Keep off the grass?:Cannabis, cognition and addiction

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.In an increasing number of states and countries, cannabis now stands poised to join alcohol and tobacco as a legal drug. Quantifying the relative adverse and beneficial effects of cannabis and its constituent cannabinoids should therefore be prioritized. Whereas newspaper headlines have focused on links between cannabis and psychosis, less attention has been paid to the much more common problem of cannabis addiction. Certain cognitive changes have also been attributed to cannabis use, although their causality and longevity are fiercely debated. Identifying why some individuals are more vulnerable than others to the adverse effects of cannabis is now of paramount importance to public health. Here, we review the current state of knowledge about such vulnerability factors, the variations in types of cannabis, and the relationship between these and cognition and addiction.This work was supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health to L.H.P. (AA020404, AA006420, AA022249 and AA017447) and by grants from the UK Medical Research Council to H.V.C. and C.J.A.M. (G0800268; MR/K015524/1)

Australia and New Zealand

Animal-based toxicology is only conducted on a small scale in Australia and New Zealand. Initiatives to develop alternatives to animal tests have arisen most often in the economically important agriculture sector, and in environmental monitoring. Stringent controls restricting the use of the Draize and LD50 tests emerged as far back as 1985. While the animal testing of cosmetics is banned in New Zealand, and a similar ban is expected soon in Australia, these moves are considered to be largely symbolic because there is virtually no history of such testing in either country. A 1989 Australian Senate report recommended the establishment of a government fund for research into alternatives, but no such entity yet exists in Australia or New Zealand. Progress in New Zealand may be facilitated in some areas because regulatory control lies within a single layer of government, whereas in Australia, state boundaries can be an impediment