This was the conclusion of two systematic reviews conducted by the United States Department for Veteran Affairs and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

The use of cannabis, or marijuana, for medicinal purposes - such as in the management of chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - is becoming more accepted, both in the U.S. and globally.

Most U.S. states have now legalized use of cannabis in some form. Of these, eight states and the District of Columbia have also legalized it for recreational as well as medicinal use.
Cannabis and management of pain

The review authors note that, in the U.S., up to 4 out of 5 people who seek medicinal cannabis use it to manage pain.

Also, among patients receiving long-term prescription opioid therapy for pain, as many as 39 percent are likely to be using cannabis as well.

"However," note the authors, "little comprehensive and critically appraised information exists about the benefits and harms of using cannabis to treat chronic pain."

In their systematic review, they examined data from 27 chronic pain trials and found only "low-strength" evidence that cannabis relieves neuropathic pain and "insufficient evidence" that it alleviates other types of pain.

The authors also found some limited evidence on the harms of cannabis use in the general population, suggesting that cannabis use may raise the risk of psychotic symptoms, short-term cognitive impairment, and motor vehicle accidents.

There also appears to be insufficient evidence about the long-term physical harms in both heavy and long-term cannabis users, or in older populations.
Expert comments on discrepancy with use

In an accompanying editorial, Sachin Patel, an associate professor at Vanderbilt Kennedy Center in Nashville, TN - where he researches the effect of cannabis compounds on the brain in psychiatric disorders - comments on the finding.

He draws attention to the discrepancy between this result and the fact that pain is one of the most common reasons that people seek use of medicinal cannabis, and why many states have approved it for such use.

One reason could be that most of the studies used lower doses or strengths of cannabis compounds than those available in dispensaries, and the effect on pain depends on dose.

Another reason could be that the people who use medical cannabis for pain relief may not always be represented in clinical studies.

He also suggests that there could a "more controversial" explanation. Pain is a complex mix of "behavioral, emotional, and cognitive domains," the effects of which are not readily captured in traditional rating scales.

Prof. Patel leaves the issue undecided. On the one hand, there appears to be a need for a "more comprehensive analysis of patient well-being and functioning than is measured by common pain scales" to detect the effects of cannabis.

He notes that on the other hand, it may be possible that the effects of cannabis on perceived pain are "simply not robust," and that using a catch-all diagnosis of "pain" to justify legalizing medicinal cannabis "may be overused."
Cannabis and PTSD

Over a third of patients who request medicinal use of cannabis in states where it is legal give PTSD as the main reason.

However, as in the case of pain management, the authors state that the effectiveness of cannabis "in treating PTSD symptoms remains uncertain."

The team examined data from reviews, trials, and other studies that included a control group and reported benefits and harms of giving adults plant-based (as opposed to synthetic versions) cannabis to treat PTSD.

They found insufficient evidence to support the idea that cannabis relieves symptoms of PTSD.

One of the studies they reviewed - which was one of the largest to follow veterans with PTSD - did, however, show evidence that symptoms got worse in those veterans who continued or started to use cannabis compared with those who had never used it or who stopped using it during the study.
Editorial conclusion

In his editorial, Prof. Patel says that the two reviews "largely echo" findings of organizations such as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and that they suggest a "growing consensus in the field."

He suggests that even if further research reveals that there is no clear, substantial evidence that cannabis is an effective and safe treatment for pain or PTSD, it is unlikely that legislation will "remove these conditions from the lists of indications for medical cannabis."

    "It will be up to front-line practicing physicians to learn about the harms and benefits of cannabis, educate their patients on these topics, and make evidence-based recommendations about using cannabis and related products for various health conditions."

Footnote: Marijuana or cannabis?

A quick note on terminology: marijuana or cannabis? The World Health Organization (WHO) define cannabis as a generic term for the several psychoactive substances that are present in the plant Cannabis sativa.

In reference to marijuana, the WHO say that in many countries, the term refers to cannabis leaves or other parts of the plant.

However, agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse use the word marijuana to refer to the plant, without specifying which parts.

In the two reviews covered in this article, the researchers analyzed evidence on "plant-based cannabis preparations or whole-plant extracts." Because they used the term cannabis, so have we.

 


Note by Bob Darley
Weed it an Weep
I think if you go to war, risk your life for your country, you should be supplied free weed till you die! PTSD or not.

When the WHO don't know, where do we go?
they say/define Cannabis as follows " cannabis as a generic term for the several psychoactive substances that are present in the plant Cannabis sativa."

Where as "Cannabis sativa" is a variant of the cannabis family. There is Sativa, Indica and Ruderalis. It quite Ruderalis to get this wrong the the W.H.O
and they refer to Marijuana as " cannabis leaves or other parts of the plant" 
Do they know WhO is WHO? what's on first... I don't knows on third, what tha?

The insanity of the world, TRUMP for world president!

Marijuana is the slang name that has been adopted by the USA, it's derived from Mexican origins, possibly in an attempt to demononise the plant.
Cannabis is the botanical name of the plant.
Personally  think Marijuana sounds sexy, especially if pronounced correctly.
I also own the domain name medicalcannabis.com.au ..... but prefer Marijuana..... sweet Mary Jane.