Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39856692›Full record

ArticleSystematic reviews2025

The safety and efficacy of cannabinoids for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jack Wilson, Andrew Langcake, Zachary Bryant, Tom P Freeman, Janni Leung, Gary C K Chan, Amir Englund, Myfanwy Graham, Emily Stockings

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Systematic reviews, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jack WilsonThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Level 6 Jane Foss Russell Building, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia. jack.wilson@sydney.edu.au.ORCID 0000-0002-2732-1731
Andrew LangcakeThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Level 6 Jane Foss Russell Building, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Zachary BryantThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Level 6 Jane Foss Russell Building, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Tom P FreemanAddiction and Mental Health Group (AIM), University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
Janni LeungNational Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Gary C K ChanNational Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Amir EnglundNational Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 4 Windsor Walk, London, SE5 8AF, UK.
Myfanwy GrahamAustralian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia.
Emily StockingsThe Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Level 6 Jane Foss Russell Building, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, 2006, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

There has been a global increase in the use of cannabinoids as a treatment for mental health (MH) and substance use disorders (SUD). In 2016, an Australian government-funded review found that although medicinal cannabinoids accounted for a small reduction in MH symptoms, the results varied according to study design. There has since been a rise in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) aiming to examine the efficacy of cannabinoids for the treatment of MH and SUD. Therefore, the current systematic review will (a) identify all RCTs examining the efficacy of cannabinoids in treating MH and SUD, (b) provide a quantitative or narrative synthesis of the evidence examining efficacy, and (c) synthesise adverse event data to examine evidence of harm. Electronic databases (Ovid MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Embase) were searched from 1980 to 24 May 2023. The study adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Guidelines. Articles will be screened to capture peer-reviewed RCTs evaluating the efficacy of plant-based and pharmaceutical cannabinoids in reducing or treating MH and SUD among people of any age. The Cochrane risk of bias tool 2.0 will be used to assess bias, while the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) tool will be used to assess the quality of evidence for each outcome. Study findings will be disseminated through published manuscripts, conferences, and health policy guidelines.Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42023392718.

Indexed as

CannabinoidsMental DisordersSubstance-Related DisordersHumansMental HealthMeta-Analysis as TopicRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignSystematic Reviews as TopicCannabinoids

Identifiers

PMID39856692
PMCPMC11760101

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.