Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC): A Critical Overview of Recent Clinical Trials and Suggested Guidelines for Future Research

Abstract

In this overview, we seek to appraise recent experimental and observational studies investigating THC and its potential role as adjunctive therapy in various medical illnesses. Recent clinical trials are suggestive of the diverse pharmacologic potentials for THC but suffer from small sample sizes, short study duration, failure to address tolerance, little dose variation, ill-defined outcome measures, and failure to identify and/or evaluate confounds, all of which may constitute significant threats to the validity of most trials. However, the existing work underscores the potential therapeutic value of THC and, at the same time, calls attention to the critical need for better-designed protocols to fully explore and demonstrate safety and efficacy. In the most general sense, the present brief review illuminates some intriguing findings about THC, along with the basic threats to the validity of the research that supports those findings. The intent is to highlight existing generic weaknesses in the existing randomized controlled trial literature and, most importantly, provide guidance for improved clinical research.