"Therapeutic cannabis, use is growing"

Forlì, 4 June 2025 – The use of cannabinoid-based drugs for therapeutic use is growing in Emilia-Romagna: between 2021 and 2023, prescriptions increased by 27% compared to the previous three-year period.

Over 3,400 patients in the Region have benefited from these treatments, most of them women with an average age of 60. The total expenditure is more than 3.4 million euros.

Director Emiliano Gamberini, of the Anesthesia and Resuscitation Unit of the Morgagni-Pierantoni hospital, provides an updated overview of the progress of cannabinoid therapies at the provincial level.

Gamberini, is the growth trend recorded at the regional level also confirmed in our territory?

“In the last three years, the number of patients treated has been around 250 per year, but from 2022 to 2024 there has been an increase of around 25% in prescriptions, a sign of a more intense use of treatments compared to a group of patients – not hospitalized and resident in the area – which has instead remained stable”.

What are the pathologies for which this type of therapy is most frequently used?

“Current indications for the use of cannabis-based drugs mainly concern chronic pain and neurodegenerative diseases, such as spinal cord injuries or multiple sclerosis, as well as neuropathic pain, for example that caused by herniated discs, in which anti-inflammatories or corticosteroids are less effective. In these contexts, use is well defined, although cannabinoids are sometimes also used in less structured clinical situations”.

Which?

"This type of medicine has a high degree of tolerance and efficacy compared to the small number of side effects. For this reason, they are also suitable for managing symptoms related to oncological therapies, such as uncontrollable nausea and vomiting or changes in appetite. In Romagna, these preparations have also been used to treat specific forms of epilepsy or to facilitate the awakening of patients in intensive care after a long pharmacological coma. In this phase, in fact, some manifest a state of agitation that leads them to tear off their devices, triggering a vicious circle that requires a return to sedation. The administration of cannabinoids allows, in these cases, to promote a gradual recovery of consciousness, avoiding complications".

What is the prescription pathway for these drugs?

“The treatment starts with a visit to the pain therapy clinic, where an anesthetist evaluates the case and, if appropriate, indicates the use of cannabinoids. Once the therapeutic plan has been defined, the patient can ask for a prescription from the GP for as long as necessary”.

Are there prejudices among patients and professionals regarding the therapeutic use of cannabis?

"These medicines still carry with them an aura linked to the abuse of narcotics. Often the problems arise more from mistrust and cultural factors, between those who prescribe and those who must take the drug. Over the years the perception has improved, but in the collective imagination the fear of developing a drug addiction remains".