Although research into cannabis has increased dramatically over the past two decades, our understanding of the drug lags decades behind that of other substances, such as tobacco and alcohol.
There is a major gap when it comes to knowledge about the effects of cannabis on our health, the environment, society and much more. So why, given our long history with the plant, are there so many unanswered questions?
20 years ago
Cannabis research only really started twenty years ago. It gained steam in the late 2000s and early XNUMXs, starting with studies showing that marijuana could reduce nausea in people with HIV and in people undergoing chemotherapy. Since then, the field has exploded.
Yet the number of published studies pales in comparison cannabis compared to the wealth of data we have on tobacco and alcohol. “We don't have the fundamental data on cannabis that we have for other things,” says Ryan Sultan of Columbia University in New York.
A big reason for this is that government regulations have made it extremely difficult to study marijuana. In the US, for example, researchers must obtain a special license from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and can only study cannabis grown in licensed facilities – before 2021 there was only one of these. Even in Canada, where recreational cannabis use has been legal since 2018, federal and provincial restrictions have hampered research.
Concerns about cannabis consumption
Many scientists are concerned about all the cannabis products appearing on the market. The availability and hype surrounding these products exceeds the actual evidence. We often don't know which doses are appropriate, what the long-term effects are and sometimes even what exactly people are consuming. In some products, the labels or labels do not even match the contents. This can lead to dangerous situations.
Sultan: “There are many fundamental issues we don't yet have a handle on, from how the endocannabinoid system can impact our health to understanding how these products, which are now easily available to the public, are produced as well as consumed.”
Source: newsscientist.com (EN)