According to health researchers, between 25% to 45% of Germany’s general population reports being affected by chronic pain, and it “is one of the most common reasons for primary care consultations.” The European Pain Federation estimates that “150 million people are experiencing chronic pain across Europe.”

Medical cannabis is being incorporated into chronic pain patients’ pain management strategies at an increasing rate in Germany and Europe, with many suffering pain patients reporting favorable outcomes after starting medical cannabis therapies. New clinical trials focusing on the use of medicinal cannabis to treat pain were recently announced by the German Society for Pain Medicine (DGS).

“The use of medical cannabis to treat pain patients is increasing,” said Dr. Richard Ibrahim, orthopedic surgeon, pain specialist, and president of the German Society for Pain Medicine, in a press release (translated from German to English). “In my practice, I have already successfully treated 1,800 pain patients with medical cannabis. It does not replace conventional pain medication across the board. However, it has increasingly become an effective analgesic with a comparatively low side effect profile developed.”

The following clinical trials are expected:

• Fibromyalgia (N=225, Start: Sept 2026, Duration: 22-26 weeks)
• Chronic spinal, back and osteoarthritis pain (N=1,500+, start: June 2026)
• Chronic pain (Standardized inhalation system for extracts (THC: 82% CBD: <1%), study in the planning phase)

“In parallel, the German Pain Society (DGS) is working on further developing its practice guideline “Cannabis in Pain Medicine,” which will be presented at the DGS Innovation Forum in Kassel on November 20, 2026. The guideline is part of the DGS’s professional competence development program and is intended to provide physicians with a basis for prescribing, diagnosing, and dosing cannabis in pain and palliative care.” DGS wrote in its press release.

“Healthcare without data is opinion – healthcare with data is the future!” Dr. Ibrahim added. “We want to create reliable data so that medical cannabis can be better classified in pain medicine. With our 4,035 members, 16 state associations, and 123 pain centers, the German Pain Society (DGS) has created a nationwide network that will advance healthcare research and improve the quality of pain care across Germany.”

Researchers affiliated with the German Association of Pharmaceutical Cannabinoid Companies (BPC) previously conducted an examination comparing the safety and affordability of medical cannabis to opioids.

“Chronic pain is one of the greatest medical challenges: For many sufferers, the path to a tolerable, effective therapy is still long. Particularly when treated with opioids, many people with chronic pain experience serious side effects or fear addiction. New research by the German Association of Pharmaceutical Cannabinoid Companies (BPC) now clearly shows that medical cannabis can represent a safe, tolerable, effective, and also economically viable alternative to opioids.” BPC stated in a news release (translated from German to English).

“Both therapies achieve comparable values ​​in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), which describe how many additional years of life a therapy can provide and how high its quality is. The QALY values ​​are derived from a health economic model by Jeddi et al. (2025), based on a systematic review and network meta-analysis of all available randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on medical cannabis and opioids. The safety difference is also crucial: Cannabis does not pose a risk of severe or fatal overdoses, as can occur with opioids.” BPC found.

“The data show that patients using medical cannabis experience just as high a quality of life as those using opioids, but suffer from significantly fewer side effects.” Antonia Menzel, Chair of the Board of the BPC, explained.

“Besides the increased safety, the cost trend also clearly favors treatments with medicinal cannabis: A low-dose therapy costs around 37 euros per month and is therefore significantly cheaper than a comparable low opioid dose, which already costs around 73 euros. The same trend is evident in the medium dosage range, so cannabis remains the more cost-effective option in the dosages used to treat most patients.” BPC added.