Compounds & interventions

Cannabis

Medicine & Biotech · covered by 30 outlets this week · tracked since 2026-10-27

Press: 16 mainstream 56 specialist 10 independent outlet-days

What it is

Evidence 6/10 · mixed or limited trials Uneven · 1–9 by use Signals · regulator warning

Cannabis is the plant whose compounds THC and CBD act on the body's endocannabinoid system; it is used recreationally, as prescribed medicine and, increasingly, as an unregulated wellness product. Coverage follows legalisation, edibles and potency, the mental health effects of heavy use, and claims for pain, sleep and anxiety. The evidence is uneven: purified CBD is an approved treatment for rare childhood epilepsies and THC products ease chemotherapy nausea, while most pain, anxiety and cancer claims rest on small or observational studies. Marketing far outruns the trials, so weigh the source.

The score describes cannabis-based medicines for their approved uses, epilepsy and chemotherapy nausea. Smoked or edible cannabis for chronic pain, anxiety, sleep or cancer is still largely unproven, and heavy use carries documented harms.

Evidence by use or claim · 1 preclinical to 10 thoroughly established

  1. Purified CBD for rare childhood epilepsies9/10 · thoroughly established

    approved after randomised trials

  2. THC products for chemotherapy nausea8/10 · established for some uses

    dronabinol and nabilone approved for decades

  3. Chronic pain4/10 · early human evidence

    small trials, modest and inconsistent effects

  4. Anxiety and sleep3/10 · early human evidence

    mostly observational or short trials

  5. Treating cancer1/10 · preclinical

    cell and animal work only

  • RegulatorThe US FDA approved purified CBD (Epidiolex) in 2018 for Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, and has repeatedly warned consumers that other CBD products are unapproved and may be mislabelled. source
  • TrialA 2019 multicentre case-control study in The Lancet Psychiatry linked daily use of high-potency cannabis to a several-fold higher rate of first-episode psychosis. source
  • TrialCannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, cyclic vomiting in long-term heavy users, is now a recognised diagnosis in emergency medicine.
  • MarketLegal status varies by country and US state; many products sold as wellness supplements have never been tested for the claims on the label.

Written by the Alivewire editors from the coverage below, 1d ago; rated 1d ago. Not medical advice; how the ratings work.

Coverage