Synthetic cannabis does not provide health benefits

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ‒ the EU’s top court ‒ has declared that legal highs, such as synthetic cannabis, cannot be considered medicinal; however, any drug that is not medicinal can still be sold until it is blacklisted.

In recent years there has been a boom in internet sites selling legal highs, with those mimicking cannabis among the most popular.

In July 2014 a case was heard at the ECJ involving two German vendors convicted for selling unsafe medicinal products. They were found guilty and one was given a four and a half year prison sentence; the other received a suspended sentence.

Analysis has shown that synthetic cannabinoids are chemically different from the naturally-growing cannabis used in some therapies. In the UK both cannabis and Spice, the brand name of one particular synthetic cannabis, are both illegal; however, in some countries cannabis is legal for medicinal use. Almost 50% of American states allow cannabis for medicinal purposes.

The recent EU ruling has declared that synthetic cannabis cannot be considered medicinal. It mimics the psychotic effects but there is no medical evidence that it relieves pain or provides any other health benefit; therefore, it cannot be treated equally to cannabis.

The court said that “substances which simply have the effect of modifying physiological functions but are not such as to have any immediate or long-term beneficial effects on human health”.

The use of legal highs has been spreading rapidly in recent years. In the UK no legal highs can legally be sold for human consumption, meaning that medicinal use is not a possibility. This EU ruling may set a global precedent for synthetic cannabis and provides a clear message to users that it is not the same as the naturally-growing plant.