“There is a gap between what science can confidently tell us and what patients are experiencing in their day-to-day lives,” [said Michael Hsu, a psychiatrist at UCLA and lead author of a JAMA paper on cannabis’s benefits and harms]. That gap doesn’t mean that patients are wrong or that the data are flawed; rather, clinicians need to listen carefully to patient experiences while also being transparent about what the research shows.
Hsu cautions that while cannabis may provide symptom relief for some conditions, it could be temporary if the underlying cause is not addressed. … “In certain cases, it can even worsen symptoms or make it harder for patients to fully engage in treatments,” he said.
We need more and better cannabis science. It’s entirely possible that specific cannabinoids, which are compounds isolated from the cannabis plant, could prove effective for chronic pain or other conditions. … If companies are already profiting by marketing cannabis as a cure-all, they may have little motivation to invest in large randomized-controlled trials that could narrow its uses.
