Bureaucratic hurdles slow cannabinoid research

We’ve lost many years of potentially important research on the use of cannabis as medicine because of polarized views of the “weed” among researchers, policy-makers and the public. On one side, there are those who see cannabis as a dangerous psychoactive drug that should be prohibited. On the other, there are those who view cannabis as a panacea, with the potential to treat every known disease and condition.

So now that cannabis is legal to smoke, will bureaucratic hurdles still make it hard to study? It’s time to remove the barriers to cannabis research. There’s still too much we don’t know about its potential benefits and risks. Cannabis has some promising medicinal properties and its use as a possible anti-convulsive has a long history. New research from my colleagues and myself indicates why it may be effective.

Cannabis originated in the Himalayas and was first cultivated in China for seed and fibre production. Early records of using cannabis medicinally can be traced to Sumerian records around 1800 BC, which mention using this plant against a variety of diseases, including convulsions. During the 20th century, the use of cannabis became illegal in many places due to its psychoactive effects. These legal constraints made understanding the chemistry elusive until the 1960s.

It took over 20 years to determine how one of the main cannabinoids — tetrahydrocannabinol, more commonly known as THC — causes its well-known effects, such as excessive anxiety and euphoria. THC is also reported to be a pain killer, a muscle relaxant and an anti-inflammatory. This is where cannabis becomes interesting for medicinal use.

However, because of its noteworthy “high” effects, THC may not be an ideal therapeutic compound. Fortunately, there are other cannabinoids that may have the same effects as THC without its psychoactive properties, such as cannabidiol (CBD).

The research on CBD so far is promising. My colleagues and I recently published a study that may explain how and why it works. Our study shows CBD can reduce the activity of sodium channels in the brain that may contribute to a significant reduction in seizures in those with Dravet Syndrome, a severe form of childhood epilepsy that causes frequent and unstoppable seizures, in extreme cases, as many as hundreds a week.

The good news is that, in addition to THC and CBD, there are more than 100 other cannabinoids and related compounds that can be isolated from cannabis. Many may also prove to be promising for specific conditions.

The bad news, unfortunately, is our knowledge about most of these other cannabinoids is even more limited than THC and CBD. If there are therapeutic gems hidden in cannabis, we should consider researching all of them.

So what’s slowing down the science? In the past, obtaining cannabinoids for research purposes required applying for an exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which could frequently take several months. More hurdles exist if the cannabinoids are imported. Under the new system, cannabis researchers are required to apply for a licence under the Cannabis Tracking and Licensing System, which already warns of “several months” for processing. That sounds like the same bureaucracy with a different name. To put this in perspective, it took my colleagues and me 10 months to acquire 100 milligrams of CBD the first time we applied.

Progress in the cannabis research field would greatly benefit from a reduction in the bureaucratic process involved in obtaining cannabinoids. The downstream effect could be a more efficient discovery of compounds that would, in turn, potentially extend and enhance the lives of those who suffer from life-threatening conditions.

Mohammad-Reza Ghovanloo is a PhD candidate in the department of biomedical physiology and kinesiology at Simon Fraser University, a research fellow at Xenon Pharmaceuticals and a contributor with EvidenceNetwork. ca, based at the University of Winnipeg.