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Journal de Pharmacie Clinique

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Ten years of medical cannabis use in Switzerland Volume 40, issue 4, Décembre 2021

Author
Centre hospitalier universitaire Vaudois, département d’oncologie, rue du Bugnon 46, 1011 Lausanne, Suisse
* Correspondance

Switzerland has strictly overseen medical cannabis prescription for over 20 years, but this has enabled our university hospital to accompany hundreds of adult and child patients in its use along their care trajectories. Patients have numerous questions about using or consuming medical cannabis or other products derived from the cultivation of cannabis plants. Based on our experiences, the present article describes the practical aspects of approaching cannabis during patient consultations, accompanying prescription and use, and giving advice. We detail the reasons patients invoke for resorting to cannabis use, its multiple modes of consumption, the cannabinoid composition of frequently used products, and provide a brief reminder of the expected physiological effects. The article specifies the clinical indications we have chosen for validly permitting the prescription of cannabis and the treatment-management dilemmas sometimes faced, the main adverse effects, limitations on prescription and some strategies for supporting patients in cases of contraindications or drug–drug interactions. However, not all the cannabinoid products currently on sale show acceptable risk–benefit profiles. These discussions provide an opportunity to understand patients’ symptoms and identify previously unaddressed needs or problems, thus helping us to improve therapeutic relationships and cast a fresh eye over patients’ pharmacotherapies without considering cannabis as a panacea but rather as a complementary therapy.