Despite the claims made by cannabis opponents, there is significant evidence that cannabis is medicine. In the cases of countless patients, and as backed up by a growing body of peer-reviewed research, medical cannabis is proven to be safe and effective for treating various health conditions.

A recent example of peer-reviewed research can be found in the United Kingdom, where a team of investigators affiliated with various academic and health institutions examined two years’ worth of data from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. The researchers’ findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

“This study aims to evaluate longitudinal changes in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and the incidence of adverse events over 24 months in patients treated with cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) for depression.” the researchers wrote about the focus of their effort.

“Patient data from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry were used for analysis. PROMs, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale (SQS), EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L), and Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC), were measured at baseline, 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Adverse events (AEs) were also recorded. P < 0.050 was considered statistically significant.” they wrote about their methodology.

“Initiation of CBMPs was associated with statistically and clinically significant improvements in depression, anxiety, sleep quality, and health-related quality of life among patients. Improvements were most prominent in the first 3 months. Limitations of the study mean that no causal relationship can be ascertained.” the researchers found.

“The positive findings from this and other observational data support future evaluation of CBMPs for the treatment of depression to establish their efficacy.” they concluded.

As with all research, the findings of this examination should not substitute for talking to your primary doctor(s) if you suffer from one or more of the health conditions referenced in the peer-reviewed study.