Cannabis research and genetic improvements are gathering pace thanks to new genomic technologies, combined with fewer restrictive laws governing cultivation, research and use of the plant, according to a La Trobe University study.
In their paper published in New Phytologist, researchers from the La Trobe Institute of Agriculture and Food, home for the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Medicinal Agriculture (ARC MedAg Hub), reviewed international studies of cannabis genomics and identified significant gaps in the research.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Mathew Lewsey said cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated plants believed to have unique medicinal properties, but for decades research into identifying those properties had been restricted by anti-drug laws.
"These rules have meant that while our understanding of the basic biology and properties of other crop species has advanced through the use of genomics for example, our knowledge of cannabis has lagged," Lewsey, who is Deputy Director of the ARC MedAg Hub, said.
"We already know about some of the medicinal properties derived from cannabis, such as its ability to relieve nausea caused by some anti-cancer treatments, act as an anti-inflammatory agent, to alleviate pain in palliative care patients, and reduce seizures in children with some forms of drug-resistant epilepsy. But there are potentially many more untapped benefits of this fascinating plant."
