More and more jurisdictions around the world are opening up access to cannabis. And several drugs based on its main psychoactive ingredient have been approved. However, the scientific community believes that there is still work to be done to better understand the effectiveness of this plant in the treatment of pain, spasticity and other pathologies.
Experts from around the world gathered at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the United States to discuss this topic at a conference organized by Canadian McGill University. If for Dr. Ware, a pain specialist at the clinic at the Montreal General Hospital, marijuana is an interesting option, he nevertheless believes that it is not suitable for all patients.
“I don’t believe that all doctors should prescribe medical cannabis, or that all patients can benefit from it, but it is time to strengthen our scientific knowledge base and discuss it in an informed way with patients,” says he does.
Variable results
Because while it is “plausible to assume” that cannabis exposure is dangerous for the brain development of children and adolescents, there are still few too few well-designed prospective studies to draw valid data, according to the doctor Igor Grant, director of the Medical Cannabis Research Center in the United States.
“Despite the commonly held belief that cannabis use causes brain damage, meta-analyzes of in-depth neurocognitive studies fail to demonstrate significant cognitive decline for recreational users,” he adds. “In addition, in brain imaging, the results are variable and the best-designed studies show no effects.”
