The buzz over medical marijuana for treating health problems might be exaggerated, scientists find.
Getting a medical cannabis card (MMC) to use cannabis items to deal with discomfort, depression, or anxiety signs caused the start of cannabis usage disorder (CUD) in a significant minority of people while stopping working to improve their symptoms, according to a study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) scientists and released in JAMA Network Open. Researchers found that people at biggest danger of establishing the addicting symptoms of CUD were those seeking remedy for anxiety and anxiety, suggesting the requirement for stronger safeguards over the dispensing, usage, and expert follow-up of people who lawfully acquire marijuana through MMCs.
“In this first study of clients randomized to acquire medical marijuana cards, we learned there can be unfavorable consequences to utilizing marijuana for medical purposes. Especially disrupting to Gilman was the reality individuals with signs of anxiety or depression– the most typical conditions for which medical marijuana is looked for– were most susceptible to developing marijuana usage condition.
” Medical” cannabis has actually risen in appeal as 36 states and the District of Columbia have commercialized its use (since December 2021) for myriad health conditions through medical marijuana cards. These cards need written approval of a certified physician who, under the current system, is usually not the patients medical care supplier however a “marijuana medical professional” who may supply authorization to patients with only a brief examination, no recommendations for alternative treatments, and no follow-up. Certainly, the medical cannabis market operates outside regulative requirements that use to the majority of fields of medication.
MGH researchers began their trial in 2017 with 269 adults (average age of 37) from the higher Boston area who had an interest in obtaining a medical marijuana card. One group was allowed to get MMCs instantly, while the second group, created to serve as a control, was asked to wait 12 weeks prior to obtaining a card. Both groups were tracked over 12 weeks. The team found that the chances of developing CUD were nearly two times higher in the MMC mate than in the wait list control group, which by week 12, 10 percent of the MMC group had established a CUD diagnosis, with the number increasing to 20 percent in those looking for a card for stress and anxiety or anxiety.
” Our study underscores the need for better decision-making about whether to start to use cannabis for specific medical problems, particularly state of mind and stress and anxiety conditions, which are related to an increased risk of cannabis use condition,” says Gilman. Despite the particular health condition for which marijuana is sought, Gilman thinks that policy and circulation of marijuana to individuals with medical marijuana cards should be significantly enhanced. “There requires to be much better assistance to clients around a system that presently enables them to select their own items, decide their own dosing, and often receive no expert follow-up care.”
Reference: “Risks and Benefits of Obtaining a Medical Marijuana Card in Adults with Pain, Insomnia, or Affective Symptoms: A Randomized Clinical Trial” 18 March 2022, JAMA Network Open.
Gilman is associate teacher of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Senior author A. Eden Evins, MD, is the Cox Family Professor of Psychiatry at HMS.
The research study was moneyed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
“In this first study of patients randomized to acquire medical cannabis cards, we discovered there can be unfavorable effects to utilizing marijuana for medical purposes.” Medical” marijuana has actually risen in popularity as 36 states and the District of Columbia have advertised its usage (as of December 2021) for myriad health conditions through medical marijuana cards.” Our research study underscores the need for much better decision-making about whether to begin to use marijuana for particular medical problems, particularly mood and stress and anxiety conditions, which are associated with an increased threat of marijuana usage disorder,” says Gilman. Regardless of the specific health condition for which marijuana is looked for, Gilman thinks that regulation and distribution of cannabis to individuals with medical cannabis cards need to be greatly improved.
