Pharmaceutical use of cannabis has rapidly increased in Australia in recent years. Since the access routes expanded in 2016, more than 700,000 prescription approvals have been issued.
The overwhelming majority of cannabis medicinal products on the market have not registered in the Australian Registry of Therapeutic Goods. However, doctors may apply for the administration of therapeutic goods (TGA) for approval to prescribe them to patients.
Data indicate the Three most common conditions For which scenarios are approved are chronic pain, anxiety and sleep disorders.
Although many patients report benefits, professional agencies and regulators have raised concerns about whether prescription exceeds evidence.
So what does the evidence say? Does the pharmaceutical cannabis operate for the conditions for which they are most commonly prescribed?
Pharmaceutical cannabis for pain
Pharmaceutical cannabis refers to cannabis products prescribed legally to treat a medical condition. This may be the plant itself, or the natural compounds extracted from the plant. Some compounds similar or the same as those found in hemp (for example, Dronabinol and Navilone) are done in a laboratory.
Two of the most common compounds of the plant are THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidol), known as cannabinoids.
These are usually found in various concentrations in hemp medicinal products that come in shapes, such as oils, capsules, dried flower (used in an atmosphere), spray and gummies.
Chronic pain is the most common reason for the use of medicinal hemp. But as we have written in a previous article, research only shows average benefits, with limited improvements in pain and physical function.
THE TGA says There are limited elements, pharmaceutical cannabis provides clinically significant pain relief for many situations and should only be tested if they have not helped other standard therapies.
Does the drug cannabis operate for stress?
In addition to chronic pain, a growing number of people now turns to pharmaceutical hemp for anxiety.
Multiple revisions have examined whether it works for this purpose and have reached similar conclusions. For products based on THC the The items are mixedWith some patients finding relief, while others report that their symptoms are worse.
There is Raising items for CBDHowever, it is too early to recommend medical cannabis as a first -line treatment for stress. So far, CBD studies in stress were small, only measured effects under experimental conditions aimed at causing stress, had no comparison group or only a single dose were tested. Because of these restrictions, studies cannot tell us if the CBD is effective for continuous stress management.
A recent criticism The CBD had positive effects on stress, but these effects were observed in studies that were considered problems with their methods and not in studies that were stricter and carried out.
Similarly, a Australian (no control group) showed CBD’s positive effects on young people with stress that had already tried other treatments. However, the authors said that more stringent tests were needed.
In addition, there are Recent reports of acute psychosis resulting from the use of pharmaceutical cannabis. Overall with the ambiguous elements, the role of cannabinoids for stress remains away from the clean.
What about sleep disorders?
THE evidence For cannabis in the treatment of sleep and insomnia disorders is perhaps even more limited, with neither CBD nor THC to have shown clear benefits by reducing the number of awakening or time spent awake at night or improved sleep quality. Taking, some people say they have fewer symptoms of insomnia when using medicinal hemp.
Similar to stress, many of the studies have significant weaknesses in designing their study that make it difficult to draw strong conclusions. There are also a few studies that compare medicinal hemp in proven treatments for sleep disorders and insomnia. This makes it difficult to make recommendations for treatment based on current research data.
THC can make you sleepy, and in the short term, it can help people sleep or feel like they sleep more. But there are some Significant disadvantages to consider too.
For example, if you take medicinal hemp regularly to sleep your body may get used to itmaking it harder to sleep without it. In the long run, cannabis can also affect The quantities of light and the degree of sleep a person will have, which can lead to poorer sleep quality.
Read more: Cannabinoids can reduce total sleeping time in adults with insomnia: New study
There are good indications for certain conditions
Some of the strongest data on cannabis medicinal products are for rare forms of epilepsy that do not respond to existing treatments and for the treatment of symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis.
Only TGA -approved cannabis medicinal products It’s for these conditions.
There is also evidence that cannabis can help with chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. Although as newer drugs with fewer side effects are now available, cannabis medicinal products are not considered front -line treatments.
Risks and side effects
Common side effects with thc In the short term it includes drowsiness, anxiety, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting and changes in appetite. For some people, these results are reduced over time.
Some people with pre -existing health conditions such as schizophrenia, psychosis or heart disease It can be more prone to side effects.
Appreciated one in four People using medical cannabis meet the dependency criteria (known as hemp use disorder). In the long run, dependence seems more common with medical use, especially when combined with non -medical use.
If you suffer with worry; sleep problems or chronic pain and wondering what treatments It can be more effective for you, talk to your normal GP.
