Cologne, Germany: The sustained use of plant-derived cannabis extracts significantly reduces pain and improves mental health in patients with or without a history of marijuana use, according to observational data published in the journal Advances in Therapy.
German investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of cannabis extracts containing equal percentages of THC and CBD in a cohort of 64 patients with inadequately treated chronic pain. The cohort included 35 cannabis-naïve patients. Study participants were observed for six months.
Researchers “observed a substantial reduction in patient-reported pain intensity over time in both groups,” with pain scores falling most significantly (by 60 percent) in the cannabis-naïve subgroup. No serious adverse events were reported.
“Our findings indicate that treatment with medicinal cannabis improves both physical and mental health in patients with chronic pain,” the study’s authors concluded. “The results suggest that medicinal cannabis might be a safe alternative for patients who are inadequately treated with conventional therapies.”
Separate data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that nearly one in three patients with chronic pain use cannabis as an analgesic agent and many of those who do substitute it in place of opioids.
Full text of the study, “An observational study on improving pain and quality of life with the Cannamedical hybrid cannabis extract,” appears in Advances in Therapy. Additional information on cannabis and pain management is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.