Effects of cannabis: bureaucracy slows research
The legalization of cannabis should be an opportunity to increase research on this drug to better understand its effects, risks and medical potential. However, it has left a bitter taste in many scientists, who complain that their work is blocked or delayed by the requirements of Health Canada.The Press has collected evidence from scientists across the country who say that knowledge is not progressing as expected in the cannabis field. They say studies that involve administering cannabis to humans are particularly difficult to get approved. The problem, they say,
is with Health Canada's Office of Clinical Trials.
“We are really at an impasse because Health Canada is asking us for information [on the cannabis used in the studies] that even the producers do not have. This is information that does not exist, and that means that we cannot study, ”denounces Dr. Didier Jutras-Aswad, doctor-psychiatrist at the CHUM and researcher at the CHUM.
“Despite the legislative change, there are many administrative constraints to do the research. It can easily take a year or two to obtain all the necessary authorizations, ”confirms Dr. Bernard Le Foll, head of the Translational Research Laboratory on Addiction at the
Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
is with Health Canada's Office of Clinical Trials.
“We are really at an impasse because Health Canada is asking us for information [on the cannabis used in the studies] that even the producers do not have. This is information that does not exist, and that means that we cannot study, ”denounces Dr. Didier Jutras-Aswad, doctor-psychiatrist at the CHUM and researcher at the CHUM.
“Despite the legislative change, there are many administrative constraints to do the research. It can easily take a year or two to obtain all the necessary authorizations, ”confirms Dr. Bernard Le Foll, head of the Translational Research Laboratory on Addiction at the
Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
“The projects are funded, the protocols are in place, we could leave in two months. But because of this problem, we are unable to start, ”he says. According to him, it is not only scientists, but also consumers who are the losers.
Health Canada states that studies "which are strictly intended to determine taste preferences in the development of products for commercial purposes are excluded from the definition of a clinical trial and do not require a clinical trial request".Dr. Didier Jutras-Aswad sees this as nonsense.
"The net effect of this rule is that it is considerably easier to conduct a study for commercial development purposes than studies to understand the [positive and negative] effects of the substance on health, even if in the facts don't pose more risk to participants, ”he says.
"The net effect of this rule is that it is considerably easier to conduct a study for commercial development purposes than studies to understand the [positive and negative] effects of the substance on health, even if in the facts don't pose more risk to participants, ”he says.
