Medical cannabis encompasses a wide spectrum of products, including dried flowers, oils, and edibles that contain bioactive compounds such as cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Medical cannabis was legalized in Australia in November 2016 and approved for managing chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, and sleep disturbances. In addition, medical cannabis may be used to treat chemotherapy-induced vomiting and multiple sclerosis-associated spasticity.
Given the vast range of medical conditions being treated with medical cannabis and the wide array of products and dosages available, cannabis as a medicine is becoming increasingly prevalent.
However, data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the medical benefits of cannabis use are limited, and studies evaluating patient-reported outcomes using validated QoL measures could increase the body of evidence on the efficacy and safety of cannabis use and inform policy-making and strategy development for improving the health-associated QoL of patients.
