Can Cannabis really be made into medicine

The cannabis plant contains many different compounds called cannabinoids. The two most significant ones are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). While THC is the compound that gets recreational cannabis users high, CBD is of great interest to researchers for its medical properties. On its own, CBD has shown promise in the treatment of many health problems, including multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, anxiety, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, pain and Tourette’s.

Only one CBD-based drug is licensed for use in the UK. This is Sativex, used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. It contains CBD and THC and has undergone stringent safety testing and clinical trials.

Epidiolex, a highly-purified form of CBD used to treat epilepsy, has been approved in the US but is still awaiting approval for use in the EU.

What is cannabis oil?

Cannabis oil is a general term for any liquid extract that’s made from cannabis or hemp plants. Dr David Potter says these products can vary hugely in terms of how they’re made and what they contain. “Some of the oils we’ve analyzed are quite close to what they say they contain, others are way off,” he says. The oils are often marketed as food additives to avoid having to adhere to the strict quality standards required of medicines.

CBD is just 1 of over 100 compounds known as cannabinoids that are found in the cannabis plant. These substances act on our ‘endocannabinoid system’, a complex part of the nervous system that helps regulate a variety of processes – including our sleep cycle, appetite, pain sensation, mood and memory.

Cannabinoids like CBD and THC bind to receptors in this system throughout the body and brain, sometimes activating them and sometimes suppressing or blocking them.

The exact reason CBD appears to be so useful in treating various disorders is unclear. It does not have the intoxicating effects of THC, and intriguingly seems to have almost the exact opposite effect to high doses of THC. Research shows that CBD has appetite-suppressing properties, unlike the famous cannabis-induced ‘munchies’, and it has anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic properties as opposed to the paranoia and psychosis induced by high-doses of THC. It is these properties that have led people purchasing CBD oil to try to alleviate problems such as insomnia and anxiety.

The recreational cannabis use is still illegal, but it will be easier for cannabis-related products to be studied and prescribed.