Benefits and risks associated with cannabis and cannabis derivatives use

Cannabis sativa L. has been used as a therapeutic for several centuries. Interestingly, medicinal plant extracts or synthetic cannabinoids exert their activities by binding to specific receptors similarly to endocannabinoids, produced naturally in the body by humans and animals. Although cannabinoids present an interesting therapeutic potential to control several diseases (e.g. pain, epilepsy, dementia, neurodegenerative diseases etc.), still there is insufficient evidence on their efficacy and further rigorous clinical trials are essential to clearly define their therapeutic role. Moreover, cannabinoids use is limited to a few specific indications because of their undesirable psychoactive properties and potential recreational use that determined legal restrictions in most countries by a set of undesirable problems.