"Considerations for the Use of Medical Cannabis: An Overview of Benefits and Harms"

Introduction: Cannabis use to treat various diseases or symptoms is not clearly defined.The purpose of this review is to explore the existing evidence regarding the harms and benefits of cannabis use across multiple illnesses.Material and Methods: Search for articles for this review was performed in PubMed, Google Scholar and PsycINFO.We summarize and discuss recent evidence regarding cannabis use in multiple neurological (including seizures, neurodegenerative disorders, multiple sclerosis), psychiatric (including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and psychotic illness) and other diseases (including chronic pain, cancer, vomiting, cardiovascular diseases, COVID-19). Results:The collated body of evidence shows that the benefit of its use (medicinal or recreational) mostly lacks adequate evidence warranting for further study.In pretext of already available better options (with better efficacy and safety), the consideration of this agent is seriously debatable.Conclusion: Harms or adverse effects of cannabis use clearly are evidence based and are at times serious (e.g.psychosis association), mainly from mental health perspective.Hence, its use should not be suggested and needs serious consideration before using it.