Medicinal Cannabis: Evolution of Therapeutic Use, Future Approaches and Other Implications

Cannabis has been used in even the oldest traditional medicines available. In the last century, somewhat negative attention has prevailed when it comes to the psychotropic and abusive effects and for this reason Cannabis has been banned and considered illegal in many countries. In recent years, however, there has been a more in-depth evaluation of the legalization of cannabinoids for medical use in several countries following heightened media attention and reports of effectiveness, although not always thoroughly backed up by scientific evidence. In fact, up to now the results from studies discussing the efficacy of the medical use of Cannabis are sometimes contradictory and not always conclusive. Some factors fueling this inconclusiveness include the heterogeneous nature of the studied populations, different Cannabis preparations and dosages, studies with uncontrolled settings and different routes of administration. Moreover, these uncertainties are partly derived from legislative restrictions which, over time, have severely limited the conduction of rigorous, controlled, and comparable studies.

The official introduction of pharmaceutical grade Cannabis inflorescences for medicinal purposes has allowed physicians and pharmacists respectively to legally prescribe and prepare several Cannabis preparations. Such products are currently being administered to patients without their efficacy being evaluated in controlled studies: for each patient the composition and route of administration may be different. In addition, many advanced administration systems have been developed or are still under development, but few clinical trials have been completed.

This Research Topic welcomes submission of Original Research and Review articles focusing on the in-depth analysis of the legal, technological and pharmacological aspects related to the medical use of chemically characterized Cannabis-based formulations. Studies carried out in the past or still in progress will also be considered to assess what evolution there has been in using Cannabis to treat diseases or conditions.

We invite submissions dealing with the following themes, including but not limited to:
• Cannabis based formulations: current and future applications in therapy.
• Legal, technological, and pharmacological aspects related to the medical use of Cannabis.
• Non-clinical evidence supporting therapeutic applications of Cannabis.

Important note for Authors : Only studies dealing with highly purified, chemically characterized Cannabis containing formulations, where the chemical structure and purity must be precisely described by appropriate analytical methods will be considered for review in Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery. The following studies can be accepted for review in Ethnopharmacology: (I) Clinical Trial articles will be accepted for review only in the case that they are randomized, double-blinded, and placebo controlled. (II) Any studies relating to advanced formulations or galenic preparations to better evaluate the potential effects of their application in future therapies.

All the manuscripts submitted to the collection in the Ethnopharmacology Section will need to fully comply with the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (you can freely download the full version here).