Legalising medical use of cannabis in South Africa: Is the empirical evidence sufficient to support policy shifts in this direction?
Abstract
Inkatha Freedom Party MP Mario Oriani-Ambrosini’s impassioned plea to legalise the medical use of cannabis must be understood in the context of his own condition as well as legislative changes in at least ten countries. This article argues that any decisions to shift policy must be based on a consideration of the evidence on the risks and benefits associated with the medical use of cannabis for the individual and broader society. It concludes that there are important gaps in the evidence base, particularly in human trials supporting the efficacy of cannabis use for treating and preventing medical conditions and alleviating negative symptoms associated with these conditions. South African researchers should be enabled actively to support development of the necessary evidence base by conducting preclinical and clinical research in this area. Human trials to establish the efficacy of the use of cannabis/cannabinoids in addressing AIDS wasting syndrome and other negative sequelae of HIV and AIDS are especially needed.Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the SAMJ is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The SAMJ does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.