Science Focus
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While the medical use of cannabis has expanded, there's little data available regarding its safety. Although the drug has been used (recreationally and medically) by humans going back far into prehistory, it was criminalized by the time researchers began conducting rigorous clinical trials. Consequently, almost every news story one reads about the use of cannabis as a medical therapy contains some variation of disclaimer saying "more research is needed" into the longterm safety of medical cannabis use.
Now a tiny bit of that "more research" has been published in the Journal of Pain. The headline result was that there was no increase in the number of serious adverse events in a group that used cannabis for chronic pain when compared to a group that did not. As the authors point out in the paper, the "lack of data on the safety and efficacy of cannabis is a major barrier to physicians' involvement [in prescribing medical cannabis]."
The study was conducted in Canada between 2004 and 2008. It followed 431 chronic pain patients for a year in order to assess the rates of adverse events, pulmonary effects, and neurocognitive function. The patients were divided into a group that used cannabis to treat that chronic pain (n=215) as well a control group that didn't (n=216). A key strength of the work is that it was a prospective study; the participants were chosen before they started the treatment plan.
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» see original post http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/09/no-sign-of-safety-risks-with-long-term-pot-use-for-chronic-pain/
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