medical cannabis
Safe for Chronic Pain
Medical cannabis appears mostly safe for treating chronic pain, at least
among people with some experience using the drug, a new study suggests.
P
eople who used cannabis to ease their pain didn't have
'Essentially, people who used vaporised cannabis would
an increased risk of serious side-effects, compared to
have no more adverse events than controls,' said Earleywine,
people with pain who didn't use cannabis, a Canadian
who's also a professor of psychology at the State University of
research team has found.
New York at Albany.
Medical cannabis users were, however, more likely to have
Ware said he hopes the study will provide valuable
some less-serious side-effects, such as headache, nausea,
information for patients considering medical cannabis for pain
sleepiness and dizziness, the research revealed.
trea tment.
'In terms of a side-effect profile, we felt the drug had a
'This is a paper they should bring to the attention of their
reasonably good safety profile, if you compare those effects
physician or health care provider,' Ware said. 'Anybody who
to other medications,' said study lead author Dr Mark Ware.
is interested in using cannabis to treat pain should know this
He is director of clinical research for the Alan Edwards
information, as it can influence the decision-making process
Pain Management Unit at McGill University Health Center in
considerably.'
Montreal.
Although this study focused on the safety of medical
cannabis, Ware reported that participants also appeared to
experience some pain relief through their use of the drug. The
researchers also saw improvements in mood and quality of life
in the cannabis users.
Findings from the study were reported online recently in
the Journal of Pain.
Since the study focused on people familiar with cannabis,
however, it might not be as useful for patients who've never
tried pot before, he added.
'For somebody reading this who's never tried it, the effects
they experience might be different,' Ware said.
Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, said the study
provides further evidence that the use of cannabis doesn't
deserve to be criminalised.
The trial is the first and largest study of the long-term
'These findings, and others like it, are in direct conflict with
safety of medical cannabis use by patients in chronic pain,
cannabis' present schedule I status under (US) federal law, a
Ware said.
classification that fails to acknowledge the substance's clinical
The researchers followed 215 adult patients with chronic
efficacy and acceptable safety profile,' he said.
pain who used medical pot for one year. The researchers
Dr Jonathann Kuo, an interventional pain management
compared the cannabis users to a control group of 216 chronic
specialist at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset,
pain patients who didn't use medical cannabis. The study
NY, said medical cannabis has the potential to be a valuable
involved seven pain treatment centers across Canada.
alternative for doctors who specialise in chronic pain
The people using pot were given leaf cannabis containing
management.
12.5% THC from hospital pharmacies, Ware said. THC is the
'We frequently find that opioids [such as OxyContin,
chemical in cannabis that causes intoxication. People could
Percocet, Vicodin] are not a good long-term solution for chronic
use pot however they liked – smoking it, eating it in food, or
pain,' Kuo said. 'We'd like to see some more of these long-term
inhaling it from a vaporising device.
safety profiles of medical cannabis, and studies like these are
There was no difference in serious side effects between the
two groups, the researchers found.
Cannabis users did have a 73% increased risk of minor side
effects, the study found.
Mitch Earleywine, chair of NORML, a cannabis legalisation
important steps forward in that direction.'
However, Kuo said larger follow-up studies looking at pot's
safety and effectiveness are needed.
'I'd like to see more definitive studies before prescribing
this to my patients in the future,' he said. O
advocacy group, said many of these side-effects could be
reduced by changing the way the substance is used.
Source
ODYSSEY 55
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DIGIMAG