Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids

By NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano

As clinical research into the therapeutic value of cannabinoids has proliferated – there are now more than 17,000 published papers in the scientific literature analyzing marijuana and its constituents — so too has investigators' understanding of cannabis' remarkable capability to combat disease. Whereas researchers in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s primarily assessed cannabis' ability to temporarily alleviate various disease symptoms — such as the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy — scientists today are exploring the potential role of cannabinoids to modify disease. 

Of particular interest, scientists are investigating cannabinoids' capacity to moderate autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as their role in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease.) 

Investigators are also studying the anti-cancer activities of cannabis, as a growing body of preclinical and clinical data concludes that cannabinoids can reduce the spread of specific cancer cells via apoptosis (programmed cell death) and by the inhibition of angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels). Arguably, these latter trends represent far broader and more significant applications for cannabinoid therapeutics than researchers could have imagined some thirty or even twenty years ago.

Major Health Organizations' Positions of Medical Marijuana

• American Medical Association - "support[s] reclassification of marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance ... [concludes] smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis."
• American College of Physicians - "urges an evidence-based review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance ... consider[ing] the scientific findings regarding marijuana's safety and efficacy in some clinical conditions..."
• Institute of Medicine = "Scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation."