A new study published by the National Institute of Health, which is the most comprehensive of its kind, has found that natural, herbal cannabis is a more effective medicine than pharmaceutical medicines based, or derived from cannabis and cannabinoids.

“Cannabinoids, including tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, are the most important active constituents of the cannabis plant”, states the study’s abstract; “Over recent years, cannabinoid-based medicines (CBMs) have become increasingly available to patients in many countries, both as pharmaceutical products and as herbal cannabis (marijuana). While there seems to be a demand for multiple cannabinoid-based therapeutic products, specifically for symptomatic amelioration in chronic diseases, therapeutic effects of different CBMs have only been directly compared in a few clinical studies.”

For the study, researchers surveyed 953 particpants from 31 different countries, making this the ” largest international survey on a wide variety of users of cannabinoid-based medicine performed so far”, according to researchers.

While conducting this study, researchers found that; “In general, herbal non-pharmaceutical CBMs received higher appreciation scores by participants than pharmaceutical products containing cannabinoids.”

They conclude; “The reported data may be useful for further development of safe and effective medications based on cannabis and single cannabinoids.”

The study can be found by clicking here.

– TheJointBlog