Cannabis use associated with abnormal brain structure in region involved in processing facial emotion

Cannabis use is associated with reduced brain volumes in a region involved in facial emotion processing, according to a new study in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.
“There is a high rate of overlap between regular (at least weekly) cannabis use and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety,” said study author Kristin E. Maple, a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“People with depression and anxiety often have differences in brain structure in regions that process facial emotions. The current study was designed to investigate whether cannabis users (without mood or other psychiatric disorders) have similar differences in brain structure, and whether those abnormalities are related to problems processing facial emotions.”

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WREG: Testimony over Mississippi’s mental health system continues

JACKSON, Miss. — A county sheriff says he holds mentally ill people in jail because a community mental health center can’t respond in time. A woman says her cousin would like to live closer to his hometown in the Mississippi Delta but hasn’t been able to find a place. A father says his daughter has spent 12 years in mental hospitals because the state didn’t create community housing that could accommodate until last year.

MedicineNet: Drug ODs, Suicides Soaring Among Millennials: Report

So-called “deaths of despair” are skyrocketing among millennials, with thousands of 18- to 34-year-olds losing their lives to drugs, alcohol and suicide each year, a new report says.

During the past decade, drug-related deaths among that age group increased by 108%, alcohol-induced deaths by 69%, and suicides by 35%, according to the report from the Trust for America’s Health and Well Being Trust.

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Business Insider: How the Beyond Burger and the Impossible Burger actually compare when it comes to calories, sodium, and more

As plant-based “meat” takes America by storm, many people may be wondering what they are actually eating.

The two top makers of plant-based meat alternatives in the US are Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. And, many customers might find themselves wondering which of the rivals best fits their nutritional needs.

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