The president of the Canadian Medical Association said that it could take up to five years before clinical trials could confirm several of marijuana’s hyped benefits and it is forcing doctors to fight with a federal system for now.

According to Chris Simpson, physicians will not be prescribing medical marijuana in majority of cases as a consequence of the shortage of clinical research, in the face of efforts by commercial cannabis growers to deal with the matter.

According to Dr. Simpson, they are seeking the proof in order to support a drug, which has been made available, whereas the situation is in opposite direction. According to him, “We know that there’s a history in medicine of lots of things that seem promising, but once they’re subjected to the rigour of scientific inquiry, they turn out to be either not as good as advertised or harmful, rather than helpful”.

However, Dr. Simpson thinks that the use of medical cannabis by terminally ill patients is acceptable i.e. those who are in palliative care. He added that there is some evidence that supports reduction of seizers by a compound in the drug.

Health Canada has approved just one clinical pot trial that focuses on patients with arthritic knees a year after the federal government regulated the medical marijuana system.

Last week, Supreme Court of Canada decided to ensure marijuana patients’ right to edible forms of the medicine; judges admitted that cannabis has anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic properties and boosts the appetite of those who take other drugs, like AIDS patients.