Claude Cyr, Canada

Faculty lecturer

family medicine

McGill University

The word “cannabis” is commonly used to describe the plant from which numerous pharmacologically active compounds are obtained. However, it is a clinically inaccurate term, since many of these plant compounds interact with different molecular targets, producing widely different and even opposing biological effects. Integrating this emerging class of pharmaceuticals in clinical practice requires that we distinguish the role of each individual compound. This talk will focus on the potential benefits of the most studied cannabinoids to date,THC and CBD.

Studies using THC and CBD are still too few to draw any evidence-based recommendations.

However, THC has been shown to produce numerous biological effects, in great part via the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 which are found mostly in the CNS and immune systems, respectively. Patients who may benefit from THC will likely experience some level of psychoactivity, and should be counseled accordingly. Other risks include potential drug-drug interactions with CNS and cancer immunotherapy drugs. 

The role of CBD is less clear. Preliminary data suggests that it may provide benefits in wide variety of clinical settings, but further research is required in order to validate efficacy, establish a therapeutic window, and determine relevant drug interactions, among others. 

• Dealing with the authorization process for medical cannabis in a legal recreational market 

• Determining which are the clinically relevant active components of cannabis

• Deciphering product labels: potency and ratios

• Initiating treatment with cannabinoids: purified CBD, THC or both?

• Monitoring THC use and cannabis use disorder: impact, frequency and dose

Lectures by Claude Cyr