Chronic Pain & Cannabis - Clinical Outcomes

This study was published online in the Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology in December 2021. It examined the clinical outcomes of chronic pain patients in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry after 1, 3, and 6 months of treatment with various forms of medical cannabis.

Patients were 47 years old, on average with the youngest patient 32 years old and the oldest patient 62 years old. The main types of chronic pain examined were: undefined etiology, neuropathic pain, and fibromyalgia. The patient median dose of THC and CBD was 2mg and 20mg per day, respectively. The medical cannabis administration methods were oral, sublingual, or vaporization. One of the most interesting aspects of this study was the "significant" reduction in opioid use at 3 and 6 months, while chronic pain measures were also reduced at 3 and 6 months.

"There were statistically significant improvements in multiple domains, including pain and discomfort, anxiety and depression, and sleep quality scales. Additionally, statistically significant reductions in opioid administration, were observed. Most adverse events were mild to moderate in severity, indicating CBMPs were well tolerated."

The link to the full paper is here at Taylor Francis Online.