Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
This brief review explains what is known about medical cannabis and its main chemicals. Cannabis has many natural compounds, and the two best-known are Δ9‑tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9‑THC), which causes psychoactive effects, and cannabidiol (CBD), which does not. The authors describe possible medical uses (for pain, epilepsy, and neurodegenerative diseases) but say…
In rats and mice that had brain lesions used to model Parkinson's disease, the plant compound Δ9-THCV reduced movement problems after a single dose and, with repeated dosing, reduced loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain region called the substantia nigra. Some effects seem linked to antioxidant actions and, in…
This review looks at research on how cannabis and its active chemicals relate to psychosis. It says there are three patterns: short psychotic symptoms during intoxication, short psychosis that can last beyond intoxication (often resolving within a month in case reports), and persistent psychosis that is not clearly tied to…
This review looked at human studies up to July 2020 about THC (the main psychoactive part of Cannabis) and its effects on fear-related memories and anxiety. The authors report that low doses of THC can speed up extinction of aversive memories and lower anxiety in people, and that combining THC…
This 2021 review looks at plant-derived cannabinoids as possible treatments for epilepsy. It focuses on four compounds — CBD, CBDV, Δ9-THCV and CBG — and reviews what is known about how they might work in the brain and what animal and human studies have shown. The authors say there is…
