BALANCE CANNABIS’ HEALTH BENEFITS WITH EFFECTS OF ABUSE

SOLUTION: DOCTORS SAY MORE RESEARCH, TRAINING, CONSUMER EDUCATION AND CAREFUL CONSUMPTION NEEDED

Most who smoke pot say they do it because it makes them feel better. Others say they take it for physical pain and mental anguish.

So, where does the medical community stand? Doctors Nova Scotia past president Dr. Tim Holland, like many young physicians, is looking at recreational cannabis use with an open mind.

“As far as self-medicating goes, we know that a little cannabis can be effective in dealing with anxiety, but at the same time it’s obvious that too much makes that anxiety worse,” said Holland. He’s seen an influx of cannabis overdoses and has personally diagnosed a few cases of cannabinoid hyperemesis or “green flu” marked by dehydration and cyclic vomiting.

“It’s still too early to see what the impacts will be because we are still so close to the time of legalization — we’ll probably know a bit more as to what the overall use looks like in about four years,” he said.

But it’s now looking like the post-legalization spike was driven by inexperienced pot smokers who simply got too high and emergency room visits are back to pre-pot-law levels.

Meanwhile, a new generation of health care professionals is seeing cannabis as medicine. “Even prior to cannabis being legalized, medical marijuana has been an accepted therapy to manage pain and other conditions,” says Debbie Brennick, an associate professor in Cape Breton University’s nursing program.

“Now that it’s legal, it has become part of the competencies that registered nurses must be aware of and must be able to practice safely.”

But like other healthcare professionals, she stressed that more research is needed.

“There is anecdotal evidence to support the fact that people who are using cannabis for pain therapy are having benefits from that therapy. There are also qualitative studies that do support that, but there is a lack of randomized control trials. It would be nice to have more evidence that the therapy is beneficial with very little side effects.”

In its latest statement, the Canadian Medical Association, the national body that represents more than 70,000 physicians and doctors in training, called for more scientific evidence to be required to support label claims of natural health products that contain cannabis.

“Those (products) for which health claims are made must be subject to a more meticulous standard of review. Rigorous scientific evidence is needed to support claims of health benefits and to identify potential risks and adverse reactions,” the CMA said in September.