Little quality evidence on the medical benefits of marijuana: Study

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As many turn to marijuana to help with problems such as anxiety, sleep issues and pain relief, a new analysis of more than 100 clinical trials and meta-analyses found there’s not a lot of quality evidence showing cannabis use can be beneficial to a majority of people.

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In fact, there’s more convincing evidence that suggests using marijuana could be harmful, particularly for pregnant women, those with a mental health disorder, and adolescents and young adults, according to the study published in the online medical journal BMJ.

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“After applying very strict quantitative criteria, and accounting for both observational studies and experimental trials, most of the associations between cannabis and health outcomes were supported by very low or low credibility,” study author Dr. Marco Solmi told CNN.

The University of Ottawa associate professor of psychiatry, who is also an investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, told CNN that the study found there were “multidimensional detrimental effects of cannabis on brain function,” which are seen in “associations with poor cognition (and) mental disorders.”

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The review found that studies that examined the use of cannabis to ease symptoms of anxiety, depression and mental health disorders had, in fact, raised the risk of an individual’s onset of a psychotic or mental health disorder.

The study also found that using cannabis after the onset of a mental condition worsened clinical outcomes.

For example, people with psychosis, which is when a person’s emotional state causes them to lose contact with reality, could run the risk of relapsing or experience more cognitive decline, Solmi said.

Those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or severe depression can experience psychosis.

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The study also found cannabis to be harmful to pregnant women who have used the drug to ease nausea, linking cannabis to the risk of a woman giving birth to a small, low birth weight baby.

For adolescents and young adults, the study found that cannabis was dangerous for cognition and mental health as their brains were still developing.

While young people and pregnant women may not benefit from cannabis use, the study noted that cannabidiol (CBD) can be effective in people with epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, inflammatory bowel disease, and in palliative medicine.

Though cannabis was effective for treating pain, there is “no evidence cannabis improves sleep in the general population,” Solmi told CNN, while warning people to avoid using the drug to self-medicate.

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