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Medical Cannabis Patients Report Reduced Pain, Improved Mental Health

cannabis leaf leaves plant cannabis leaf leaves plant

Humans have a very long history of harnessing the wellness benefits of the cannabis plant. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the cannabis plant became villainized due to harmful political motivations.

Thankfully, cannabis policies and regulations are being modernized across the globe and more suffering patients are able to use cannabis and cannabis-derived medications to treat their condition(s).

A team of researchers in Australia recently conducted a study examining medical cannabis use, pain, and mental health. Below is information about the study and its findings via a recent news release from NORML:

Melbourne, Australia: Chronic pain patients report physical and mental health improvements following their use of medical cannabis preparations, according to observational data published in the Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy.

Australian researchers assessed the use of medical cannabis preparations in 96 chronic pain patients. (Under Australian law, physicians may only authorize cannabis products to patients unresponsive to conventional prescription treatments.) Study participants consumed cannabis formulations either high in CBD, high in THC, or containing equal ratios of both cannabinoids. Patients’ symptoms were assessed at three, six, and 12 months.

Investigators reported: “We identified clear associations between patient commencement of a prescribed medicinal cannabis product and improvements in pain, mental health and sleep difficulties, with the most pronounced therapeutic effects visible within the first six months of treatment. Furthermore, significant improvements were noted across diverse domains of symptom interference on daily functions, suggesting an improved quality of life for patients. In relation to pain management, the majority of patients exhibited a notable decline in their use of both prescription and over-the-counter pain medications. This reduction in the use of other medications is consistent with the substantial improvements in pain severity reported by most patients.”

The most frequently reported adverse events were dry mouth and sleepiness.

The study’s authors concluded: “Overall, we found that the use of medicinal cannabis was associated with reduced pain during the first six months and improved mental well-being over 12 months. … Further longitudinal and controlled studies are necessary to better understand the sustained effects of cannabis-based medications on pain and mental health.”

Similarly designed studies of patients enrolled in the United Kingdom’s medical cannabis access program have reported that medical cannabis treatment is safe and effective for those suffering from chronic painanxietypost-traumatic stressfibromyalgiadepressionmigrainemultiple sclerosisosteoarthritisinflammatory arthritisinflammatory bowel disease, and other afflictions.

Full text of the study, “Changes in mental health symptoms associated with prescribed medicinal cannabis use: A one-year longitudinal study,” appears in the Journal of Pain & Palliative Care PharmacotherapyAdditional information on cannabis and chronic pain is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

Australia