NCIA: "THE MEDICINE OF CANNABIS: AN OVERVIEW FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AND POLICYMAKERS".

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Date of Publishing: June 2021.
No. of Pages: 19.

The federal classification of cannabis as a narcotic drug has long stigmatized it and tended to obscure the history of cannabis as a widely respected and clinically utilized medicine. The Cannabis plant has been cultivated throughout recorded history for industrial and medicinal use, but what may be even more surprising to readers today is that cannabis was once a popular and accepted medicine in the modern United States. It took decades of anti-cannabis activism by the federal government—first by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics beginning in the late 1920s, and later by the Nixon administration—to change the mainstream opinion within the medical community that cannabis was a relatively harmless substance with numerous therapeutic applications. 

In 2019, a Pew Research Poll found that over 90% of Americans support legalizing medical cannabis, while an even more recent Gallup poll found that 68% also support legalizing cannabis for recreational use.1 2 Most states have now legalized some form of cannabis use, allowing the U.S. cannabis market to grow substantially. The 2020 cannabis industry was estimated at 20 billion USD, with projections that the industry may exceed 40 billion USD by 2024.3 As cannabis use expands in the U.S., issues that require the guidance of scientists and clinicians are rapidly arising. Patients are looking to their medical providers for information on cannabis safety, potential for interactions with pharmaceuticals, and therapeutic applications. However, the existing legal environment significantly hinders the ability of clinicians to engage with cannabis research or offer clear guidance. The U.S. federal government continues to classify cannabis as a Schedule I Controlled Substance, by definition meaning it has no accepted medical use and is unsafe to use even under medical supervision.4 This position cripples the ability of clinicians to advise patients or to influence the burgeoning cannabis industry.

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Contents:

1. INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES.

2. A BRIEF HISTORY OF MEDICAL CANNABIS.

3. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM (ECS) IN HEALTH.

4. THE COMPLEX NATURE OF THE CANNABIS PLANT.

4.1. PHYTOCANNABINOIDS.

4.2. TERPENES & FLAVONOIDS.

4.3. SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS.

5. CLINICAL USES FOR MEDICAL CANNABIS.

5.1. PAIN.

5.2. ANXIETY & DEPRESSION.

5.3. AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER.

5.4. DEMENTIA.

5.5. NEOPLASIA.

5.6. IMPACT ON THE OPIOID CRISIS.

5.7. PTSD & IMPACT ON U.S. VETERAN POPULATION.

5.8. SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS & CLINICAL CAUTIONS.

6. KEY TAKEAWAYS.

7. RESEARCH INITIATIVES.

8. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.

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