PBHE111 Introduction To Health Care Administration

The goal of this assignment is to provide critical thoughts of your own regarding one of the above studies. To structure this process, please respond to the following questions. Please clearly label your answers by corresponding question number (this is intended to facilitate a question?answer type format, NOT a continuous essay). Please cite page #s when quoting or referencing specific points from the paper. Although you may critique parts of the actual writing of the report, we are more interested in your thoughts on the scientific study. If you are having trouble understanding the article generally, you might consider whether another of the options is more accessible to you, as well as look to the text or alternate resources – if the latter, please cite these accordingly). 

1.Purpose? What do you see as the main objective, research question, or hypothesis of the article? (If authors don’t explicitly state one of these, what do you think it is? E.g., if they don’t explicitly state a hypothesis, what do you understand they would have predicted? Or what would you have predicted?) If more than one, which do you find the most interesting or important?

2.Result? What do you see as the most important or most interesting finding of the study? Why? (Explain the finding and your perspective)

3.Strength? What is a particular strength you see in the study from your own perspective or critical thinking? Explain. You might consider aspects of the rationale, methodology, analyses, and/or other aspects of study quality. Ideally this is not something already discussed by the authors; however, if it is something briefly noted in the article, please more fully elaborate on why you think it is such a strength (feel free to back up your point with relevant sources if needed).

4.Limitation? What is a particular weakness or limitation you see in the study from your own perspective? Explain. (see also guidelines for Q3 regarding strengths)

5.Future direction? Beyond those noted by the authors, what future direction(s) might you propose? In particular, how might you address the weakness or limitation you noted in Q4? What do you think of your suggested solution? Why? (e.g., What might be done differently if the experiment were repeated? What more would you want to know? Next steps?) NOTE: This does not need to be a detailed proposal of study methods, but should give sufficient sense of what you might envision and your reasoning

6.Social Post? Consider your responses to the above items, and particularly Q2. How might you very succinctly convey a summary of what you find most interesting or important about this study..

The purpose of the study conducted by Carrier Cuttler, Alexander Spradlin, and Ryan McLaughlin was to evaluate the effects of long-term as well as the short-term use of cannabis. The study focused on both the negative effects as well as the positive impacts. There was a comprehensive knowledge of the use of cannabis to reduce the negative effects (Anderson et al, 2010). However, there was an information gap in relation to the impacts which result from specific dosages of cannabis. The research focused on the mental impacts which are as a result of different dosages of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the psychoactive substance in cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD). The authors focused on depression, anxiety, and stress as the indicators for the effects of cannabis. The study was focusing on medical marijuana users who experience the mentioned conditions (Cuttler, Spradlin & McLaughlin, 2018).

Result

The results indicated the positive response of anxiety and stress in relation to cannabis use. Fifty percent of the cannabis users reported that after taking cannabis their depression got better. The numbers were higher for anxiety and stress. Fifty-eight of the respondents reporting that their anxiety or stress levels went down after using cannabis. It shows that cannabis is more preferred as a medical solution for anxiety and stress over depression. An interesting observation from the study is that low doses of cannabis produced better results in depression and anxiety. The respondents reported that two puffs were sufficient to reduce their anxiety and depression levels. In order to reduce the levels of stress in a patient, ten-puff dose or more is preferred (Castle et al, 2011).

The study also revealed that the combination of THC and CBD was a key determinant in the level of mental effect it would have on the patient. A low THC and a high CBD was linked to the greatest effect in the levels of depression. The concentrations of the substances in a cannabis were estimated at below 5.5% for THC and above 9.5% for CBD. When the cannabis contains high concentrations for both the THC as well as the CBD, there was a better response in the levels of stress. In order to achieve great changes in the stress levels, the concentrations of THC and CBD should be above 26.5% and above 11% respectively. Another interesting finding of the study was that depression tended to become worse with the continued use of cannabis. However, the response to stress and anxiety stayed the same.

The strength of the Study

The researchers applied the Strainprint App in the analysis of the effects of cannabis. The app is designed for the purposes of evaluating the mental impacts of cannabis on medical marijuana users. The app provides a platform where the patients can track their progress after using their prescribed doses. Therefore, the study had the advantage of a platform which could provide clear details on the progress that they had after using marijuana for a specific period of time. The study also took advantage of a large number of people available on the app. As a result, the population of the study was large and therefore representative of the general population of medical marijuana users. The large sample of 11,953 tracked sessions included 3,151 sessions for depression, 5,085 sessions for anxiety and 3,717 sessions for stress. This provides a good view of the responses of medical marijuana from observation of many cases.

Weaknesses

One of the weaknesses of the research which was identified by the researchers is the self-selection nature of the sample. Since the app comprises of medical marijuana users, the tracking sessions are on the people who have willingly chosen to subscribe on the app. This implies that people personally choose to track their progress on the app. Self-selection bias brings the issue of non-probability to the research (Gruber et al, 2011). A control population is missing on the study. The researchers relied on the information of the users who are listed on the app. There was no group of individuals who used alternative methods of treating anxiety, depression, and stress. This implies that the impacts which are proposed by the research cannot be accurately measured by the research.

Another weakness of the study is in regard to the credibility of the tracking sessions. There are no observations on the actual amounts of cannabis which an individual listed on the app takes. Moreover, it is difficult to determine the exact concentrations of THC and CBD which an individual actually consumes on a given session of using cannabis. Therefore, the results which are given on the app rely mainly on estimations. It is also difficult to determine the effects of the expectancy of the cannabis dosses. This issue arises due to the challenge of determining the exact concentrations of THC and CBD which are found in a given dose of cannabis (Gruber et al., 2012).

Future Direction

The topic of medical cannabis has been raising discussions on various platforms. This is specifically after the move by various legislations around the world to consider legalizing cannabis (Mary Lynn Mathre, 2012). The illegality of the substance has led to limited information on the area. Researchers are reluctant to venture into a topic considered a taboo and determine the depths of cannabis as a medical alternative (Mikos, 2011). This is despite the centuries of cannabis use by various cultures of around the world. Therefore, there is a need for an objective inquisition in order to determine the extent of cannabis as medical a substance. From the weaknesses which have been established above, there is a need to explore the impacts of medical marijuana with a clearly controlled sample. The research should also be controlled and specific doses of marijuana should be predetermined before they are given to the subjects of the study.

Social Post

Medical marijuana has been used for centuries to alleviate the impacts of negative effect. A research conducted by Carrier Cuttler, Alexander Spradlin and Ryan McLaughlin focused on the impacts of medical marijuana on anxiety, depression, and stress. The research determined that cannabis use can be a solution for anxiety, stress, and depression. The right levels of dosage are important in order to get the most benefit from the substance (Mechoulam & Burstein, 1973). High levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is the psychoactive substance in marijuana and high levels of cannabidiol (CBD) are great for relieving stress. On the other hand, low levels of THC and high levels of CBD are great for relieving depression. Continued use of cannabis was observed to increase the impacts of depression (Horwood et al., 2012). Therefore, if someone is prone to depression, it is advisable to seek alternative treatment to their depression. The same is likely for all other mental conditions because the positive impacts of marijuana are mostly felt on the short term (Dougherty et al., 2013).

References

Anderson, B. M., Rizzo, M., Block, R. I., Pearlson, G. D., & O’Leary, D. S. (2010). Sex, drugs, and cognition: the effects of marijuana. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 42(4), 413-424.

Castle, D., Murray, R. M., & D’Souza, D. C. (Eds.). (2011). Marijuana and madness. Cambridge University Press.

Cuttler, C., Spradlin, A., & McLaughlin, R. J. (2018). A naturalistic examination of the perceived effects of cannabis on negative affect. Journal of affective disorders, 235, 198-205.

Dougherty, D. M., Mathias, C. W., Dawes, M. A., Furr, R. M., Charles, N. E., Liguori, A., … & Acheson, A. (2013). Impulsivity, attention, memory, and decision-making among adolescent marijuana users. Psychopharmacology, 226(2), 307-319.

Gruber, S. A., Sagar, K. A., Dahlgren, M. K., Racine, M., & Lukas, S. E. (2012). Age of onset of marijuana use and executive function. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 26(3), 496.

Gruber, S. A., Silveri, M. M., Dahlgren, M. K., & Yurgelun-Todd, D. (2011). Why so impulsive? White matter alterations are associated with impulsivity in chronic marijuana smokers. Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology, 19(3), 231.

Horwood, L. J., Fergusson, D. M., Coffey, C., Patton, G. C., Tait, R., Smart, D., … & Hutchinson, D. M. (2012). Cannabis and depression: an integrative data analysis of four Australasian cohorts. Drug and alcohol dependence, 126(3), 369-378.

Mary Lynn Mathre, R. N. (Ed.). (2012). Cannabis in medical practice: A legal, historical and pharmacological overview of the therapeutic use of marijuana. McFarland.

Mechoulam, R., & Burstein, S. H. (1973). Marijuana: Chemistry, Pharmacology, Metabolism and Clinical Effects. Contributors-SH Burstein [And Others]. Academic Press.

Mikos, R. A. (2011). A critical appraisal of the Department of Justice’s new approach to medical marijuana. Stan. L. & Poly Rev., 22, 633.