New research finds no impairment on simulated driving performance from medical cannabis when used as prescribed

A brand new examine carried out by researchers at Swinburne College of Know-how’s Centre for Human Psychopharmacology has made vital findings within the subject of medical hashish use. Published within the Journal of Psychopharmacology in February 2024, the analysis means that medical hashish, when used as prescribed for a continual well being situation, has a negligible affect on simulated driving efficiency.

The open-label examine assessed the affect of prescribed medical hashish on simulated driving efficiency amongst 40 sufferers with a spread of continual well being situations. Individuals had their driving skill assessed in a simulator earlier than and after consuming a normal dose of their prescribed remedy.

The findings revealed no notable impairment in driving capabilities throughout a freeway driving simulation at 2.5 hours publish consumption, nor was there any residual impairment on driving efficiency at 5 hours.

Brooke Manning, the paper’s lead creator, emphasised the examine’s essential function in producing proof on the protection and effectiveness of medical hashish remedy.

“Our primary discovering was the absence of impairment on a simulated freeway driving process. We famous that sufferers consuming their remedy as prescribed drove with barely larger consistency in freeway driving pace and reported a lower within the perceived effort required to drive,” she mentioned.

“It is essential to spotlight that this examine, whereas revealing, concerned a comparatively small pattern measurement and its outcomes apply particularly to sufferers present process steady, long-term medical hashish remedy for refractory situations.”

Swinburne’s longitudinal examine to underpin Australia’s medical hashish growth

Medicinal hashish use is booming in Australia. A whole bunch of hundreds of individuals have accessed the remedy because it was legalized in 2016, with essentially the most vital enhance in uptake occurring within the final 18 months, in accordance with the Therapeutic Items Administration (TGA).

Swinburne’s Dr. Thomas Arkell, who additionally contributed to the paper, stresses the significance of rigorous scientific analysis to help this enhance in medicinal hashish prescriptions.

Dr. Arkell is at present main a serious longitudinal examine at Swinburne investigating the cognitive and well being results of medical hashish for continual ache, which is notoriously troublesome to deal with and is among the primary causes persons are prescribed medical hashish.

“Folks with continual ache typically say that medical hashish has a optimistic affect on their on a regular basis life and helps them to perform usually, however we actually want the medical proof to help this,” Dr. Arkell mentioned. “We’re particularly specializing in folks with continual ache who’ve by no means used hashish earlier than, and we’re taking a look at how medical hashish impacts high quality of life and on a regular basis actions, resembling driving, over a interval of 12 weeks.”

In all jurisdictions aside from Tasmania, sufferers who’re prescribed medical hashish containing THC are prohibited from driving, underscoring the relevance of this analysis in shaping future insurance policies and pointers for medical hashish use.