Medicinal cannabis use has exploded, but new research puts benefits in doubt

Medicinal cannabis use has exploded in Australia in recent years, but it could be doing "more harm than good" for some Australians, new research suggests.

In the last four years alone, more than one million prescriptions have been approved and the sales of cannabinoid medications have tripled in Australia.

More than 700,000 Aussies have reported using medicinal cannabis to treat close to 300 health conditions, including mental health issues.

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But new research from The University of Sydney found no evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective in treating anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The results call into question whether medicinal cannabis should be approved to treat these conditions at all.

"Though our paper didn't specifically look at this, the routine use of medicinal cannabis could be doing more harm than good by worsening mental health outcomes," the study's lead author, Dr Jack Wilson at the University of Sydney's The Matilda Centre, said.

"For example a greater risk of psychotic symptoms and developing cannabis use disorder, and delaying the use of more effective treatments."

Though the research did find evidence to suggest that medicinal cannabis may potentially be beneficial in the treatment of some conditions – like autism, insomnia and Tourette's syndrome – Wilson said the quality of evidence was low.

"In the absence of robust medical or counselling support, the use of medicinal cannabis in these cases are rarely justified," he said.

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Medicinal cannabis is not effective for every type of substance-abuse disorder either, despite often being prescribed for these disorders.

When used to treat people with cocaine-use disorder, it was actually shown to increase cravings rather than soothe them.

In light of this study, researchers are calling for greater regulations around the prescription of medicinal cannabis in Australia.

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