Conditions
Although the evidence base for medicinal use of cannabis is developing quickly, scientific knowledge about how it affects the body is still limited. However, studies have shown that medicinal cannabis may have potential as a treatment option for a broad range of conditions.
- Intractable seizures in Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (CBD)
- Improving short-term sleep in those with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic pain
- Improving symptoms of Tourette syndrome (THC capsules)
- Improving anxiety symptoms in individuals with social anxiety disorders (cannabidiol)
- Improving symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (nabilone)
- Better outcomes after a traumatic brain injury or intracranial haemorrhage (cannabinoids)
- Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (oral cannabinoids)
- Increasing appetite and decreasing weight loss associated with HIV/AIDS (cannabis and oral cannabinoids)
- Improving patient-reported multiple sclerosis spasticity symptoms (oral cannabinoids)
- Chronic pain in adults (cannabis)
Most approvals under SAS-B are for the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain. This includes conditions such as arthritis, lower back pain, pain, pelvic pain, neck pain and various forms of neuropathic pain. These are typically treated with oral solutions that contain THC and sometimes additional CBD. Other common conditions among SAS-B approvals include anxiety, cancer-related symptoms (e.g. pain, nausea, anorexia), epilepsy, insomnia, and spasticity in multiple sclerosis. CBD-only products are being used in all of these conditions, but there is a greater use of them in patients with epilepsy and anxiety.
The TGA has published a series of clinical guidance documents that summarise the available evidence for medicinal cannabis products in chronic pain, palliative care, epilepsy, spasticity in multiple sclerosis and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. However, definitive evidence in support of specific medicinal cannabis products for various conditions is often not available. This absence of evidence reflects historical difficulties in undertaking clinical trials with cannabis products7 and the recency with which CBD has been identified as a therapeutic drug.
With dozens of clinical studies now underway, researchers continue to identify additional potential applications for medicinal cannabis.
To learn more about the evidence for medicinal cannabis for specific indications, please see the Resources page.