Number of cannabis research papers hits all-time high in 2021

According to US-based organisation, NORML, this year saw a record number of scientific research papers published on cannabis.

The US group, which advocates for cannabis reform, carried out a keyword search of the National Library of Medicine/PubMed.gov website.

Results showed that in the first 11 months of 2021, researchers worldwide published almost 4,000 scientific papers on the subject of cannabis – a record number according to the organisation.

Throughout 2020 more than 3,500 papers on cannabis were published in peer-reviewed journals. At the time, this was the most ever in a single year.

The annual number of papers published appears to be increasing year on year, and since 2010, NORML estimates that scientists have published around 27,000 peer-reviewed papers specific to cannabis.

By comparison, researchers published fewer than 3,000 total papers about marijuana in the years between 1990 and 1999 and fewer than 2,000 total studies during the 1980s.

In a 2018 study, which explored the trends in cannabis-related publications, investigators reported that the total number of peer-reviewed publications dedicated to medical cannabis has increased nine-fold since the year 2000.

PubMed.gov now cites a total of over 38,5000 scientific papers on cannabis.

In a statement on the NORML website, its deputy director, Paul Armentano said it was time to “stop assessing cannabis through the lens of what we don’t know” and for “evidence-based discussions” to take place.

“Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society,” Armentano commented.

“It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.”