Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will focus on new discoveries in the rapidly growing medical cannabis field.

Cannabis (Cannabis sativa) has been used medicinally for thousands of years; the earliest recorded uses were around 4000 BC. In the early twentieth century, cannabis was used as a sedative, analgesic, and appetite increasing agent. It later fell out of popular applications following the development of other treatments and as a result of criminalization and prohibition. 

Over the past several decades, there has been increasing interest in medical cannabis, and research in this exciting field started to increase.

Thus far, current medicine most often uses the cannabis plant and its products based on empirical evidence of its effectiveness. With the legalization of medical cannabis, a serious issue facing patients is: how will consumers know their products are safe and created with their health in mind? Many cannabis products claim diverse health benefits, ranging from treating pain to reducing inflammation. Furthermore, there are various cannabis strains, each with its own levels of major and minor cannabinoids, as well as terpenes and other molecules. Different strains and different cannabinoids might therefore have varying effects on human health. 

Research into the mechanisms of action of cannabis, cannabinoids, and terpenes has picked up and shown a very significant translational potential. Of special interest is anti-inflammatory cannabidiol, and strains high in this compound. There is a growing body of mechanistic, molecular, and pre-clinical research that underlie the clinical potential of cannabis extracts and cannabinoids. Here, we will summarize the current pre-clinical, translational, and clinical research in the field of medical cannabis and the development of precision medicine cannabis approaches.

Scholars in the field from across the globe are invited to contribute papers.

Prof. Dr. Olga Kovalchuk
Guest Editor

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