In Annœullin, south of Lille, traders have been selling medical marijuana since Friday. Their products do not contain THC, the molecule that makes cannabis a drug.
In Annœullin, south of Lille, traders have been selling therapeutic cannabis since Friday.
The shop is always full
The marijuana-based products they offer (herbal teas, vaping liquids or oils) have no psychotropic effect. They do not contain THC, the molecule that makes cannabis into a drug. “Our products have no psychoactive effect and there is no addiction. On the other hand, CBD, or cannabidiol, has very beneficial effects on pathologies such as osteoarthritis”, explains Eloïse Masselot to the Parisian. In fact, his shop is always full.
France is in the process of thinking about the use of therapeutic cannabis. While the medical use of cannabis was discussed on April 12 in the National Assembly, the Ethics and Cancer Committee will also soon examine this question after the recent referral from a patient on the “unethical” nature of the ban on cannabis. cannabis in a therapeutic context.
Scientific data is lacking
Currently, only one cannabinoid drug has a marketing authorization in France: Sativex, recommended against spasticity and multiple sclerosis. Dronabinol and cannabidiol, used for patients with neuropathic pain refractory to conventional treatments or epilepsy, are accessible, but only with a nominative temporary authorization (procedure making it possible to provide certain patients with a medicinal product without authorization on the market and not undergoing a clinical trial in this indication).
The debate is complex, especially since scientific data is lacking on the therapeutic use of cannabis. In the United States, where its use is authorized in certain states, nearly half of oncologists tell their patients about the use of marijuana for therapeutic purposes without being sufficiently informed on the subject, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. 80% of oncologists surveyed said they had already discussed the issue of medical cannabis with their patients, but less than 30% felt they had enough scientific data to make such recommendations.
“The scientific evidence supporting the use of medical marijuana in oncology is still very thin, which puts physicians in a very uncomfortable position,” said Dr Ilana Braun of the Dana-Farber Institute of Adult Psychosocial Oncology. So far, no randomized clinical trials have looked at the effects of medical marijuana in cancer patients, other than its effects on nausea, so oncologists only rely on research on the use of cannabis for medical purposes in the treatment of diseases other than cancer.
An effective adjunct to standard pain treatment
Yet two-thirds of oncologists surveyed believe that medical marijuana is an effective adjunct to standard pain treatment. Another study published in The European Journal of Internal Medicine has shown that therapeutic cannabis would be effective in treating pain in the elderly. 901 patients over 65 years of age participated in this research. All suffered from pain related to cancer, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress, ulcerative colitis (inflammatory bowel disease), or Crohn’s disease.
After six months of treatment with medical cannabis, over 93% of participants said their pain had decreased by 4 to 8 points on a scale of 1 to 10. Over 70% of patients said they felt an overall improvement in their condition.
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