“Derivatives of the plant Cannabis sativa have been used for centuries for both medical and recreational purposes, as well as industrial. The first proof of its medicinal use comes from ancient China, although there is evidence of its earlier utilization in Europe and Asia. In the 19th century, European practitioners started to employ cannabis extracts to treat tetanus, convulsions, and mental diseases and, in 1851, cannabis made its appearance in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States as an analgesic, hypnotic and anticonvulsant. It was only in 1937 that the Marijuana Tax Act prohibited the use of this drug in the USA. The general term Cannabis is commonly used by the scientific and scholar community to indicate derivatives of the plant Cannabis sativa. The word cannabinoid is a term describing chemical compounds that are either derivate of Cannabis (phytocannabinoids) or artificial analogues (synthetic) or are produced endogenously by the body (endocannabinoids). A more casual term “marijuana” or “weed”, a compound derived from dried Cannabis flower tops and leaves, has progressively superseded the term cannabis when referred to its recreational use. The 2018 World health organisation (WHO) data suggest that nearly 2.5% of the global population (147 million) uses marijuana and some countries, such as Canada and Uruguay, have already legalised it. Due to its controversial history, the medicinal use of cannabinoids has always been a centre of debate. The isolation and characterisation of Δ9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive component of cannabis and the detection of two human cannabinoid receptor (CBRs) molecules renewed interest in the medical use of cannabinoids, boosting research and commercial heed in this sector. Some cannabinoid-based drugs have been approved as medications, mainly as antiemetic, antianorexic, anti-seizure remedies and in cancer and multiple sclerosis patients’ palliative care. Nevertheless, due to the stigma commonly associated with these compounds, cannabinoids’ potential in the treatment of conditions such as cancer is still largely unknown and therefore underestimated.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33422460/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212492620300853?via%3Dihub
“Objective: The opioid epidemic continues to claim thousands of lives every year without an effective strategy useful in mitigating mortality. The use of medical cannabis has been proposed as a potential strategy to decrease opioid usage. The objective of this study was to determine how the use of medical cannabis affects prescribed opioid usage in chronic pain patients.
“Background: The ongoing opioid overdose crisis is driven largely by exposure to illicitly-manufactured fentanyl. Preliminary observational and experimental research suggests that cannabis could potentially play a role in reducing use of prescription opioids among individuals with chronic pain. However, there is limited data on the effects of cannabis on illicit opioid consumption, particularly fentanyl, especially among individuals on opioid agonist therapy (OAT). We sought to assess the longitudinal association between cannabis use and exposure to fentanyl among people on OAT.
“Recently, there has been a growing interest in the medical applications of Cannabis plants. They owe their unique properties to a group of secondary metabolites known as phytocannabinoids, which are specific for this genus. Phytocannabinoids, and cannabinoids generally, can interact with cannabinoid receptors being part of the endocannabinoid system present in animals. Over the years a growing body of scientific evidence has been gathered, suggesting that these compounds have therapeutic potential.
“Gynaecological cancers can be primary neoplasms, originating either from the reproductive tract or the products of conception, or secondary neoplasms, representative of metastatic disease. For some of these cancers, the exact causes are unknown; however, it is recognised that the precise aetiopathogeneses for most are multifactorial and include exogenous (such as diet) and endogenous factors (such as genetic predisposition), which mutually interact in a complex manner.
“Plant-based therapies date back centuries. Cannabis sativa is one such plant that was used medicinally up until the early part of the 20th century.
“Objectives: This article presents findings from a large prospective examination of Canadian medical cannabis patients, with a focus on the impacts of cannabis on prescription opioid use and quality of life over a 6-month period.
“Cannabinoid receptor (CB) activation can attenuate inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in experimental models and human cohorts. However, the role of the microbiome, metabolome, or the respective contributions of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells in the anti-colitic effects of cannabinoids has yet to be determined.