Between May 8 and 10, the 65th Meeting of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (known by its Spanish language acronym, CICAD) was held in Buenos Aires, where our President, Dr. Gabriel Rada, presented the results of the evidence evaluation project on the therapeutic use of cannabis and its derivative products conducted by our Epistemonikos Foundation.

Dr. Rada presented within the context of the panel for evidence review on the use of cannabinoid-based medicines. In addition to discussing this topic, he introduced the project on the evaluation of the therapeutic use of cannabis and its derivative products, which gathers all available evidence on this question and provides the corresponding conclusions for this review.

Following his presentation, Gabriel Rada clarified that all three panelists concluded that "there are substantial reasons and unequivocal scientific evidence to assert that marijuana and non-standardized products cannot be considered medicinal." "From the perspective of scientific organizations, there is an absolute consensus on this point today," he continued, "a consensus as broad as the one that exists regarding tobacco not being medicinal or alcohol not being beneficial."

The panelists agreed that, although their role is quite minor compared to other therapeutic options, there is room to research substances prepared from cannabis, such as cannabidiol, within the limits of pharmaceutical development and regulation.

The panel, titled "Scientific Evidence for the Use of Cannabinoid-Based Medicines" consisted of neuroscientist and researcher from Harvard University, Bertha Madras; Psychiatrist and Director of the Alexander Luria Institute of Neuroscience in Argentina, Diego Sarasola, and Dr. Gabriel Rada, President of our Epistemonikos Foundation.

The OAS CICAD meeting brought together authorities from various countries and agencies, including the participation of the National Service for the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Drug and Alcohol Use in Chile and the state entities working against drug trafficking and drug use in Argentina, the United States, Antigua and Barbuda, among other countries.