A 1985 Review Assessed Cannabis for Nausea, Glaucoma, and Muscle Spasticity
A review summarized the evidence for medical cannabis across three conditions, nausea control, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis spasticity, while noting the moral and ethical controversies surrounding its therapeutic use.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
By 1985, sufficient clinical evidence had accumulated to assess cannabis and THC across three primary medical applications.
For chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, THC had demonstrated efficacy in multiple controlled trials. For glaucoma, cannabis consistently lowered intraocular pressure, though delivery and side effect challenges remained. For multiple sclerosis spasticity, preliminary evidence suggested benefit.
The review noted that the primary barriers to medical cannabis were not scientific but moral and ethical, reflecting the broader cultural controversy around marijuana that complicated both research and clinical access.
Key Numbers
Three therapeutic applications reviewed: nausea/vomiting, glaucoma, and MS spasticity.
How They Did This
Narrative review summarizing clinical evidence for medical cannabis across three therapeutic areas: antiemetic use in chemotherapy, intraocular pressure reduction in glaucoma, and spasticity reduction in multiple sclerosis.
Why This Research Matters
Published the same year dronabinol received FDA approval, this review captures the state of medical cannabis evidence at a watershed moment. Its observation that the barriers were primarily moral and ethical rather than scientific foreshadowed decades of ongoing debate about medical cannabis access.
The Bigger Picture
This review appeared at a pivot point: dronabinol was approved by the FDA in 1985, validating the antiemetic evidence. But the broader question of medical cannabis access, as distinct from single-molecule pharmaceutical approval, remained unresolved and would drive the state medical marijuana movement that began a decade later.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
The abstract describes a summary review without methodological details. The three conditions covered represent only a portion of the therapeutic claims made for cannabis.
Questions This Raises
- ?Have the moral and ethical barriers the authors identified been resolved in the decades since?
- ?How did dronabinol approval that same year affect the broader medical cannabis debate?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Three medical applications had accumulated clinical evidence by 1985
- Evidence Grade:
- A narrative review summarizing the state of evidence across multiple conditions. Useful for historical context but limited by the evidence available at the time.
- Study Age:
- Published in 1985, the same year dronabinol (Marinol) received FDA approval. The medical cannabis landscape has transformed dramatically since.
- Original Title:
- Therapeutic issues of marijuana and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).
- Published In:
- The International journal of the addictions, 20(5), 691-9 (1985)
- Authors:
- Ungerleider, J T(2), Andrysiak, T(2)
- Database ID:
- RTHC-00030
Evidence Hierarchy
Summarizes existing research on a topic.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
What medical uses had evidence by 1985?
The strongest evidence was for controlling chemotherapy nausea. Evidence also existed for lowering eye pressure in glaucoma and reducing muscle spasticity in multiple sclerosis.
Why was medical cannabis controversial?
The review noted the primary barriers were moral and ethical rather than scientific, reflecting the cultural debate around marijuana that persisted despite accumulating medical evidence.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-00030APA
Ungerleider, J T; Andrysiak, T. (1985). Therapeutic issues of marijuana and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).. The International journal of the addictions, 20(5), 691-9.
MLA
Ungerleider, J T, et al. "Therapeutic issues of marijuana and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol).." The International journal of the addictions, 1985.
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Therapeutic issues of marijuana and THC (tetrahydrocannabino..." RTHC-00030. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/ungerleider-1985-therapeutic-issues-of-marijuana
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.