In 2011, Nature Publishing Group released an article by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, who undertook a study of twenty-one individuals with chronic pain to delineate the synergistic effects of cannabinoids and opioids. The study concluded that vaporized cannabis augments the analgesic effects of opioids without significantly altering plasma opioid levels. The combination may allow for opioid treatment at lower doses with fewer side effects. Read More
An article in JAMA: Physicians should educate patients about medical marijuana to ensure that it is used appropriately and that patients will benefit from its use. To effectively do this, they need to educate themselves. Read More
From an original investigation published in JAMA, there was moderate-quality evidence to support the use of cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic pain and spasticity. Read More
Management of chronic pain is one of the most common reasons given by individuals seeking medical cannabis. However, very little information exists about the concurrent use of cannabis and prescription pain medication (PPM). This study fills this gap in knowledge by systematically comparing medical cannabis users who use or do not use PPM, with an emphasis on Read More
Osteoarthritis and cannabis – Information comes from scientists in the UK and USA, published in PLOS ONE in 2013. Osteoarthritis pain is challenging to treat, with chronic pain leading to central sensitization. Cannabinoids can help. This data provides new clinically relevant evidence that joint damage and spinal CB2 receptor expression are correlated combined with converging pre-clinical evidence that activation of CB2 receptors inhibits central sensitization and its contribution to the manifestation of chronic OA pain. These findings suggest that targeting CB2 receptors may have therapeutic potential for treating OA pain.
In 2005, as published in the journal Neuropharmacology, researchers in Germany found pain relief in a synthetic cannabinoid called ajulemic acid. Synthetic modification of the THC metabolite THC-11-oic acid through replacement of the n-pentyl side chain with a dimethylheptyl group leads to the compound 1,1-dimethylheptyl-D8-THC-11-oic acid, named ajulemic acid (AJA) In preclinical studies AJA showed high analgesic potency comparable to morphine, as well as anti-allodynic and anti-inflammatory effects. AJA appears to have no detectable THC like psychoactive properties. Read More
Smoking cannabis can relieve muscle tightness, spasticity (contractions) and pain often experienced by those with multiple sclerosis, says research out of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The findings, published in May of 2012 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, included a controlled trial with 30 participants to understand whether inhaled cannabis would help complicated cases where existing pharmaceuticals are ineffective or trigger adverse side effects. Read More
Neuropathic pain affects between 5% and 10% of the US population and can be refractory to treatment. Opioids may be recommended as a second-line pharmacotherapy but have risks including overdose and death. Cannabis has been shown to be effective for treating nerve pain without the risk of fatal poisoning. The author suggests that physicians who treat neuropathic pain with opioids should evaluate their patients for a trial of cannabis and prescribe it when appropriate prior to using opioids. This harm reduction strategy may reduce the morbidity and mortality rates associated with prescription pain medications. Read More