Cannabis oil: benefits and contraindications

Just opened in 2020, supporters of the use of medicinal cannabis oil scored a victory when, the World Anti-Doping Agency, an international body that regulates prohibited and allowed substances in sport, confirmed that those who choose the cannabidiol (CBD) to treat pain. This as long as they do not use products that contain THC, the psychoactive component of the plant. And since the plant that everything comes from is marijuana, there will continue to be controversy about cannabis oil, its benefits and contraindications.

As is known, in Argentina, current regulations only authorize the administration of cannabis oil to patients with refractory epilepsy. In these cases, its provision is free for those who are registered in the National Registry of Patients in Treatment with Cannabis (RECANN). The debate, however, is far from over.

Many are the voices that ask for the expansion of the pathologies contemplated by Law 27,350, as well as the regulation of self-cultivation. Even the Minister himself of Health, Genes González Garcia, left rose to assuming the need to work on regulations governing the medical and scientific research of the medicinal use of cannabis plant and its derivatives in order to improve and expand pathologies in which its use is legalized.

There is a false belief that it is the miracle cure. This is not like this. Not all patients respond to cannabis or do it in the same way, “warns Dr. Ana Garcia Nicola, president of the Argentine Medicinal Cannabis Civil Association (CAMEDA.

What is cannabis oiL

The medicinal use of cannabis has an ancient tradition and was common, until the beginning of the last century. Although the plant was extracted from the Pharmacopoeia for different reasons, in recent times, oil preparations have gained popularity, which consist of a concentrated extraction of its flower, from which cannabidiol (CBD) is mainly obtained.

CBD is a chemical that acts on the central nervous system and is therefore a psychotropic. However, it does not contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana CBD FLOWER.

Although cannabis oil is the best known presentation of CBD, and the one used in refractory epilepsy, it can also be obtained in other ways. “Epidiolex, for example, which is the drug approved by the FDA (United States Agency that regulates food and drugs) for refractory epilepsy, comes in capsules. Similarly, countries such as Canada, Israel or the United States have approved dispensaries where you can buy flowers and products for vaporization, “explains Garcia Nicola.

In the case of creams, which is the cannabinoid that is absorbed and how much is still under study”?

Cannabis oil benefits

Argentine legislation only authorizes cannabis oil in cases of refractory epilepsy, which are the most complicated conditions, and for which there is more scientific evidence of its effectiveness. And in that sense, a clinical study initiated by the Graham Hospital with 49 adolescent boys suffering from this pathology determined that cannabis oil was successful in 80 percent of the cases.

Other researchers also reach very beneficial conclusions in the treatment of chronic pain in adults, vomiting associated with chemotherapy, and spasticity in multiple sclerosis.

Cannabis oil contraindications

As with any drug, cannabis oil can cause side effects on health. Its potential negative consequences include increased risk of circulatory accidents, decreased newborn weight, or the development of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or other psychoses.