Cannabinoids
PROBLEMS WITH CANNABINOIDS AS MEDICINE
Hundreds of scientific and medical studies describe the profound therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids, substances found exclusively in Cannabis plants. Most healthcare professionals acknowledge the medicinal potential of these substances, but their acceptance as bona fide medicine is hampered by matters like the lack of relevant “evidence-based” human clinical studies. “Evidence based” refers to the systematic application of scientific methods. “Clinical” denotes treating actual patients rather than just doing theoretical or laboratory work.
Organizations and agencies like the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy recognize the medicinal possibilities offered by cannabinoids. But they uniformly emphasize that these substances should be orally administered. One obstacle to creating such formulations is that cannabinoids taken by mouth have proven difficult to get into the bloodstream. Relative to what may be taken by mouth, only lesser, unpredictable amounts will typically reach there. In other words, cannabinoids have very low bioavailability. Achieving precise dosing and predictable therapeutic outcomes is therefore problematic.