Cannabinoids and Pain The Highs and Lows

in modern medicine has been encumbered by what can be described as an excess of public enthusiasm, a relative paucity of rigorous trials, and a minefield of politicization and regulatory challenges. Regardless of these challenges, the landscape of cannabis use is rapidly expanding, at least in the United States, with state legislatures adopting decriminalization and legalization above-and-beyond any purported therapeutic use within the medical setting. Because of this it is imperative that clinicians remain well versed in the literature to better explain and answer questions their patients might have about the relative benefits (and oft-ignored harms) of cannabis and its various pharmacologically active compounds. Specifically, we seek to separate the high