Medicinal use of cannabis based products and cannabinoids

Medical cannabis: What practitioners need to know

“…[18] Regulatory authorities evaluate medical cannabis products for acceptable product variability, and only effective, safe and good-quality products complying with good manufacturing practices (GMP) are marketed. [19,20] To date, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three drugs that contain cannabinoids: a plant-derived CBD solution, and two synthetic cannabinoids structurally related to THC, nabilone and dronabinol. [18,20] A purified form of THC and CBD in a 1:1 ratio, known as nabiximols, has been approved by Health Canada and several other countries.…”

Medical cannabis: Risks related to its indication prior to approval

“…A thorough review of the scientific literature on this topic shows that the scientific evidence supporting the proposed indications is very weak and sometimes even nonexistent. 2 Anyway, this situation has not overruled the indication of medical cannabinoids. The National Drug, Food and Technology Administration (Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica, ANMAT), the Argentine regulatory agency, has approved the prescription under the "compassionate use" label.…”

“…Natural compounds have been used for recreational and therapeutic purposes for centuries (reports date back to 3000 years ago) and may be associated with abuse, withdrawal, and dependence clinical conditions. 1,2 T h e p h a r m a c o l o g i c a l e f f e c t of this group of compounds takes place through the interaction with t h e e n d o c a n n a b i n o i d s y s t e m , w h i c h i s m a d e u p o f r e c e p t o r s located in the CNS and peripheral organs called "CB1" and "CB2." T h e e n d o c a n n a b i n o i d s y s t e m c o n t a i n s e n d o g e n o u s l i g a n d s called "endocannabinoids," such as anandamide.…”

“…T h e e n d o c a n n a b i n o i d s y s t e m c o n t a i n s e n d o g e n o u s l i g a n d s called "endocannabinoids," such as anandamide. 2,3 To date, drug regulatory agencies, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have approved cannabidiol use for the treatment of two subtypes of refractory epilepsy. According to the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), a patient is considered refractory to treatment in case of a lack of response to at least four antiepileptic drugs.…”

Cannabinoids for drug‐resistant seizures in a critically ill patient—Case report and literature review

“…The US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of CBD as an adjunct with anti‐epileptic medicines in patients 2 years of age and older with Dravet and Lennox‐Gastaut syndrome. Additionally, CBD is also under regulatory review with the European Medicines Agency . Currently, in Australia, the only pharmaceutical‐quality whole‐leaf cannabis extract approved by the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) is Sativex ® , which is approved primarily for patients with multiple sclerosis and is a 50/50 mixture of THC and CBD…”