measuring the cannabinoid content in combusted plant material would be very useful in order to make meaningful study of the pharmacokinetics of the cannabinoids delivered by this route. <p>Investigations were carried out to develop a method and study the volatile constituents of combusted marihuana plant material in a semi-enclosed environment. Thus the hypothesis of this research is that qualitative and quantitative information can be obtained from the combustion products of cannabis plant tissue. The method relies upon the solid phase extraction of smoke arising from the combustion of plant material in a variety of combustion chambers. The combustion chambers were designed to reflect the current marihuana paraphernalia in use as well as a high efficiency in vitro system. Both the qualitative and quantitative levels of a limited number of cannabinoids were evaluated before and after combustion. A quantitative Liquid Chromatography Ultra Violet (LC-UV) detector method was validated for the analysis of a selected group of cannabinoids ( Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) . When this method was applied to plant material available through the medical marijuana initiative the following observations were made on the combustion products:<p> <table style="text-align: left; width: 397px;" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 119px;">Material</td> <td style="width: 59px;">CBD</td> <td style="width: 59px;">CBN</td> <td style="width: 59px;">THC</td> <td style="width: 59px;">THCA</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 119px;">Analyzed</td> <td style="width: 59px;">(ug/ml)</td> <td style="width: 59px;">(ug/ml)</td> <td style="width: 59px;">(ug/ml)</td> <td style="width: 59px;">(ug/ml)</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 119px;">Plant</td> <td style="width: 59px;">BLQ</td> <td style="width: 59px;">BLQ</td> <td style="width: 59px;">BLQ</td> <td style="width: 59px;">890</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 119px;">Combusted</td> <td style="width: 59px;">20</td> <td style="width: 59px;">14</td> <td style="width: 59px;">420</td> <td style="width: 59px;">28</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> 5 mg plant tissue extracted using a validated HPLC-UV method <p> 5 mg plant tissue combusted in a closed combustion chamber.<p> BLQ: below level of quantification (<12.5 ug/mL)<p>These results sparked further research into the quantitative transformation of cannabinoids during the combustion process. In this regard, it was shown that THC, CBD and CBN all could be recovered at approximately a 90% ratio upon combustion However, THCA was thermally converted such that very little remains after combustion and furthermore, its degradation product, THC can only account for 50% of the THCA. The latter observation is important since there has been a prevailing thought that THCA is quantitatively transformed during combustion to THC while in fact this transformation is approximately 50%. This finding must be considered when pharmacokinetic studies are carried out using inhalation of combusted plant material as the delivery system.<p>A further finding of this research is that not all popular combustion devices yield identical quantitative cannabinoid profiles. In this regard, the simpler pipe systems result in the highest yields of heat transformed cannabinoids while the vaporizer systems have the lowest cannabinoid yields.

Marihuana continues to be a controversial topic in todays society. The plant material is used recreationally as a stupefacient and has a purported medicinal use. In fact, anecdotal information about its medicinal properties has been such that Health Canada has recently started an initiative to provide a well characterized supply of plant tissue to researchers interested in examining its potential medicinal properties. Simultaneously this same material is being provided for those subjects who are licensed to use marihuana as a medicine. <p>In order to further study marihuana and its component cannabinoids it is essential to be able to discern both the cannabinoid content in the product being supplied and more importantly the cannabinoid profile in the delivery system. At present the most common route of administration is via inhalation of the combusted plant material. Consequently methods capable of measuring the cannabinoid content in combusted plant material would be very useful in order to make meaningful study of the pharmacokinetics of the cannabinoids delivered by this route. <p>Investigations were carried out to develop a method and study the volatile constituents of combusted marihuana plant material in a semi-enclosed environment. Thus the hypothesis of this research is that qualitative and quantitative information can be obtained from the combustion products of cannabis plant tissue. The method relies upon the solid phase extraction of smoke arising from the combustion of plant material in a variety of combustion chambers. The combustion chambers were designed to reflect the current marihuana paraphernalia in use as well as a high efficiency in vitro system. Both the qualitative and quantitative levels of a limited number of cannabinoids were evaluated before and after combustion. A quantitative Liquid Chromatography Ultra Violet (LC-UV) detector method was validated for the analysis of a selected group of cannabinoids ( Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) . When this method was applied to plant material available through the medical marijuana initiative the following observations were made on the combustion products:<p> <table style="text-align: left; width: 397px;" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 119px;">Material</td> <td style="width: 59px;">CBD</td> <td style="width: 59px;">CBN</td> <td style="width: 59px;">THC</td> <td style="width: 59px;">THCA</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 119px;">Analyzed</td> <td style="width: 59px;">(ug/ml)</td> <td style="width: 59px;">(ug/ml)</td> <td style="width: 59px;">(ug/ml)</td> <td style="width: 59px;">(ug/ml)</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 119px;">Plant</td> <td style="width: 59px;">BLQ</td> <td style="width: 59px;">BLQ</td> <td style="width: 59px;">BLQ</td> <td style="width: 59px;">890</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 119px;">Combusted</td> <td style="width: 59px;">20</td> <td style="width: 59px;">14</td> <td style="width: 59px;">420</td> <td style="width: 59px;">28</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> 5 mg plant tissue extracted using a validated HPLC-UV method <p> 5 mg plant tissue combusted in a closed combustion chamber.<p> BLQ: below level of quantification (<12.5 ug/mL)<p>These results sparked further research into the quantitative transformation of cannabinoids during the combustion process. In this regard, it was shown that THC, CBD and CBN all could be recovered at approximately a 90% ratio upon combustion However, THCA was thermally converted such that very little remains after combustion and furthermore, its degradation product, THC can only account for 50% of the THCA. The latter observation is important since there has been a prevailing thought that THCA is quantitatively transformed during combustion to THC while in fact this transformation is approximately 50%. This finding must be considered when pharmacokinetic studies are carried out using inhalation of combusted plant material as the delivery system.<p>A further finding of this research is that not all popular combustion devices yield identical quantitative cannabinoid profiles. In this regard, the simpler pipe systems result in the highest yields of heat transformed cannabinoids while the vaporizer systems have the lowest cannabinoid yields.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2004.