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So far, research has failed to provide convincing evidence of the efficacy of medicinal cannabis treatments to alleviate symptoms associated with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Tourette syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, or psychosis, according to a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry yesterday (October 28).
The study, which examined 83 studies since 1980 involving a total of more than 3,000 people, also found concerns with the use of medical marijuana treatments that include the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). One 2005 study of 24 patients, for example, found that a treatment that included THC worsened the negative symptoms of psychosis and reduced cognitive functioning compared with placebo. And looking across nearly a dozen randomized controlled trials, other THC-based therapies led to more adverse side effects compared with placebo, and more patients withdrew from the study as a result.
“Cannabinoids are ...
