  There is a growing literature on the potential medical uses of Cannabis
sativa and cannabinoid compounds. Although these have only been approved by
regulatory agencies for few indications, there is a hype about their possible
benefits in a variety of conditions and a large market in the wellness
industry. As in many cases patients search for information on cannabis products
online, we have analyzed the information on medical cannabis available on the
Internet. Analyzing 176 webpages returned by a search engine, we found that
more than half of them were news websites. Pain, epilepsy and multiple
sclerosis were the most frequently therapeutic areas mentioned by the webpages,
which did not always match those for which there is regulatory approval.
Information was also incomplete, with only 22% of the webpages mentioning
potential side effects. Health portal websites provided the most complete
information. On average, 80% of webpages had a neutral stance on the potential
benefits of medical cannabis, with commercial websites having more frequently a
positive stance (67%). We conclude that the information that can be found
online could raise unrealistic expectations regarding therapeutic areas for
which science-based evidence is often still weak.
