Medical cannabis in SA: Weighing the evidence - MedicalBrief 293 - 12 March 2020

Medical cannabis in SA: Weighing the evidence - MedicalBrief 293 - 12 March 2020

MedicalBrief 293 - 12 March 2020

"Current limited evidence of the benefits of medical cannabis may be outweighed by the lack of consistent efficacy and risk of adverse effects, since no products are currently registered by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), concludes a study in the SA Medical Journal. They note that currently there is only low-level or no convincing evidence for medical cannabis use for chronic pain, sleep and weight disorders, and neuropsychiatric disorders.

There is high-quality evidence for the use of medical cannabis in some childhood epilepsy and it could be considered in chemically-induced nausea and vomiting and multiple sclerosis-associated spasticity.

Researchers in the faculties of medicine and health sciences and Stellenbosch University and the University of Cape Town, the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law at Stellenbosch University, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and the Neurosciences Institute at the University of Cape Town, write in the SA Medical Journal that the South African Constitutional Court recently decriminalised the private cultivation, possession and use of cannabis by adults.

They write: Cannabis contains varying amounts of the cannabinoids delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), depending on various cultivation factors. No commercial plant-derived cannabis products are currently registered by the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) for medical use. Such products are therefore unregulated, but are freely available in South Africa , and may be of inadequate quality and unverified composition, and not guaranteed to be safe or effective."

Read more:

https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/medical-cannabis-what-sa-practitioners-need-to-know/