Hannover, Germany: Plant-derived cannabis extracts provide sustained improvements in patients with chronic lower back pain, according to randomized placebo-controlled data published in the journal Nature Medicine.
German investigators evaluated the efficacy of a proprietary cannabis extract containing 2.5 mg of THC and standardized percentages of CBD and CBG (cannabigerol) in a cohort of 820 patients. Study participants consumed either the extract or a placebo for 12 weeks, with a portion of subjects continuing enrollment in the trial for several additional months.
Compared to those receiving the placebo, patients receiving cannabis extracts demonstrated significant improvements in pain intensity, sleep quality, physical function, and overall quality of life. Participants who suffered from neuropathy and who consumed cannabis extracts for extended lengths of time experienced the greatest improvement. Adverse events associated with cannabis therapy were categorized as “mild to moderate.”
Researchers reported: “The results of the [clinical] trial demonstrate that VER-01 [plant-derived cannabis extracts] provides meaningful pain reduction compared to the placebo, accompanied by distinct improvements in physical function and sleep quality. … Importantly, prolonged treatment with VER-01 was associated with further reductions in pain intensity, as well as continued improvements in physical function, sleep quality and health-related quality of life. Notably, the treatment effect was even more pronounced in participants with a neuropathic pain component and those with severe pain at baseline.”
The study’s authors concluded: “This phase 3 study provides robust evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of VER-01 in the treatment of CLBP [chronic lower back pain]. These findings highlight the importance of further research with VER-01 in other chronic pain conditions and suggest that VER-01 could play an important role in modern pain management.”
Studies have previously shown that patients with lower back pain reduce their use of opioids following the initiation of medical cannabis therapy.
Full text of the study, “Full-spectrum extract from cannabis sativa. DKJ127 for chronic low back pain: A Phase 3 randomized placebo-controlled trial,” appears in Nature Medicine. Additional information on cannabis and chronic pain is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.