Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022;9(4):630-646.
doi: 10.1007/s40429-022-00438-3. Epub 2022 Sep 7.

Review: Cannabinoids as Medicinals

Jag H Khalsa  1   2   3 , Gregory Bunt  4 , Kenneth Blum  5   6   7   8   9   10 , Sanjay B Maggirwar  2 , Marc Galanter  11 , Marc N Potenza  12
Affiliations
Review

Review: Cannabinoids as Medicinals

Jag H Khalsa et al. Curr Addict Rep. 2022.

Abstract

Purpose of review: There have been many debates, discussions, and published writings about the therapeutic value of cannabis plant and the hundreds of cannabinoids it contains. Many states and countries have attempted, are attempting, or have already passed bills to allow legal use of cannabinoids, especially cannabidiol (CBD), as medicines to treat a wide range of clinical conditions without having been approved by a regulatory body. Therefore, by using PubMed and Google Scholar databases, we have reviewed published papers during the past 30 years on cannabinoids as medicines and comment on whether there is sufficient clinical evidence from well-designed clinical studies and trials to support the use of CBD or any other cannabinoids as medicines.

Recent findings: Current research shows that CBD and other cannabinoids currently are not ready for formal indications as medicines to treat a wide range of clinical conditions as promoted except for several exceptions including limited use of CBD for treating two rare forms of epilepsy in young children and CBD in combination with THC for treating multiple-sclerosis-associated spasticity.

Summary: Research indicates that CBD and several other cannabinoids have potential to treat multiple clinical conditions, but more preclinical, and clinical studies and clinical trials, which follow regulatory guidelines, are needed to formally recommend CBD and other cannabinoids as medicines.

Keywords: CBD; Cannabidiol; Cannabinoids; Cannabis; Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol; Substance-related disorders; THC.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of InterestThe authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Radwan MM, Chandra S, Gul S, ElSohly MA. Cannabinoids, Phenolics, Terpenes and Alkaloids of Cannabis. Molecules. 2021;26:1–29. doi: 10.3390/molecules26092774. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Smith DE. Review of the American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs report on medical marijuana. J Psychoactive Drugs. 1998;30:127–136. doi: 10.1080/02791072.1998.10399682. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Izzo AA, Borrelli F, Capasso R, Di Marzo V, Mechoulam R. Non-psychotropic plant cannabinoids: new therapeutic opportunities from an ancient herb. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2009;30:515–527. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2009.07.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Izzo AA, Capasso R, Aviello G, Borrelli F, Romano B, Piscitelli F, Gallo L, Capasso F, Orlando P, Di Marzo V. Inhibitory effect of cannabichromene, a major non-psychotropic cannabinoid extracted from Cannabis sativa, on inflammation-induced hypermotility in mice. Br J Pharmacol. 2012;166:1444–1460. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2012.01879.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pagano C, Navarra G, Coppola L, Avilia G, Bifulco M, Laezza C. Cannabinoids: Therapeutic use in clinical practice. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources