Is medical cannabis safe?

Here in the UK, every single day, new patients receive prescriptions for cannabis-based medicines. Thankfully, medical cannabis legalisation was implemented back in November 2018, allowing patients who have tried conventional approaches to no avail a chance to access a potentially life-saving treatment.

Despite this, the public understanding of what medical cannabis actually is remains rather limited and often skewed by false information, decades of indentured stigmatisation, and media sensationalism.

We are here to change that.

What is medical cannabis?

The term "medical cannabis" encompasses a massive range of cannabis-based medicines. It includes products that are high in THC (the psychoactive cannabinoid) and others with more CBD (a non-psychoactive cannabinoid).

Most medical cannabis products contain a combination of both compounds, along with other various cannabinoids and terpenes (the aromatic compounds that give cannabis its distinctive fragrance, but also have therapeutic effects).

Is medical cannabis safe?

Medical cannabis is considered to have a very favourable safety profile, and this has been shown time and again in the available peer-reviewed research. Unlike many of the conventional pharmaceuticals that are often prescribed (oxycodone, fentanyl, alprazolam, hydrocodone, etc.), cannabis has not been linked to any deaths.

One of the reasons medical cannabis is considered safe is that it works with the body's natural endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is the largest neurotransmitter system in the body and plays a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis (balance). We produce our own cannabinoids, which interact with the ECS receptors, but sometimes this system needs a boost.

Is there research that proves the safety of medical cannabis?

Yes, there certainly is.

Almost every study, clinical review, and meta-analysis of medical cannabis has found that it is well-tolerated, but since you're here, let's look at one specific publication that reviewed the safety and side effects of medical cannabis use of approximately 10,000 patients.

In this study, the safety of medical cannabis was assessed by the frequency of side effects - dizziness was the most common, with 8.2% of participants reporting it. Dry mouth (6.7%), increased appetite (4.7%), sleepiness (4.4%), and psychoactive effects (4.3%) were the other most commonly reported side effects, all of which are considered 'mild side effects'.

The paper concludes that:

"Supervised medical-cannabis treatment is associated with high adherence, improvement in quality of life, and a decrease in pain level with a low incidence of serious adverse events."

We asked our medical director, Dr David Tang, if he could boil it down to one sentence.

“There are a lot of side effects with other medicines, and medical cannabis is one of the one few treatments that has few, or minimal side effects associated with it."

The wrap-up

All drugs come with the risk of adverse effects, and medical cannabis is no outlier.

But the vast majority of people who take cannabis-based medications experience no or only mild side effects, and the potential benefits for almost all patients far outweigh these slight risks.

If you would like to quickly find out if you may be suitable for a UK medical cannabis prescription, check out our free and simple eligibility checker. It takes less than 30 seconds to complete, and you’ll receive your results instantly.

Releaf is here to help, no matter what stage you're at in your medical cannabis journey.