In recent years, the field of cannabis research has experienced an unprecedented boom, with a staggering 32,000 articles shedding light on various aspects of cannabinoid medicine.
As interest in cannabis for clinical care continues to grow, healthcare professionals face the daunting task of sifting through this vast sea of information to provide evidence-based guidance to patients. In this blog post, we delve into the challenges clinicians encounter in making sense of the wealth of clinical cannabis data.
TLDR: It’s difficult to make sense of it all, and Association of Cannabinoid Specialists offer a number of resources and courses to members to help make sound patient-care decisions.
The Clinical Complexity of Cannabis Research
Cannabis and various cannabinoids, with their potential therapeutic benefits, have become a focal point in clinical research. However, this surge in studies has resulted in a landscape that is not only vast but also intricate.
Clinical research on cannabis encompasses diverse areas, including pain management, neurology, psychiatry, oncology, primary care, addiction medicine, and palliative care, making it challenging for healthcare professionals to stay abreast of developments across these specialties.
Contradictory Clinical Findings and Methodological Variances
One of the primary challenges clinicians face is the prevalence of contradictory clinical findings within the vast body of research. Studies exploring the medicinal properties of cannabis often yield conflicting results due to variations in study designs, patient populations, and cannabis formulations.
For example, a study on the efficacy of cannabis for chronic pain management may report disparate outcomes based on differences in dosages, administration methods, and patient characteristics.
Moreover, the lack of standardized protocols for cannabis research and legal barriers to giving patients known cannabis preparations introduce methodological variances that complicate the synthesis of evidence.
Varied dosing regimens, inappropriate study design (often necessitated by legal obstacles), and diverse outcome measures all contribute to the complexity of interpreting clinical studies, leaving healthcare professionals in a conundrum when formulating patient recommendations.
Navigating Bias and Funding Influences in Clinical Research
The influence of bias and funding sources in clinical cannabis research adds another layer of complexity. Some studies may be funded by industry stakeholders with specific interests (including the U.S. federal government), potentially impacting the objectivity of the research.
Even individual researchers have often showed their particular view of the validity of cannabis medicine through their research conclusions. Clinicians must be vigilant in critically assessing the methodologies and potential biases of studies to ensure that patient care recommendations are based on unbiased and reliable evidence.
Confusion of Pre-Clinical and Clinical Research
In many cases, pre-clinical work (cell culture or animal model) has been used to draw conclusions about what may work or be safe for human beings. This is particularly prevalent in the lay-press’ interpretation of scientific studies.
It is also prevalent among researchers and clinicians who would like to justify their use of cannabis or cannabinoids in ways that have either been disproven in human beings or not yet studied adequately in humans.
The Role of Comprehensive Clinical Reviews and Meta-Analyses
To overcome the challenges posed by the sheer volume and diversity of clinical cannabis research, comprehensive literature reviews and meta-analyses can be helpful tools for clinicians. These analyses synthesize data from multiple studies, offering a more holistic view of the evidence while identifying trends, patterns, and potential gaps.
However, it must be recognized that reviews and meta-analyses are only as good as the data they include and are subject to an additional level of bias due to inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Conclusion
The surge in clinical cannabis research, with 32,000 articles and counting, underscores the evolving landscape of medicinal cannabis. As clinicians navigate this intricate realm, they must grapple with contradictory findings, methodological variations, and potential biases.
Deciphering the clinical complexities of cannabis research requires a discerning approach, a commitment to evidence-based practice, and a reliance on methodologically sound, human studies to guide patient care.
In an era where cannabis holds promise for various medical applications, the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists is dedicated to educating clinicians based on this solid, human-data, and offers members many benefits and courses to further their clinical expertise.