Abstract
Introduction: Despite increasing demand for data, little is known about the authorization patterns, safety, and effectiveness of medical cannabis products.Materials and Methods: We conducted a 2 year observational study of adult patients who were legally authorized a medical cannabis product from a single licensed producer; we captured and analyzed authorized cannabis use patterns by cannabinoid profile (tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]-dominant; cannabidiol [CBD]-dominant; and balanced (THC:CBD) and clinical outcomes using standardized outcome measures every 3 months for 12 months at a network of medical cannabis clinics in Quebec, Canada.Results: We recruited 585 patients (average age 56.5 years), of whom 61% identified as female and 85% reported pain as their primary complaint. Over 12 months, there was a significant increase in the number of products authorized (Z=2.59, p=0.01). The proportion of authorizations for a THC-dominant or CBD-dominant product increased relative to the proportion of authorizations for a balanced (THC:CBD) product (all p<0.01). Symptom improvement over time was observed for pain, tiredness, drowsiness, anxiety, and well-being. Patients authorized THC-dominant products exhibited less symptom improvement for anxiety and well-being relative to those authorized CBD-dominant or balanced (THC:CBD) products. Medical cannabis was well tolerated across all product profiles.Conclusion: These real-world data reveal changes in medical cannabis authorization patterns and suggest that symptom improvement may vary by cannabinoid profile over 12 months of follow-up.
Highlights
Despite increasing demand for data, little is known about the authorization patterns, safety, and effectiveness of medical cannabis products
Study design and setting This is an observational study of patients who were authorized for medical cannabis treatment and followed at Sante Cannabis, a network of four medical cannabis clinics in Quebec, Canada
There were no strategies to retain long-term patients; sensitivity analyses suggest that the current findings are robust to the assumed missing data mechanism. In conclusion, these real-world data reveal significant changes in physician authorization practices over 12 months of treatment and show that the medical cannabis products included in the study were well tolerated
Summary
Despite increasing demand for data, little is known about the authorization patterns, safety, and effectiveness of medical cannabis products. Materials and Methods: We conducted a 2 year observational study of adult patients who were legally authorized a medical cannabis product from a single licensed producer; we captured and analyzed authorized cannabis use patterns by cannabinoid profile (tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]-dominant; cannabidiol [CBD]-dominant; and balanced (THC:CBD) and clinical outcomes using standardized outcome measures every 3 months for 12 months at a network of medical cannabis clinics in Quebec, Canada. Patients authorized THC-dominant products exhibited less symptom improvement for anxiety and well-being relative to those authorized CBD-dominant or balanced (THC:CBD) products. The use of medical cannabis is increasing worldwide to treat a variety of symptoms related to pain, mood, and sleep.[1] The multiple therapeutic effects from these medical cannabis products are primarily attributed to two cannabinoids, D9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Canadian regulations under the Cannabis Act allow patients with various indications to access plant-based medical cannabis products through federally licensed producers with an authorization form from a health care practitioner.[9]
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