Review of medical cannabis effectiveness research

This is a review study of legal cannabinoid medical applications and associated research, and was published in the journal Pharmacology in March 2022. They found evidence supporting the effectiveness of cannabinoid medicine for the treatment of more than nine different medical conditions.

The conclusion of the authors may be the best way to summarize their findings:

"In general, data support a role for cannabis/cannabinoids in pain, seizure disorders, appetite stimulation, muscle spasticity, and treatment of nausea/vomiting. Given the biological activities of the cannabinoids, there may be utility in treatment of central nervous system disorders (such as neurodegenerative diseases, PTSD, and addiction) or for the treatment of cancer."

One of the more interesting additional conclusions made by the authors is that traditional double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are almost impossible for THC-containing medicine since there is no real placebo, or "sham condition" for its psychotropic (euphoric) effects.

"As a result, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (the gold standard for evaluating efficacy) are very difficult, if not impossible."

Thus, it seems that real-world evidence (RWE) instead of traditional controlled trials is probably the best way to judge the effectiveness of cannabinoid medicine.

The full-text article is here at Karger.com.