Medical cannabis is increasingly being used to treat mental health disorders but there is scant evidence to back it, Australian researchers say.

Given the lack of robust evidence and the known risk of cannabinoids, particularly among young people, their use for mental disorders “cannot be justified at this time”, argues the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) in Sydney.

NDARC has conducted a systematic review of published research, finding insufficient evidence to recommend that any type of cannabinoid, whether plant-derived or synthetic, be used to treat symptoms of mental illness.

Their meta-analysis drew data from 83 published and unpublished studies from 1980-2018, covering 3000 patients, and examining depression, anxiety disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Tourette syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder and psychosis.