"Marijuana as Medicine" from National Institute on Drug Abuse

The term medical marijuana refers to using the whole, unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat symptoms of illness and other conditions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized or approved the marijuana plant as medicine.

However, scientific study of the chemicals in marijuana, called cannabinoids, has led to two FDA-approved medications that contain cannabinoid chemicals in pill form. Continued research may lead to more medications.

Because the marijuana plant contains chemicals that may help treat a range of illnesses and symptoms, many people argue that it should be legal for medical purposes. In fact, a growing number of states have legalized marijuana for medical use.

Why isn’t the marijuana plant an FDA-approved medicine?

The FDA requires carefully conducted studies (clinical trials) in hundreds to thousands of human subjects to determine the benefits and risks of a possible medication. So far, researchers haven't conducted enough large-scale clinical trials that show that the benefits of the marijuana plant (as opposed to its cannabinoid ingredients) outweigh its risks in patients it's meant to treat.

"The historical development of research on cannabidiol".

"The aim of this review is to describe the historical development of research on cannabidiol". (Department of Neurology, Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Ribeirão Preto (SP), Brazil)

After the elucidation of the chemical structure of cannabidiol in 1963, the initial studies showed that cannabidiol was unable to mimic the effects of Cannabis. In the 1970's the number of publications on cannabidiol reached a first peak, having the research focused mainly on the interaction with THC and its antiepileptic and sedative effects. 

The following two decades showed lower degree of interest, and the potential therapeutic properties of cannabidiol investigated were mainly the anxiolytic, antipsychotic and on motor diseases effects. 

The last five years have shown a remarkable increase in publications on cannabidiol mainly stimulated by the discovery of its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and neuroprotective effects. These studies have suggested a wide range of possible therapeutic effects of cannabidiol on several conditions, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, cerebral ischemia, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, other inflammatory diseases, nausea and cancer. 

CANNABIDIOL (CBD) Pre-Review Report by WHO

This report has been drafted under the responsibility of 

the WHO Secretariat, Department of Essential Medicines and Health Products, Teams of Innovation, Access and Use and Policy, Governance and Knowledge

(Expert Committee on Drug Dependence. Thirty-ninth Meeting Geneva, 6-10 November 2017)

Summary:

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the naturally occurring cannabinoids found in cannabis plants. It is a 21-carbon terpenophenolic compound which is formed following decarboxylation from a cannabidiolic acid precursor, although it can also be produced synthetically, CBD can be converted to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) under experimental conditions, however, this does not appear to occur to any significant effect in patients undergoing CBD treatment. 

In experimental models of abuse liability, CBD appears to have little effect on conditioned place preference or intracranial self-stimulation. In an animal drug discrimination model CBD failed to substitute for THC. In humans, CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential. There is unsanctioned medical use of CBD based products with oils, supplements, gums, and high concentration extracts available online for the treatment of many ailments.

CBD is generally well tolerated with a good safety profile. Reported adverse effects may be as a result of drug-drug interactions between CBD and patients’ existing medications. Several countries have modified their national controls to accommodate CBD as a medicinal product. To date, there is no evidence of recreational use of CBD or any public health related problems associated with the use of pure CBD.

"3 Cannabinoids In Clinical Practice"

Acording to the study,"Cannabis has a potential for clinical use often obscured by unreliable and purely anecdotal reports".

The most important natural cannabinoid is the psychoactive Tetrahydrocannabinol (A 9 -THC),Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG). Not all the observed effects can be ascribed to THC, and the other constituents may also modulate its action. For example CBD reduces anxiety induced by THC. A standardised extract of the herb may be therefore be more beneficial in practice and clinical trial protocols have been drawn up to assess this. 

The mechanism of action is still not fully understood, although can- nabinoid receptors have been cloned and natural ligands identified. 

Medical Marijuana Faces Acceptance Barrier by Hesitant Medical Schools

A new study shows a growing interest by university pharmacy programs in teaching about medical marijuana in their curriculum, while medical schools seem to lag behind. 62% of US pharmacy school respondents queried in a new survey said they included medical marijuana in their doctorate of pharmacy curriculum.

That’s according to a nine-page study co-authored by faculty from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, which appeared in the January 2019 issue of the journal Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning. The results point to the growing role of marijuana as a therapeutic treatment.