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Medicinal Use of Cannabis: History and Current Status

Blowmonkey

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MEDICINAL USE OF CANNABIS: HISTORY AND CURRENT STATUS
ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of the history and pharmacology of cannabis in relation to present scientific knowledge concerning actual and potential therapeutic uses of cannabis preparations and pure cannabinoids.

METHODS: The literature on therapeutic uses of cannabis and cannabinoids was assessed with respect to type of study design, quality and variability of data, independent replications by the same or other investigators, magnitude of effects, comparison with other available treatments, and reported adverse effects. The results of this review were also compared with those of major international reviews of this topic in the past five years.

CONCLUSIONS: Pure THC and several analogs have shown significant therapeutic benefits in the relief of nausea and vomiting, and stimulation of appetite in patients with wasting syndrome. Recent evidence clearly demonstrates analgesic and antispasticity effects that will probably prove to be clinically useful. Reduction of intraocular pressure in glaucoma, and bronchodilatation in asthma, are not sufficiently strong, long-lasting, and reliable to provide a valid basis for therapeutic use. The anticonvulsant effect of cannabidiol is sufficiently promising to warrant further properly designed clinical trials. There is still a major lack of long-term pharmacokinetic data, and information on drug interactions.

For all the present and probable future uses, pure cannabinoids, administered orally, rectally, or parenterally, have been shown to be effective, and they are free of the risk of chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, and upper repiratory cancer, that is associated with the smoking of crude cannabis. Smoking might be justified on compassionate grounds in terminally ill patients who are already accustomed to using cannabis in this manner. Future research will probably yield new synthetic analogs with better separation of therapeutic effects from undesired psychoactivity and other side effects, and with solubility properties that may permit topical administration in the eye, or aerosol inhalation for rapid systemic effect without the risks associated with smoke inhalation.

Key Words: Cannabis; Cannabinoids; History; Therapeutic use; Routes of administration; Adverse effects.

Despite the recent surge of interest in the potential medical use of cannabis, it is worth remembering that cannabis is not a new drug. It has a very long history of medical as well as non-medical use in many parts of the world. In discussing possible clinical trials of cannabis or cannabinoids, there is something useful to be learned from recalling a little of that history.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/ille-e/presentation-e/kalant-e.htm

This is just the abstract, there is LOTS of useful information in here, I recommend people to read this, it's a great read.
 
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