The hype versus the evidence relating to cannabinoids

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The hype versus the evidence relating to cannabinoids

December 2020

David Codyre

Tuesday 1 December 2020, 01:30 AM

There is a lack of good-quality evidence for therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids from the cannabis plant. Photo: Kym Mackinnon on Unsplash

Results from the cannabis referendum showed that, as a nation, we are not ready to legalise cannabis. However, patients with a variety of problems ask to be prescribed medicinal cannabis. Psychiatrist David Codyre, reviews the evidence for both benefits and harms of cannabinoids

The endocannabinoid system is present in all animal species, and it is ancient – the system has played an important biological role for hundreds of m, Cannabinoids key points

Cannabis

Education

References

Elphick MR. The evolution and comparative neurobiology of endocannabinoid signalling. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2012;367(1607):3201–15.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2017.
Caspi A, Moffitt TE, Cannon M, et al. Moderation of the effect of adolescent-onset cannabis use on adult psychosis by a functional polymorphism in the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene: longitudinal evidence of a gene X environment interaction. Biol Psychiatry 2005;57(10):1117–27.
Lowe DJE, Sasiadek JD, Coles AS, et al. Cannabis and mental illness: a review. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2019;269(1):107–20.

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The hype versus the evidence relating to cannabinoids