Influence of cannabis on mental health

03/09/2021 7 min read

NASEM Institute comes with interesting summaries of the results of a number of studies dealing with the general effect of cannab

CINV – chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
Both synthetic and natural medicinal cannabinoids have been shown to work against CINV
The main advantage of medical cannabis over pharmaceuticals is a smaller number of adverse side effects

When laws permitting cannabis treatment first appeared on the scene in the 1990s, they were mainly about protecting patients being treated for cancer. Even then, medical cannabis was used by many patients undergoing chemotherapy, which in the vast majority of cases causes unbearable nausea and vomiting.

The effectiveness of medical cannabis against nausea was at that time supported only by anecdotal evidence from patients; today, however, we are able to look at what official studies say about this issue and how medicinal cannabinoids actually work against nausea.

Chemotherapy-induced nausea, CINV

"Utterly devastating." This is how patients usually describe the effects of chemotherapy, which cause what is known as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomitig – CINV). This is therefore not ordinary nausea, but severe and extensive nausea occurring in a time window of roughly 6-24 hours after a chemotherapy session.

Normally, conventional pharmaceutical antiemetics (anti-nausea drugs) are used to minimise this side effect of chemotherapy. With varying degrees of effectiveness, doctors also try prescribing corticosteroids such as Dexamethasone, various antihistamines and even antidepressants.

But what can be done if all of the above-mentioned medicines fail? Such a situation is certainly no exception, and doctors therefore have to deal with questions from patients for whom the medicines not only do not help but, according to many, also cause lethargy, drowsiness or even delusions.

With medicinal cannabinoids, however, the whole matter is beginning to change. It has been shown that synthetic cannabinoids such as dronabinol or nabilone work well against CINV (not to be confused with synthetic cannabis such as the infamous K2 or Spice). Specifically, these are slightly modified, synthetically produced molecules of the cannabinoid THC, currently approved for the treatment of CINV.

medical cannabis against chemotherapy

Research into medical cannabis against nausea (CINV)

Dronabinol and nabilone were first recognised as drugs against CINV by the US federal government in 1985. Since then, more than 30 clinical studies have been carried out, the results of which clearly show the complete superiority of medicinal cannabinoids compared with commonly used pharmaceutical drugs.

By 1996 alone, reactions involving 1366 patients had been observed and evaluated. Studies were carried out for both dronabinol and nabilone, with the effects compared with those of placebo and conventional drugs. In all cases it emerged that cannabinoids were by far the most advantageous choice for patients.

Some of the patients understandably also reported feelings of euphoria associated with the effect of THC, while in others the doses of cannabinoids caused feelings of anxiety, low blood pressure or even hallucinations. For these reasons, several patients even withdrew from the studies; today, however, we know that these effects occur mainly in patients with low tolerance. (More in the article "Cannabis for beginners")

If we look at the dosage of medicines used alongside cancer treatment, we see that just 1-2mg of nabilone and 5mg of dronabinol before and after chemotherapy are usually sufficient. Compared, for example, with cannabis edibles enriched with natural cannabinoids this is a fairly small dose, which can easily be achieved "at home", as it were.

Compared with conventional pharmaceuticals, however, it is still a highly controversial treatment, which prevents many patients and doctors from deciding to start this type of treatment at all. In addition, pharmaceuticals have been studied more extensively than cannabinoids, which is unfortunately another reason for caution.

chemotherapy medical cannabis

How does synthetic cannabis treat nausea?

Synthetic THC, such as the aforementioned nabilone, is able to disrupt the process associated with the binding of serotonin and dopamine, which are commonly associated with CINV. In addition, cannabinoids also act on the so-called "dorsal vagal complex", the area of the brain responsible for regulating the sensation of nausea and vomiting.

Natural cannabis against nausea

According to National Cancer Institute statistics, the effect of inhaled natural cannabis has so far been examined in only ten studies. In some cases, natural cannabis was used where synthetic cannabis had failed.

The fact remains, however, that natural cannabis can be used against nausea in general, and it does not necessarily have to be nausea caused by chemotherapy. In most cases, varieties with at least a medium THC content were used. In 2012, however, a study was carried out on mice focusing rather on the effects of CBD, which ultimately proved very promising.

Thanks to these results and also the impressive effects on the patients themselves, CBD is now used against nausea much more often. However, more data are still needed to clarify dosage, interactions with other medicines and differences in its effect on CINV and other types of nausea.

Even though many study results on the impressive effects of medical cannabis are now available, cannabis treatment is still not a worldwide standard and continues to remain wrapped in controversy.

Source: leafly.com

Author: Jacqueline Havelka

Translation: Filip Maral

Images: lowerabdominalpaintreatment.co