A new international investigation in which scientists from the Clínic-IDIBAPS have participated has found that although the therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids can improve some health problems, cannabis consumption can also have important harmful effects, especially in certain population groups. , and highlights the need to prevent its use during adolescence and youth in people with mental disorders or a predisposition to suffer from them, as well as during pregnancy and before and while driving a vehicle.
The review of studies has been published in the British Medical Journal and its results constitute the largest body of scientific evidence gathered so far on the consumption of this substance. Prestigious specialists have participated in the work, such as Dr. Eduard Vieta, head of the Psychiatry Service at Clínic de Barcelona and the Bipolar and Depressive Disorders group at IDIBAPS, researcher at CIBERSAM and professor of Psychiatry at the University of Barcelona; and Joaquim Raduà, head of the Image of Mood and Anxiety Related Disorders (IMARD) group at IDIBAPS, researcher at CIBERSAM and associate professor at the University of Barcelona.
“Cannabis is an added risk factor for developing psychosis, in particular schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, as is tobacco in the case of lung cancer. I don’t like being an inquisitor at all, but I am a doctor and my obligation is to say this and recommend as a public health measure that its consumption be prohibited or restricted, especially to those under 25 years of age,” stated Dr. Vieta in the program ‘La Ventana’ on Cadena Ser.
Cannabis: only in cases where a clinical benefit has been demonstrated
Cannabis contains more than 100 cannabinoids, of which Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) are the most clinically relevant. The use of CBD to treat neurological disorders such as treatment-resistant childhood epilepsy was proposed more than a decade ago, but its use is the subject of controversy because there are around 24 million people in the world who suffer from a drug use disorder. cannabis.
“We found evidence of increased risk of psychosis in young people and people with a predisposition to have a mental health problem and low birth weight in pregnant women”
In our country, 3.7% of the population consumes cannabis daily or almost daily, so their consumption pattern is of high health risk. Furthermore, 15% of the Spanish population between 15 and 64 years old and 11% of adolescents (14-18 years old) believe that consuming cannabis has no consequences for health (EDADAS y ESTUDAS 2022).
The study has been led by Elena Dragioti (Linkeping University, Sweden), Marco Solmi (University of Ottawa, Canada), Jae Il Shin (Yonsei University, South Korea) and the researchers have reviewed 101 meta-analyses (50 observational and 51 clinical trials ) to carry out a systematic evaluation of the associations between cannabis, cannabinoids and cannabis-based medicines and human health. The results of the analysis of clinical trials reveal that medicines based on cannabis or cannabinoids can improve certain conditions such as epilepsy, pain, and inflammatory bowel disease despite having side effects on the central nervous system.
“But in observational studies we found that there was evidence of important harmful effects especially in certain groups: increased risk of psychosis in young people, adolescents and people with a predisposition to have a mental health problem; low weight of babies in pregnant women; and greater risk of car accidents,” explains Joaquim Raduà. “There was also evidence, but more moderate, both of the improvement of other conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, and of other side effects, gastrointestinal ones,” he adds.
Dr. Eduard Vieta points out the importance of this study because “it clearly indicates that prevention of the use of cannabis and derivatives must be carried out in people at risk, which are young people under 25 years of age, pregnant women and people who drive.” . All these people should not consume cannabis in any way, they should try not to consume it except in specific cases in which a clinical benefit has been demonstrated.
Source: Clínic-IDIBAPS
