Real-world data: Medical Cannabis is effective & safe for many conditions

"Objective: To investigate the safety and effectiveness of medical cannabis (MC) in the real-world clinical practice setting."

Published in December 2022 in the journal Cannabis & Cannabinoid Research, this study collected data from 2,991 adult patients with an average age of 51 years. 50.2% were women. Patients were enrolled in Quebec medical cannabis clinics between May 2015 and October 2018. Patients used dried flower, oil, or other types of cannabinoid medicine.

The study tracked the following measures every 3 months over a 12 month period:

• pain severity
• interference and relief (Brief Pain Inventory [BPI])
• symptoms using the Revised Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS-r): pain, tiredness, nausea, drowsiness, appetite, depression, anxiety, shortness of breath, well-being
• health-related quality of life dimensions (EQ-5D-5L)

The authors' conclusions:

All patient-reported outcomes showed a statistically significant improvement at 3 months which was maintained or further improved (for pain interference, tiredness, and well-being) over the remainder of the 12-month follow-up

Results also revealed clinically significant improvements in pain interference and tiredness, anxiety, and well-being from baseline. 

There were 8 serious adverse effects that were likely due to cannabis (0.27%).

The abstract is here at LiebertPub.com.