Smoking marijuana helps to live with chronic pain

Smoking marijuana helps to live with chronic pain

Individuals with chronic pain, smoking marijuana reduces pain, improves mood and sleep easier, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

Those who endure chronic neuropathic pain due to nerve damage or dysfunction of the latter have few treatment options. Anticonvulsant drugs, antidepressants, analgesics and opiates may be used, but their effectiveness varies widely and all these substances have side effects that limit their use. Oral absorption of cannabinoid, an extract of hemp has proven useful in treating certain types of pain, but can pose risks and effects that differ from the inhalation of cannabis smoke.

A team of researchers from McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University have conducted random tests to verify the potential analgesic effect of inhalation of the substance. Twenty-one participants took major part in the study, all dealing with chronic neuropathic pain. The researchers used three different concentration levels of the active ingredient in the drug, THC (with levels of 2.5 per cent, 6 per cent and 9.4 per cent) and a placebo did containing it.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/vivre/sante/201008/30/01-4311027-fumer-du-cannabis-aide-a-vivre-avec-des-douleurs-chroniques.php

Patients reported improved sleep quality as the THC in their sample increased. The level of anxiety and depression were also decreased in the group consuming cannabis containing 9.4 percent THC compared with those who had smoked the placebo.

“We found that 25 grams of cannabis to 9.4 percent THC administered in one dose smoke three times a day for five days significantly reduced mean pain intensity when compared with placebo to 0 percent THC treatment of adults with neuropathic pain occurring after trauma or surgery, “says one of the authors of the report, Dr. Mark Ware. The director of the Clinical Research Center of Pain Research at the MUHC Alan Edwards says he and his team “found statistically significant improvements in calculations of sleep quality and anxiety.”

“To our knowledge this is the first study on outpatient inhalation of cannabis officially listed,” says the author. It is one of the few studies on the inhalation of cannabis and neuropathic pain. The authors of this new study recommend further studies with higher levels of THC, the more extensive follow-up times and flexible dosing. According to them, long-term studies on the risks posed by the inhalation of cannabis are also needed.

Dr. Henry McQuay, Oxford University, Great Britain, said the study.

“The authors should be commended for raising a question as useful as” Is that marijuana relieves neuropathic pain? “, Particularly because of the nightmare they have faced to get through the various regulatory hurdles. The doctor concluded by stating that “this study adds to evidence that cannabis could help some patients suffering right now.”

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