The charge to this Task Force is to review and evaluate current clinical evidence for the benefits and harms (including psychiatric risks) of cannabinoids as analgesic drugs.
This will be primarily by reference to existing systematic reviews (perhaps with a search update) rather than conducting a new evidence synthesis. The Task Force will additionally consider the epidemiological literature pertaining to the risks of cannabis use. The primary focus will be on clinical evidence but we will also wish to include a short statement on the state of the art and strength of pre-clinical cannabinoid analgesic research. The task force will discuss the implications for healthcare professionals of the various political processes that are being adopted in some countries to bypass conventional regulation of medicines in order to permit the medical use of “medicinal cannabis”. The task force will exclude from the discussion the issue of legislation surrounding the “recreational” use of cannabis.