A Department of Health scientific panel is warning pregnant and nursing mothers must avoid marijuana and that “the use of cannabidiol comes with a number of safety issues and unknowns” for young adults and other members of the general public. The regulatory advice comes four years after Parliament legalized marijuana..“There is little evidence on the safety of cannabidiol taken long term,” said a report by the health department’s Science Advisory Committee. There was also little evidence supporting claims of marijuana health benefits, it said..“The use of cannabidiol comes with a number of safety issues and unknowns including a lack of research on long term use, possible side effects, potential interaction with other drugs and the risks consumers may not use a product as intended,” said the report Review Of Cannabidiol. “These are compounded by an overall lack of science.”.“There is a wide range of misinformation about cannabidiol which poses a risk to public health,” wrote scientists. There was no evidence marijuana is effective treatment for minor pain or insomnia. All use should be limited to a daily maximum 200 milligrams, the size of small capsule, for no more than 30 days, said Review..According to Blacklock's Reporter, the panel recommended cabinet regulate cannabidiol under Natural Health Products Regulations with numerous warnings. Review recommended against smoking marijuana under any circumstances “given the risks and additional harmful chemicals associated with smoking and unclear risks of vaping,” it said.”.“The lack of high quality research on the safety and efficacy of cannabis when used to treat minor health problems led the committee to be particularly cautious in its conclusions around safe use for the healthy adult population,” wrote the panel. It added: “All members agreed safety data on cannabidiol use are missing for key groups of patients who could be at risk including young adults between the ages of 18 to 25 due to the unknowns regarding the potential impact of cannabidiol on the developing brain.”.The committee warned there was no evidence marijuana was safe for people with psychiatric conditions, elderly people who use other medications, “individuals with underlying medical conditions,” people with pre-existing liver damage and “certain ethnic groups and Indigenous peoples as genetics can play a role on how cannabidiol and other cannabinoids affect the body.”.“The use of cannabidiol comes with a number of safety issues and unknowns including a lack of research on long term use, possible side effects, potential interaction with other drugs and the risks consumers may not use a product is intended,” wrote the panel. “These are compounded by an overall lack of science.”.“The ‘gold standard’ of evidence comes from randomized controlled trials, i.e. studies where participants are randomly assigned to receive a treatment or a placebo, often with the participant or investigator being blinded to which treatment they receive,” wrote the committee. “Much of the research available on cannabis-containing products comes from observational or small scale and short term studies that were not randomized or blinded.”.The federal document echoed a 2014 report of the House of Commons health committee that warned of lack of evidence supporting health claims of cannabis. The report Marijuana’s Health Risks And Harms also pointed to impacts on “cognitive functioning and brain development.”.“Health Canada does not endorse the use of marijuana nor is it approved as a drug in Canada or as a medicine,” then-Health Minister Rona Ambrose testified at 2014 committee hearings. “That is an important message to counter the normalization around the use of it and some of the misperceptions that kids have. The issue of normalization of smoking marijuana is one that concerns me greatly.”
