Cannabis for Chronic Pain: Challenges and Considerations.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has found substantial evidence that cannabis (plant) is effective for the treatment of chronic pain in adults, and moderate evidence that oromucosal cannabinoids (extracts, especially nabiximols) improve short-term sleep disturbances in chronic pain. The paradoxical superiority of the cannabis plant over cannabinoid molecules represents a challenge for the medical community and the established processes that define modern pharmacy. The expanding and variable legalization of cannabis in multiple states nationwide represents an additional challenge for patients and the medical community because recreational and medicinal cannabis are irresponsibly overlapped.