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. 2018 May;113(5):958-966.
doi: 10.1111/add.14084. Epub 2017 Dec 21.

Time to acknowledge the mixed effects of cannabis on health: a summary and critical review of the NASEM 2017 report on the health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids

Janna Cousijn  1 , Adrián E Núñez  1   2 , Francesca M Filbey  3
Affiliations

Time to acknowledge the mixed effects of cannabis on health: a summary and critical review of the NASEM 2017 report on the health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids

Janna Cousijn et al. Addiction. 2018 May.

Abstract

This is a summary and critical review of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) report of cannabis’ health effects. The report stated that effects of cannabis are understudied and research findings are mixed. It concluded that the under developed evidence base poses a public health risk and rightly addressed complications of cannabis research that need to be collaboratively resolved. We support NASEM’s urgent call for research, but add that the mixed evidence base cannot be solely attributed to research limitations. Rather, we propose a need to acknowledge the heterogeneity in cannabis’ effects to advance the field.

Keywords: Cannabidiol; cannabis; general health; mental health; tetrahydrocannabinol; therapeutic effects.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interests: none

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