HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

Medicinal Cannabis Not Proven in Mental

Health
November 04, 2019

Medicinal Cannabi
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Researchers in Australia say evidence is weak as to whether medicinal

cannabis treatments can help with mental illnesses such as anxiety,
depression and psychosis. Eey add that doctors should be very careful
when deciding to give the treatments to patients.

Ee researchers examined scientiHc studies on the eIects of medicinal

cannabinoids on six mental health disorders. Eey found “a lack of
evidence for their eIectiveness.”
Louisa Degenhardt is a drug and alcohol expert at Australia’s
University of New South Wales in Sydney. She said her team’s Hndings
have important eIects for countries such as the United States,
Australia, Britain and Canada. In those countries, doctors are making
medical cannabis available for patients with some kinds of illnesses.

Ee study results appeared in the publication Ee Lancet Psychiatry.

Some military veterans and others who suIer post-traumatic stress

disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety say cannabis is helpful in
easing some of their symptoms.

Degenhardt told Reuters, “Cannabinoids are oZen advocated as a

treatment for various mental health conditions. (But) clinicians and
consumers need to be aware of the low quality and quantity of
evidence...”

Cannabis is also used for conditions such as nausea, epilepsy and

traumatic brain injury. Ee study did not examine its eIects on those
conditions.

Degenhardt’s team wanted to look at all available evidence for all types
of medicinal cannabinoids. Eey investigated whether the substances
stopped or lessened symptoms of depression, anxiety, attention-
deHcit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette syndrome, PTSD and
psychosis.

Eey examined 83 published and unpublished studies. Ee research

covered about 3,000 people involved in studies between 1980 and
2018.
Eey found that medicinal cannabis made psychosis worse. And it did
not greatly aIect any other major results for the mental illnesses
studied.

Tom Freeman is an addiction and mental health expert at Britain’s

Bath University. He was not involved with the study. But he said the
Hndings show an important need for high-quality tests of medical
cannabis to strengthen the evidence.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Kate Kelland reported this story for the Reuters news agency. Jonathan
Evans adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Eompson was the
editor.

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Words in Eis Story

advocate - v. a person who argues for or supports an idea or plan

cannabis - n. a drug such as marijuana or hashish that comes from

the hemp plant

clinician - n. person such as a doctor or nurse who works directly

with patients rather than in a laboratory or as a researcher

consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services​

symptoms – n. changes in the body or mind which indicate that a
disease is present

various - adj. used to refer to several diIerent or many diIerent

things, people, etc.​

veteran - n. someone who fought in a war as a soldier, sailor, etc.​