Examination of University of California San Diego’s medical cannabis research finds lack of evidence in smoked marijuana treatment

In the latest edition of the Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice, Dr. Andrea Barthwell examines the findings of the body of research supported by the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California San Diego and raises issues about the adequacy of the data and findings to support conclusions drawn from the studies.

There is the need for a robust body of data to support all cannabis-based products, stated Dr. Barthwell, and these studies can be used to pursue the next stages of research. However, the safety and efficacy data from the CMCR studies do not constitute ‘reasonable evidence’ that smoked cannabis is a ‘promising treatment’ for certain painful conditions; neither does it meaningfully inform the debate over whether cannabis should be rescheduled by the DEA.

Dr. Eric Voth, Chairman of the Institute on Global Drug Policy, noted that this review of the CMCR report contributes greatly to our understanding about the controversy of smoked marijuana as medicine. Dr. Barthwell’s conclusions should be noted not only by medical professionals but also by legislators and voters to instruct their decisions about the drug.

The Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice, a joint effort of the Institute on Global Drug Policy and the International Scientific and Medical Forum on Drug Abuse, is an international, open access, peer-reviewed, online journal with the goal of bridging the information gap on drug policy issues between the medical/scientific community, policymakers and the concerned lay public. Edited by Eric A. Voth, MD, FACP and David A. Gross, MD, DFAPA, the intended readership includes clinicians, clinical researchers, policymakers, prevention specialists and the interested public.