Health care providers should be prepared to discuss risks and benefits of medical cannabis: Paediatricians

As interest in using cannabis products for medical treatments in children and youth increases, the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) says health care providers need to be ready and able to have open, evidence-based conversations with families about potential benefits and risks in order to develop individualized plans that maximize potential benefits while minimizing risk of harm and negative drug interactions.

A new CPS position statement on medical cannabis for children provides updated guidance that considers recent evidence and the availability of cannabis-based treatments. It also highlights the urgent need for more high-quality research to determine which childhood conditions can benefit from cannabis-based treatments and to establish proper dosages for children.

“There are a lot of claims on the internet about which medical conditions cannabis can help with but, for most conditions, the evidence for its use in children isn’t there yet,” said Dr. Yaron Finkelstein, a Canada Research Chair in Pediatric Drug Safety and Efficacy and a member of the CPS Drug Therapy Committee.

The pervasive spread of misinformation puts children and families at risk. “There are situations in which the risks do outweigh the potential benefits,” said Finkelstein. “I would caution families away from making care decisions based off online anecdotes. On the other hand, health care providers need to be aware of the available evidence in order to have those open, ongoing conversations with families.”

Given the already widespread use of medical cannabis and the glut of anecdotal reports online, education for clinicians about how cannabis-based therapies work and their potential indications, benefits and risks for children and youth must be developed.

Information about finding credible health information on the internet can be found here.

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Importantly, the new guidance document specifically addresses cannabis for medical use. Recreational use of cannabis poses a threat to children and youths’ developing brains. Guidance regarding recreational cannabis can be found here.