2023-10-26 11:00:28
BarcelonaFor more than a decade, medicine has been proposing the use of drugs and substances made from cannabis – so-called therapeutic or medicinal – for some patients with epilepsy, chronic pain and inflammatory bowel disease. However, marijuana is not beneficial for everyone, nor can it be prescribed uniformly. Researchers at the Hospital Clínic and the Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi i Sunyer (Idibaps) have shown that the cannabinoids Tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CDB), the active principles of this plant most used in medicine, can cause harmful effects on the health of teenagers, people with mental health disorders, pregnant women and drivers.
The study, carried out at different research centers around the world and published in British Medical Journal, finds that the use of these substances as therapy can increase the risk of psychosis in young people, adolescents and people with a history of mental illness; during pregnancy can have a downward influence on the weight of babies and causes a greater risk of car accidents. “All these people should not use cannabis in any way or should try not to use it except in specific cases where a clinical benefit has been demonstrated,” explains the head of the Clinic’s Psychiatry Service and the group Bipolar and depressive disorders of Idibaps, Eduard Vieta.
The researchers systematically reviewed the scientific literature surrounding medical marijuana, including over a hundred observational studies and clinical trials. The conclusions point out that cannabis can improve the clinical evolution of some pathologies, such as childhood epilepsy resistant to conventional treatments, but also underline that it can aggravate others. “There is moderate evidence of the improvement of conditions such as multiple sclerosis, but also of other side effects such as gastrointestinal ones”, says Joaquim Raduà, head of the group Image of disorders related to mood and anxiety (IMARD) of Idibaps and researcher at the Center for Biomedical Research in the Mental Health Network (Cibersam).
The use of medicinal cannabis is controversial because there are nearly 24 million people in the world with a disorder associated with its use. In Spain, 3.7% smoke cannabis daily or almost daily and are the group with the highest health risk consumption pattern. In addition, 15% of the population aged between 15 and 64 and 11% of teenagers (between 14 and 18) think that consuming cannabis has no consequences for their health. All these figures come from the annual studies of the state Drug Plan.
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