Montreal, Quebec: The first ever peer reviewed clinical trial on the effectiveness of smoked marijuana in the treatment of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) is finally underway after a nearly three year delay. The study, which will examine the therapeutic effects of smoked marijuana on 32 patients unresponsive to standard treatment methods, was initially approved for funding by Health Canada in July 2001. However, the agency steadfastly refused to authorize the release of any marijuana to be used for the study until just recently.
The McGill Pain Centre in Montreal will oversee the research, which is expected to be concluded by early 2005.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), cannabinoids hold great potential in the treatment of neuropathic pain. “Neuropathic pain represents a treatment problem for which currently available analgesics are, at best, marginally effective,” a 1997 NIH report found. “Since [cannabinoids are] not acting by the same mechanism as either opioids or NSAIDS [non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs], they may be useful in this inadequately treated type of pain.”
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.