大麻或不能治精神疾病:最新研究称无科学依据

Medicinal Cannabis Not Proven in Mental Health

Researchers in Australia say evidence is weak as to whether medicinal cannabis treatments can help with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and psychosis. They add that doctors should be very careful when deciding to give the treatments to patients.

The researchers examined scientific studies on the effects of medicinal cannabinoids on six mental health disorders². They found "a lack of evidence for their effectiveness."

Louisa Degenhardt is a drug and alcohol expert at Australia's University of New South Wales in Sydney. She said her team's findings have important effects for countries such as the United States, Australia, Britain and Canada. In those countries, doctors are making medical cannabis available for patients with some kinds of illnesses.

This August 15, 2019 file photo shows a marijuana plant in an indoor cannabis farm in Gardena, California.

This August 15, 2019 file photo shows a marijuana plant in an indoor cannabis farm in Gardena, California.

The study results appeared in the publication The Lancet Psychiatry³.

Some military veterans and others who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder¹ (PTSD), depression and anxiety say cannabis is helpful in easing some of their symptoms.

Degenhardt told Reuters, "Cannabinoids are often advocated as a treatment for various mental health conditions. (But) clinicians and consumers need to be aware of the low quality and quantity of evidence..."

Cannabis is also used for conditions such as nausea⁴, epilepsy and traumatic brain injury. The study did not examine its effects on those conditions.

Degenhardt's team wanted to look at all available evidence for all types of medicinal cannabinoids. They investigated whether the substances stopped or lessened⁵ symptoms of depression, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette syndrome⁶, PTSD and psychosis.

They examined 83 published and unpublished studies. The research covered about 3,000 people involved in studies between 1980 and 2018.

They found that medicinal cannabis made psychosis worse. And it did not greatly affect any other major results for the mental illnesses studied.

Tom Freeman is an addiction⁷ and mental health expert at Britain's Bath University. He was not involved with the study. But he said the findings show an important need for high-quality tests of medical cannabis to strengthen the evidence.

Words in This Story

advocate - v. a person who argues for or supports an idea or plan

cannabis - n. a drug such as marijuana or hashish that comes from the hemp⁸ plant

clinician - n. person such as a doctor or nurse who works directly with patients rather than in a laboratory or as a researcher

consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services

symptoms – n. changes in the body or mind which indicate that a disease is present

various - adj. used to refer to several different or many different things, people, etc.

veteran - n. someone who fought in a war as a soldier, sailor, etc.

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

4 nausea   

n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶)

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕期常有恶心的现象。
• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。

5 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

6 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

7 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

8 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。