Frequency of marijuana use is operationalized as six options presented to respondents

Their study demonstrates the importance of proper controls to limit the use of unique IDs to one person; implementing such controls is relatively easy in a web-based survey environment.Though unaddressed by Wejnert and Heckathorn due to the nature of their study, web RDS poses an additional complicating feature with hidden populations, particularly those who are security conscientious—that of pro-viding anonymous financial incentives . Bauermeister et al. confront this by issuing “Visa e-gift” cards via email to respondents upon completion of their initial survey and reloading them after their chain referred recruits complete the survey . This appears to be one of the more secure options available to researchers, but it does not fully protect participants in the case of compelled disclosure , as the original “loading” of the cards is linked to researchers and recipients are required to provide a name and address before using the cards. Such a disclosure may seem like a minor consideration when studying use prevalence of multiple drugs in a large sample, but the issue is much more salient as sensitivity and security concerns become more of an issue—as is the case with drug producers or sellers.

Limiting or completely eliminating monetary incentives to participants is one method of maintaining anonymity; however, no one has attempted a RDS study of this nature. This study, in addition to investigating marijuana users in Oregon, attempts the first non-monetary primary incentive RDS implementation. To answer the research questions posed in this study, I developed a web RDS protocol and web-based survey to examine a sample of marijuana users in Oregon. To investigate the role of different secondary incentive types in the success of RDS studies and to protect respondents’ anonymity, I chose to forego all monetary payments. Instead, mobile vertical rack multiple non-monetary secondary incentives were implemented: 1) prospective respondents were ap-pealed to based on the potential political and economic importance of examining their population; 2) live updates and total network referral counts for each respondent were posted on a web site to encourage competition among participants to recruit others; and 3) respondents were granted access to near-live aggregate data and summary statistics as the project developed. Respondents were eligible to participate if they were Oregon residents, over the age of 18, used marijuana in the last year, and received a unique study ID from a previous participant in the study. The web-based survey instrument included a question that tracked study IDs; any previously used IDs were barred from reuse. After completing the survey, respondents were redirected to another web page with instructions about the referral process, as well as links to five additional recruitment letters that could be downloaded and shared with prospective recruits by email, Facebook, or instant message.I identified a single “super seed” with a very large number of friends who are users, producers, and sellers of marijuana in several counties identified in my parallel research study as “areas of interest” within Oregon .

The super seed was fully briefed on the project, the referral process, and the importance of collecting chain referrals by following up with prospective respondents.However, the lack of monetary incentives and the format of the recruitment letters appear to have quickly affected recruitment rates com-pared to previous RDS studies , as the referral process died out with only 72 respondents . The implications of this finding are discussed later. The survey instrument collected self-reported information on: 1) individual characteristics, such as gender, age, height, weight, frequency of exercise, county of residence, ethnicity, political party membership, education level, employment status, relationship status, occupational category, health insurance coverage, number of close friends, and income; 2) marijuana-related questions, including frequency of use, reasons for use, medical license status and roles, number of close friends who use, reasons for growing, number of plants growing, method of growing, source and reimbursement rate for obtained marijuana, amount consumed, and the perceived acceptance of marijuana use by immediate social circle and local community; and 3) a detailed political orientation index .Variables of interest for hypothesis testing in this analysis include frequency of marijuana use, amount of marijuana used per month, number of close friends who use marijuana, perceived peer-group acceptance of marijuana use, use status , level of education, relationship status, number of children, and reasons for using marijuana.The number of close friends who use marijuana is a ratio measure, with a minimum of zero and maximum of 20.

Does the composition of marijuana users’ friendship networks affect their use of the drug?

It is also possible that the higher proportion of patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder in this study is associated with lower rates of substance use due to a limited access to substances. Although schizophrenia was found to be a protective factor of substance use in this study as well as in other studies , having psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety is generally considered to increase vulnerability to substance use. Specifically, anxiety patients may seek drugs such as marijuana to relieve their anxious or depressive symptoms as a coping mechanism.These self-medicating behaviors may be more common among untreated patients with underlying psychiatric disorders,and in turn, co-occurring substance use can aggravate the severity of their psychiatric symptoms . In this study, however, the relationship between anxiety and more alcohol, stimulant, and marijuana use was unable to support this explanation due to the very low rate of anxiety disorder among Asian Americans.

It is obvious that co-occurring substance use leads to difficult psychiatric treatment, higher treatment costs, and longer hospital stays.Studies have shown that substance users receiving care for their substance use showed decreased depressive symptoms and integrated treatment programs improved patients’ psychiatric symptoms.Although co-occurring substance users are considered a highly vulnerable population, treatment services such as psychiatric outpatient visits and substance abuse treatment programs are still inadequately used . Especially for Asian Americans, there may be other potential issues regarding the underutilization of mental health services such as lower English proficiencies,grow lights for cannabis stigma around having or being diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, cultural beliefs about receiving psychiatric care, limited access to health care services, and discrimination within health care systems . Therefore, these barriers should be addressed in health care systems and efforts should be made to increase access to psychiatric mental health services for Asian Americans at individual, community, and policy levels. This study used a cross-sectional design to examine predictors of co-occurring alcohol, stimulant, and marijuana use of Asian Americans with psychiatric disorders receiving residential treatment services; therefore, a causal relationship cannot be assumed.

The sample of this study came from residential treatment programs only in the San Francisco Bay area where Asian Americans and the homeless are over represented, resulting in a limited representation of the US population. In addition, this study did not examine Asian subgroup differences in the prevalence of and risk factors of substance use; therefore, it may overlook important factors such as levels of acculturation, length of residence in the US ,and immigration generation. Variables reflecting socioeconomic status such as income level and current or past job which are possible risk factors of psychiatric disorders and substance use were not included in this study because most participants were homeless due to their lower level of functioning related to their psychiatric disorder prognosis. This study’s sample was mostly diagnosed with severe psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, which may have led to biased findings. Lastly, findings from this study indicated that there may be patterns of poly substance use among Asian Americans with psychiatric disorders; however, this study did not look at the prevalence of and risk factors of poly substance use, indicating the need for future research study.Aside from using marijuana, are there any substantial differences between regular marijuana users and the general population?

What do these friendship networks suggest about relations with non-users? Are there any differences between illegal marijuana users and licensed medical marijuana users? Finally, can individual-level factors explain the varying rates of medical marijuana patient participation between geographic areas? This study addresses these questions using a survey of marijuana users in Oregon—a location ripe for investigation along these lines. Oregon has one of the highest rates of marijuana use in the US, with the most recent estimate indicating that 14.09% of individuals over 12 years old have used marijuana in the last year. Oregon is also home to one of the oldest medical marijuana pro-grams in the US, established in 1998, just two years after the first was created in California, and publishes county- level counts of medical users dating back to 2005.

The composites possessed extremely high tensile strengths of 365MPa

The use of natural plant fibers as a reinforcement in FRP to replace synthetic fibers such as glass and carbon fibers is presently receiving attention because of advantages such as renewable resources, low density and high specific strength.Furthermore, in recent years, development of biodegradable composites using natural plant fibers such as flax, bamboo, pineapple , silk ,jute , kenaf and ramie as a reinforcement and biodegradable resin as a matrix is conducted actively. And researches on molding condition, mechanical properties and interfacial bonding have been carried out.In former paper , the research about development of high strength unidirectional Manila hemp fiber reinforced biodegradable composites was reported.The unidirectional biodegradable composites were made from Manila hemp fiber bundles and a starch-based emulsion-type biodegradable resin. The tensile and flexural strengths of the composites increased with increasing fiber content up to 70%. The aim of this study is to develop cross ply biodegradable composites to expand the range of applications of the biodegradable composites.

Manila hemp textile was used as the reinforcement for cross ply biodegradable composites and investigated about their mechanical properties. and marijuana use is a public health challenge all over the world and especially in Sub Saharan Africa. The problem of substance abuse in the region has compounded an already existing burden of infectious and non-infectious diseases. The combination of low socioeconomic status and substance use can be described as a social and economic disaster for many poor families of Africa. Whereas some substances such as alcohol and tobacco have always been traditionally accepted especially among adults,cannabis drying racks their use has reached epidemic proportions in young Nigerians. The uses of other substances such as marijuana, cocaine and amphetamines have also grown disproportionately over the years .Tobacco is risk factor for many acute and chronic diseases nevertheless, about1.1 billion people use tobacco worldwide and about 7 million die yearly of tobacco related illnesses. The burden tobacco use and morbidity is rising in developing countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa. A recent systematic review on the index problem has reported a steady increase in the sub-continent .

It is estimated that the in the continent from 12.8% to 18.9%by the year 2025 .The World Health Statistics report of 2017 showed that the highest prevalence of smoking in SSA was 55%and the lowest 0.2%. Similar to many other countries of the world, tobacco smoking in sub-continent is a predominantly a male dominated problem across all socio-economic strata. In a review of 26 papers from 13 countries spanning a total 8 years, Brathwaite et al. , the prevalence of smoking ranged from 1.8% in Zambia to 25.8% in Sierra Leone and was consistently higher in men compared to women in all studies. The problem of smoking is increasing among adolescents in SSA. In a cross sectional school based survey in Khartoum State the prevalence of current cigarette smoking was 13.6% .Studies in Nigeria have also reported high prevalence of smoking among adolescents . Urban rural differences in smoking habits exist and vary between countries and regions in SSA .The prevalence and pattern of tobacco use reported in several studies in Nigeria have shown a consistent trend: significant higher rate of smoking among males, urban-rural differences, high exposure at an early age, easy accessibility and poor understanding of the risk associated with the substance. In Nigeria, the overall prevalence of cigarette smoking was estimated to be 17.4% in males and 1.1% in females . Obvious regional differences exist in the prevalence of smoking and use of other forms of tobacco in Nigeria. In a national survey of substance abuse in Nigeria the lifetime, 1-year and 30-day prevalence of smoking were 12.2%, 6.4% and 5.3% respectively with the highest prevalence in south eastern part of the country.

The prevalence of smoking among undergraduate students in various universities in Nigeria were similar to population-based studies possibly because of the age distribution of smokers which is favor of the young. In university of Ilorin, the prevalence rate of current cigarette smoking was 5.7% and lifetime smoking was 17.1% . It has been estimated that the majority of smokers start smoking as early as in their teens most of whom were influenced into smoking by peer pressure and commercial advertisements. The mean age of first exposure to cigarette among university students suggest that most start people start smoking in secondary schools .WHO statistics suggest that 68.9% of youth in the African Region bought cigarettes in a store and were not refused purchase because of their age.There is some evidence that this may be also be related to religious, social and psychological reasons .

There is little activity with halosulfuron against grass weed species at doses registered in white bean

Although selection and/or identification of allelopathic plants from medicinals plants are much easier than other group of plants, isolation and identification of strong allelopathic substance is laborious, time consuming and need very sophisticated equipment’s. Hence, to date very few works have been conducted to isolate and characterize the allelopathic substances from allelopathic medicinal plants. A list of allelopathic substances isolated from different medicinal plants is given in Table 2. These substances showed strong phytotoxic potential against different target plant species under laboratory condition. However, their phytotoxic potential under field condition not yet reported. It is well known that even a substance showing strong phytotoxic activity on target plants in laboratory experiments, may not perform satisfactorily in the field conditions due to the influence of several soil factors like soil pH, organic carbon, organic matter and available nitrogen. Therefore, more emphasis should be given on evaluating the bio-activity of allelopathic substances or the allelopathic plant extracts in both laboratory and field condition.

If the extracts or the isolated compound shows strong activity in both conditions only then it could be recommend for new natural herbicide development. is a recently registered sulfonylurea herbicide for broad leaved weed control in white bean in Ontario . Therefore,cannabis grow equipment halosulfuron needs to be used along with a graminicide to provide broad spectrum control of problematic weeds in white bean.S-metolachloris a chloroacetanilide herbicide that is registered in white bean to control of key weeds in Ontario including Echinochloa spp., Setaria spp., Panicum spp., Digitaria spp., Solanum spp.and Amaranthus spp. .S-metolachlor tank mixed with halosulfuron cancontrol troublesome grass and broad leaved weeds in white bean.The S-metolachlor label has a dose range of 1050 to 1600 g∙ai∙ha−1 and the halosulfuron label has a dose range of 25 to 50 g∙ai∙ha−1. Earlier research has primarily focused on halosulfuron at 35 g∙ai∙ha−1 for weed control in white bean. Limited information exists on the effect of Smetolachlor plus lower doses of halosulfuron particularly at the lowest labelled dose of 25 g∙ai∙ha−1 for weed control in white bean.

Studies are needed to determine the appropriate application dose of halosulfuron alone or in tank mix with S-metolachlor for broad and comprehensive weed control in white bean. This information will allow producers to reduce their input costs and minimize crop losses from weed interference in white bean.The purpose of this research was to evaluate how doses of S-metolachlor and halosulfuron should be adjusted to control specific problematic weeds in white bean production.Agricultural practices have caused major changes in the composition and species richness of weed communities in the field.Arable weed species play an important role in supporting biological diversity in agro- ecosystems . Weed species that thrive in the field edges and may colonize cropped plots include Avena sterilis and Galium aparine , Conyza canadensisand Senecio vulgaris . In other studies, plant populations in field edges have not resulted in weed infestations in the adjacent crop in many studies.There is evidence that herbicide efficacy, increased crop competition and changes in cropping patterns have resulted in a gradual decline in weed abundance and diversity over recent decades.Herbicide use is a widespread practice detrimental to weeds and continued use of a single herbicide often results in weed composition shifts from highly susceptible species to those having greater tolerance to the herbicide . The most used herbicide in arable crops in Argentina is glyphosate which provides application flexibility, lacks of rotational restrictions and controls a broad spectrum of weeds.However, as a result of repeated use, species difficult to control with glyphosate have become more common in many countries and in Argentina as well.

Weed diversity may be concentrated in the crop edges, especially in the weed communities of conventional cereal fields . In Argentina, crop edges are narrow areas that are taken out from agriculture. In crop edges, insecticides, fungicides are not used and occasionaly, herbicides are applied. In the field plot, the most used herbicide is glyphosate-alone or in combination with residual herbicides . The objective of this study was to analyze weed abundance and diversity as well as the frequency of weeds tolerant or resistant to glyphosate in field plots and edges in the soybean central region of Argentina. Overall, MRPP indicated variations in species composition between edges and field crops. Two weed communities were identified according to season: Spring-summer and winter.Variations in weed species composition between seasons were also observed in another study .

The steady rise in population further underlines the importance of rice

World’s rice demand is projected to increase by 50% from 1997 to 2050 to keep pace with population growth .Compared to other field crops, rice is most widely grown under irrigated condition which accounts for about 50% of the total amount of water diverted for irrigation, which in itself accounts for 80% of the amount of fresh water diverted. This is due to the high unproductive water losses by evaporation, surface run-off, and percolation. Producing one kilogram of unprocessed rice grain under irrigation is estimated to use between 1500 and 5000 L of water, depending on the local climate, soil type and rice variety . This amount is about twice or even more than wheat or maize. However, declining water availability threatens the sustainability of traditional flood-irrigated rice ecosystems . In Asia, it is predicted that 17 million hectares of irrigated rice areas may have “physical water scarcity” and 22 million hectares areas may be subject to “economic water scarcity” by 2025 .

In Asia, where about 60% of the world’s population lives, food security is challenged by increasing food demand and threatened by declining water availability.It is, therefore, no longer feasible to flood rice fields for better crop establishment and weed control . Among different water-saving approaches, aerobic rice cultivation has come up with a huge success in different parts of the world.Growing rice in non-saturated and non-puddled aerobic soil is a promising water-wise technique of rice cultivation under the context of ever-mounting water scarcity. Growing rice under aerobic conditions requires 36% 41%less water than under the conventional method . In response to the labour and water shortage problem, cannabis drying racks some alternative rice production methods were suggested by researchers worldwide including alternate wetting and drying , system of rice intensification, and raised bed for saturated soil culture. Compared with flooded rice, aerobic rice had lower production cost, higher water productivity, and a comparable outcome.Weeds are a major yield limiting factor in rice production,and the literature reporting yield losses is numerous. Globally, actual rice yield losses due to pests have been estimated at 40%, of which weeds have the highest loss potential.

The worldwide estimated rice yield loss due to weeds is around 10%of the total production . Yield reduction due to weeds is more critical in direct seeded rice than in transplanted rice. In dry seeded aerobic rice,relative yield loss caused by weeds is 50% 91% , while in transplanted rice,yield loss has been estimated to be only 13% . Among the rice ecosystems,yield losses are the highest in aerobic rice . In extreme cases, weed infestation may cause complete failure of aerobic rice . Weeds persist by adapting to cultural practices, and every cultural practice influences the competitive ability of both the crop and weed resulting complex interactions.Cultural approaches play significant role to determine the competitiveness of a crop with weeds for above ground and below ground resources and hence might influence weed management . Integrated weed management strategies offer several options, but risks of developing resistant weed biotypes ,and environmental hazard resulting from herbicides from chemical control , and labor-intensive manual weeding methods demand aneco-friendly and less labor-dependent weed management system for sustainable aerobic rice production.As observed by many researchers, the performance of herbicides can be enhanced if crop varieties with higher weed competitiveness are used especially in herbicide-dominant systems.

Weed competitiveness comprises two components:weed suppressive ability—the ability to lessen weed growth through competition, and weed tolerance—the capability of maintaining potential yields in the presence of weeds . The potentiality of using weed competitive variety in integrated weed management has been documented in many crops including rice. The deployment of weed competitive variety is not only eco-friendly but also a very cost effective tool for integrated weed management. Considering the high vulnerability of aerobic rice to weeds, development of weed competitive aerobic rice variety has been suggested by many researchers .No work has so far been done to assess the ability of the huge pool of Bangladeshi rice germplasms to wrestle weeds under aerobic soil conditions. In this backdrop, the present study was undertaken to study the variation in weed competitiveness among selected high yielding rice varieties and to recognize agronomic traits conferring weed competitiveness of rice grown under aerobicsoil conditions.

Induction of apoptosis by cannabinoids in prostate and colon cancer cells may be phosphatase dependent

Owing to their ability to self-renew and differentiate, CSCs are capable of regenerating the heterogeneous tumor population  after hormone ablation, which accounts for tumor relapse. Therefore, elimination of the bulk of frequently replicating tumor cells as well as the rare subset of slow, dividing stem-like cells that are responsible for tumor regeneration may represent a better therapeutic strategy in the treatment of prostate cancer. The therapeutic properties of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, have been known for many years, but the recreational use of its psychoactive effects has restricted its possible pharmaceutical application. In recent years cannabinoids and their derivatives have drawn renewed attention because of their diverse pharmacologic activities such as cell growth inhibition, anti-inflammatory effects, and tumor regression.

Cannabinoids have been shown to induce apoptosis in gliomas , PC-12 pheochromocytoma , CHP100 neuroblastoma , and hippocampal neurons  in vitro, and most interestingly, regression of C6-cell gliomas in vivo . Plant-derived cannabinoids, especially cannabidiol, are shown to be potent inhibitors of prostate carcinoma both in vitro and in vivo.Our case studies confirmed cannabinoid  efficacy in reducing muscle spasticity in multiple sclerosis , pain levels over a 12-month period  and Cannabis responsive head injury induced multiple disabilities . To date, cannabinoids have been successfully used in the treatment of nausea and vomiting , two common side effects that accompany chemotherapy in cancer patients. Nevertheless, the use of cannabinoids in oncology might be somehow underestimated since increasing evidence exist that plant, synthetic, and endogenous cannabinoids  are able to exert a growth inhibitory action on various cancer cell types. However, mobile vertical rack the precise pathways through which these molecules produce an antitumor effect has not been yet fully characterized, also because their mechanism of action appears to be dependent on the type of tumor cell under study.

It has been reported that cannabinoids can act through different cellular mechanisms, e.g., by inducing apoptosis, cell-cycle arrest, or cell growth inhibition, but also by targeting angiogenesis and cell migration  . Furthermore, the antitumor effects of plant, synthetic and endo-cannabinoids can be mediated by activation of either CB1  or CB2 receptors or both  . After the discovery of the two specific molecular targets for THC, CB1, and CB2 , it became clear that most of the effects of marijuana in the brain and peripheral tissues were due to activation of these two G-protein-coupled cannabinoid receptors. However, evidence is also accumulating that some pharmacological effects of marijuana are due to Cannabis components different from Tetrahydro-cannabinol. Indeed, C. sativa contains at least 400 chemical components, of which 66 have been identified to belong to the class of the cannabinoids . The main limitation of the possible future use of THC in oncology might be represented by adverse effects principally at the level of the central nervous system, consisting mostly of perceptual abnormalities, occasionally hallucinations . However, most non-THC plant cannabinoids seem to be devoid of direct psychotropic properties. In particular, it has been ascertained that cannabidiol is nonpsychotropic   and may even mitigate THC psychoactivity by blocking its conversion to the more psychoactive 11-hydroxy-THC .

Moreover, it has been recently found that systematic variations in its constituents  do not affect the behavioral or neurophysiological responses to marijuana . Finally, it has been also shown that, unlike THC, systemic administration to rats of cannabigerol does not provoke poly-spike discharges in the cortical electroencephalogram during wakefulness and behavioral depression . These and other observations reinforce the concept that at least cannabidiol, cannabigerol, and cannabichromene lack psychotropic activity and indicate that for a promising medical profile in cancer therapy, research should focus on these compounds, which so far have been poorly studied with regard to their potential antitumor effects. By keeping this goal in mind, we decided to investigate the antitumor properties of plant cannabis. We screened two distinct chemically characterized Cannabis extracts , where the presence of nonpsychotropic cannabinoids along with THC has been reported to mitigate the potential side effects of the latter compound in clinical trials . Despite research efforts, little is known about the prostatic cancer stem cells which were suggested to play an important role in tumor initiation, progression, and chemoresistance . Because CSCs are believed to contribute to chemoresistance, we reasoned that the chemosensitizing effect of cannabis may be mediated through targeting of prostate CSCs.

It is also consistent with the finding of inverse relationship between substance use and religiosity

Various sentinel studies in the country reported that the prevalence of alcohol and other substance use among students’ population was high. Nevadomsky, in a study of drug use among secondary students in southern Nigeria, reported a prevalence of alcohol use to be 65%, tobacco 24% . The author reported that use of benzodiazepines, cannabis and amphetamines among the subjects were less common. Vázquel, in a study of prevalence of psychoactive substance use and dependence among Spanish university students, reported that 86.5% had consumed psychoactive substances, and 10.5% satisfied DSM IV criteria for dependence on nicotine, alcohol, caffeine or cannabis . Mason et al., in a study of substance use, social networks, and the geography of urban adolescents in Washington, USA, reported a prevalence of psychoactive substance use among the respondents as 65% .

The au thors reported that most popular psychoactive substances used were alcohol, cannabis and cocaine. Tobacco was not measured in the study as a primary psychoactive substance as some participants  can legally use it. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention , cannabis grow system reported a high prevalence of cannabis use  among teenagers aged 16 to 19 years . Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration , reported a high prevalence of cannabis use  among young adults aged 18 to 25 years . In Tanzania, Kalula, in a qualitative study of cannabis use among young people, reported an increasing trend of cannabis use among youths aged 15 to 25 years with a prevalence rate of 5% . Adebiyi et al., in a study of tobacco use among out of school adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria, reported a prevalence of tobacco use as 20.5% . However, the study was limited to tobacco use. Information on the use of psychoactive substances among motorcyclists in Nigeria and more specifically in Northern Nigeria is limited. The current study aims to determine the socio-demographic characteristics of psychoactive substance users among commercial motorcycle operators in a selected local council Area in Kano, Nigeria.

We hypothesized that the socio-demographic characteristics of psychoactive substance users among commercial operators in Kano will be similar to what is found in other parts of Nigeria and the world. In this study, the younger age groups were found to be more likely to use psychoactive substances compared to those who were older than 35 years. This is in agreement with other studies done among commercial motorcyclists in Zaria, north western Nigeria and Nnewi, south eastern Nigeria. However, it differs from a study in southwestern Nigeria among refugees from Liberia, where respondents in the age group used psychoactive substances more than the younger age group of 18 to 30 years . The socio-cultural differences between Nigeria and Liberia may explain the observed difference. All the participants in this study were males because only males operate commercial motorcycles in Kano state. Studies have shown that males are more likely to abuse drugs compared to females. All the respondents were Moslems, which is the predominant religion in Kano state. Majority of the respondents participated regularly in their religious activities, which may partly account for the low prevalence of psychoactive substance use in them. This is consistent with the findings of similar studies in Ilorin and Abeokuta where significant association was found between substance use and religiosity, with those who were very religious being less likely to use psychoactive substances.

More than 88% of the respondents were married, and more than 60% had between one and 5 children, in keeping with the study in Ilorin among long distance drivers with more than 95% of the subjects married with children . It would seem that marriage had a moderating effect on substance use by the respondents, as use of cannabis, stimulants, inhalants and opiates was more among the respondents who were single. This is line with a study among 62 patients who use/abuse psychoactive substances, at the drug abuse unit of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, where it was observed that the patients were mostly single . This finding also corroborates a study by Ansari-Moghaddam et al. in Iran which found that singles were twice more likely to use substances compared to those who were married . Most of the participants in this study had some form of education, up to secondary school, which is consistent with the study in Ilorin and Zaria where more than 68% had some form of education ranging from primary to tertiary education.

There is no information available of the reaction of alfalfa if planted following cereal rye

In the Southeastern US, alfalfa is increasingly grown as a companion crop inbermuda grass pastures. It offers producers a significant profit potential through selling hay, or by grazing or conserving the surplus as haylage. Most of these growers were attracted to alfalfa because they have seen enormous improvement in the quality of their hay, and they were able to save on the application of nitrogen fertilizer. Studies evaluating the sustainability of production of alfalfa inter seeded in Bermuda grass showed that alfalfa competes well with Bermuda grass,even in drought conditions . Another part of the forage system in the region is cereal rye that is grown for late fall and early winter grazing when Bermuda grass goes dormant. The allelopathic effect of rye has been recognized since the early 1980’s, and a number of studies have illustrated the extent and severity of rye allelopathy over other species .

Rye reduced the density and biomass of weed species such as red root pig weed and common lambs quarters,mobile vertical rack when used as cover crop mulch in soybean, and enhanced soybean yield .Utilization of winter rye cover crop reduced corn biomass yield by 10% to 15%and the effect was more severe under no-till system . The role of cereal rye to suppress weeds was described extensively. To control weeds in other crops, rye can be utilized as cover or mulch. However, to control weeds, highly allelopathic rye cultivars are required . The influence of rye residue on germination of different plant species such as lettuce , proso millet, and corn was described . Barnes and Putnam reported the effect of two phytotoxic compounds from rye:on germination of various dicots and monocots such as, lettuce , tomato ,barnyard grass , cressetc.. Another phytotoxic compound extracted from rye is hydroxamic acid, which is exuded from plant roots and can reduce weed biomass by up to80% compared to other cover crops . Further, the Hx released from rye also inhibits the growth of other species such as Avena fatua .

The term “allele pathy” refers mostly to detrimental interactions between plant species, and is triggered by allele chemicals produced by one of the plants . In addition to producing allele chemicals, allelopathic crops and their residues also produce microbial toxins at the time of decomposition, which jointly create aphytotoxic environment . Allelo chemicals are released from plant roots,leaves, and stems and affect other crops within the same area . Allelopathy has been exploited for controlling weeds either by growing allelopathic crops prior to planting main crops or by isolating and applying the active natural compounds from the allelopathic crop as natural herbicides. Crops such as rice , wheat , barley , oat , cereal rye , soybeanetc. have been recognized for their allelopathic activities . Similarly, allelopathy of some legumes such as black gram, mung bean etc. have also been reported . Allelo pathy has been used to manage weeds and is considered as natural herbicides that are safer to the environment compared to synthetic herbicides . For instance, phytotoxic products from sorghum and Sudan grass hybrids were effective in suppressing alfalfa, Johnson grass, annual ryegrass , common lambs quarters and large crabgrass .

Similarly,rice hull incorporated alfalfa-rice-byproducts were reported as very effective allelopathic materials to inhibit weed emergence in paddy fields . Alfalfa pellets were effective in suppressing the emergence of Eleo-charis acicularis and Rotalaindica when applied at the dose of three tons ha−1. Additionally, alfal fade composed roots acted as allele pathic agents on blady grass and reduced seed germination by 50% . Alfalfa is also recognized forits own auto toxicity and researchers have recommended not planting alfalfa seed in an established alfalfa stand .In recent years, scientists have acknowledged allele pathy as a biotechnological tool to manage weeds targeting either the transfer of allelopathic genes from donor plants to the crop of interest through breeding or genetic engineering, or by enhancing the crop itself to produce phytotoxins via cell cultures . In rice,scientists have explored the variability in allelopathy among different cultivars and identified quantitative trait loci associated with rice allelopathy .

Water seeding of rice is widely practiced in USA

Safflower seedlings remain in the rosette stage for 3 to 4 weeks after emergence and the canopy closure occurs late in the season; hence, early-emerging weeds species can easily outgrow and shade the crop . Trifluralin, EPTC, ethalfluralin, and S-metolachlor are the preemergence /preplant incorporated herbicides labeled for use in safflower. Trifluralin was the first herbicide labeled for use in safflower . It is effective on some annual grasses, but does not adequately control Brassica species,kochia, and Russian-thistle. These weed species are particularly troublesome in safflower production areas of this region, including Montana .Furthermore, the need for soil-incorporation of trifluralin, ethalfluranlin, andEPTC for optimum weed control often limits their use in no-tillage semi-arid cropping systems of this region. Smetolachlor applied PRE controls annual grasses and few broadleaf weeds such as pigweeds .During 1980s, sulfonylurea herbicides such as chlorsulfuron, metsulfuron,and thiameturon were tested, particularly for post emergence broadleaf weed control, in safflower.

Previous studies found that safflower exhibits variable tolerance to these SU herbicides, and moderate to severe injury may occur if applied to safflower plants less than 15-cm tall.This is a major limitation in using these SU herbicides for early-season POST weed control, cannabis grow tray especially for weeds such as kochia and Russian-thistle, which can emerge very early in the spring before or with safflower seedlings in the US Great Plains. Thifensulfuron is the only POST herbicide currently labeled for broad leaf weed control in safflower in the US . However, the widespread occurrence of ALS-resistant kochia and Russian-thistle in Montana and several other states in the US Great Plain srenders thifensulfuron in effective for controlling these weed biotypes in safflower.Therefore, there is a need to investigate alternative herbicide programs for improved broadleaf weed control in safflower, especially kochia and Russian-thistle, and to facilitate registration of new products for use in safflower.The objective of this research was to investigate effective PRE soil-residual herbicide programs for improved crop safety and season-long broad leaf weed control in safflower.

All data were subjected to ANOVA using the MIXED procedure in SAS 9.3 . Data on crop injury and weed control were arcsine-transformed and weed density data were square-root-transformed before analysis to improve homogeneity of variances and normality of residuals. Non transformed means are presented in tables based on the interpretations from the transformed data. Year, herbicide treatment, and their interactions were fixed effects, and replication and interactions involving this variable were random effects in the model. Data were pooled across locations whenever year by herbicide treatment interaction was not significant. Means were separated using Fisher’s protected LSD test at P < 0.05. The 2016 growing season was slightly wetter compared to the 2015 growing season. However, the treatment by year interaction was not significant on safflower visual injury, weed density, percent weed control, or safflower grain yield; therefore, data were pooled over years. Organic rice has started to gain popularity as the safer and healthier alternative,especially in developed countries .

Demand for organic rice is increasing with up to 50,000 acres produced in the USA . In US, organic rice farmland has increased almost six times since 1995 to now . However, current organic rice production in US is unable to meet the current market demand. Organic rice buyers in the US are importing large percentages of their rice from Cambodia.Major challenges in organic rice production include nutrient optimization,weed management and variety selection . Weed competition is one of the prime yield limiting biotic constraints in rice . Uncontrolled weed can reduce rice yield by 44% to 94% . Weeds even can cause total crop failure .Through selection of weed competitive cultivars, the weed emergence and its subsequent growth can be suppressed . Thus, varietal selection can be alternative to weed management in organic rice. Likewise, flooding and cover cropping are tools in integrated weed management for organic rice production.

Reactive oxidative stress compounds can be generated by combustion reactions that occur during marijuana smoking

Epidemiological evidence has linked lung disease, increased respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive disease and emphysema to marijuana smoking.In some instances,marijuana use can cause alteration and sometimes loss in memory characterized by slowed reaction time,hampered information processing, un-coordinated motorre actions and performance, and attention deficiency that result in mood disorder syndrome, psychosis and schizophrenia . Accordingly, a review on the effects of marijuana smoking on the lungs found out that prolonged cannabis smoking leads to lung cancer and cancers of the upper aero digestive tract . Moreover,a brief exposure to second hand marijuana smoke leads to acute vascular endothelial dysfunction.Nonetheless, lack of sober mental control due to the detrimental effects of marijuana among intoxicated drivers has been reported to increase the risk of road accident.

The occurrence of these events is hypothesized by the fact that when one smokes marijuana joint, he/she is four times exposed to carbon monoxide and five times more tar deposition than a single tobacco cigarette due to more deep inhalation and longer holding breath times and lack of cannabis cigarette filters . Consequently, psychiatric disorders among marijuana smokers have been associated with acute and chronic smoking . As a result, young cannabis users are likely to experience a deficiency in mental performance characterized by slowness in information processing, amnesia and deprived attention which adversely affects their learning faculties. In addition, pregnant women who get exposed to cannabis are more likely to experience weakened visualization and dexterity, and may give birth to children that are prone to abnormal behaviors .Once the presence of cannabis is detected in the human central nervous system, it excites the production of dopamine and endogenous opioids which inhibits the secretion of acetylcholine responsible for pharmacological changes in the brain leading to a decrease of glutamatergic synaptic transmission which causes brain functioning abnormalities among the cannabis smoking communities.

The endocannabinoid system receptors, cannabinoid receptor type 1 and cannabinoid receptor type 2 offer inhibitory function, whereCB1 receptor act on the production of cyclic adenosine monophosphate pathway once they receive a signal from adenyl cyclase inhibitor activation while CB2 receptor plays an important role in blocking inflammatory activity and tissue damage. Therefore, brain structural abnormality has been observed in chronic cannabis smokers with more effects imposed on the grey and white matter density. Moreover, variable brain activity among cannabis consumers has been reported and compared to non-smokers in which greater brain activation is observed in the prefrontal region of smokers while hypo-activation is noted along the left superior parietal cortex due to high concentrations of the two cannabinoids, THC and CBD, THC alters the hippo campal capacity and neurochemistry while on the other hand, CBD defends against toxic variations .Nonetheless, cerebral stroke, one of the leading causes of death has been associated with cannabis intake according to a number of preclinical studies and scientific case reports.

Scientifically, neurological stroke and Alzheimer’s disease solely result from exposure to reactive oxygen species such as peroxynitrite,hydrogen peroxide, epoxides etc. and oxidative stress pathways that cause tissue and cellular damage, conditions which are largely promoted by cannabis smoking.Accordingly, THC is a potential agent of oxidative stress and a threat in the initiation of ischemic stroke.Pharmacological and toxicological properties of cannabis are contributed by eighteen classes of chemicals which include hydrocarbons, sugars, simple fatty acids, terpenes, amino acids, and nitrogenous compounds. Accordingly, cannabis has been used for treating oncology patients, epileptic patients ,and management of inflammatory bowel disease , neurological and psychiatric disorders , and sometimes in children to treat autism spectrum disorder, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and in pregnant mothers in the management of hyperemis gravidarum.This has been attributed to the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD which interacts with the CB2 receptor that gets activated to reduce pain, seizures and inflammations in patients, and sometimes in the management of epilepsy, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorders . Evidently,therapeutic capacity of THC against chronic pain and sclerosis neurologicalailments has also been documented .