Medicinal cannabis

What is medicinal cannabis for bipolar disorder?

Countries are increasingly allowing cannabis derivatives such as cannabinoids (tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] and cannabidiol [CBD]) to be made available for medicinal purposes, including for the treatment of mental disorders. Medicinal cannabis refers to any part of the cannabis plant, such as flowers, buds, leaves, or full plant extracts. Pharmaceutical cannabinoids refer to pharmaceutical-grade medicinal extracts with defined and standardized THC, CBD, or a combination of both and synthetic cannabinoid derivatives. This topic assesses the effectiveness of both medicinal cannabis and pharmaceutical cannabinoids for bipolar disorder.

What is the evidence for medicinal cannabis?

Moderate to low quality evidence finds no improvement in depression symptoms with THC compared to placebo. There was more sedation, anxiety, panic, depersonalization, and psychotic disturbances with THC.

November 2021

Image: ©Ilya – stock.adobe.com

Last updated at: 5:55 pm, 11th November 2021
To view documentation related to this topic download the files below
Fact Sheet Technical Commentary

NeuRA Libraries

Title Colour Legend:
Green - Topic summary is available.
Orange - Topic summary is being compiled.
Red - Topic summary has no current systematic review available.