Cannabis is not an effective painkiller, despite what its supporters may say, according to a review.
Proponents of marijuana claim that the drug has a myriad of health benefits, including the ability to soothe pain.
But a U.S. government-backed analysis of 25 trials has concluded that there is “very little scientifically valid research” that it is an effective painkiller.
The review included about 15,000 people who consumed a wide range of cannabis products, including the plant itself, CBD oils or synthetic cannabis pills.
No significant long-term pain relief was observed in people who smoked or ingested the plant, known as “edibles,” or in people who used CBD oil.
CBD oil is obtained by extracting the non-psychoactive ingredient from the plant, which was expected to be able to create a drug that has all the benefits without the drawbacks.
The only products that showed statistically significant benefits for pain were synthetic pills that mimic the effects of THC, the chemical that gives users the feeling of being “high.”
However, the pills only worked in the short term and had a number of side effects, including dizziness and fatigue.
The experts concluded that the evidence to use any cannabis product to treat chronic pain, defined as pain lasting more than three months, was not enough.
Researchers at Oregon University of Health and Science found synthetic products with high THC, the psychoactive ingredient in the drug, which helped relieve chronic pain by up to 30%.
Drugs with higher THC levels compared to CBD were more effective in reducing pain.
Dronabinol and nabilone fall into the high THC / CBD ratio.
Nabiximols, a spray made of equal parts of THC and CBD, also appeared to have some benefit, the researchers added.
Cannabis is legal in 19 U.S. states for recreational purposes and can be purchased for medical use in 38 states, including for chronic pain in some states.
Medicinal cannabis has been legal in the UK for several years, although it is rarely prescribed.
There are currently few pain treatment options in Britain, with NHS patients often prescribed potent and addictive painkillers.
About 15.5 million people in England, a third of the adult population, live with chronic pain. About 100 million people are believed to have it in the United States.
The health service will begin testing cannabis as a treatment for chronic pain over the next three years, with the goal of offering “whole plant” medications.
Thousands of people receive cannabis as an analgesic every day in a major new trial
Cannabis will be tested as a pain reliever for thousands of Britons, who, if successful, could see the drug prescribed in the NHS.
Cannabis will be consumed daily through inhalers in the trial with 5,000 participants with chronic pain, caused by conditions such as arthritis.
The “whole plant” of cannabis will be given by inhalers that vaporize the drug.
The National Institute for Excellence in Health and Care (NICE) will assess whether cannabis should become an approved treatment for up to 15 million adults.
About one in three adults in England has chronic pain, defined as pain that lasts more than three months.
Cannabis in the NHS could prevent people from self-medicating, using drug dealers or ordering drugs online, and may be safer than opioids, the conventional treatment for chronic pain.
The latest review, by experts from the University of Oregon Health and Science, was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
He looked at evidence from 18 placebo-controlled studies and seven long-term articles from around the world.
A total of 14,835 people took part in the tests and took the products for up to a year.
Patients were asked to assess their pain before, during, and several weeks after taking cannabis-based products.
The results showed that some synthetic products with a high THC content had a “moderate effect” on reducing pain, causing pain to fall from one to two points on the scale.
But they had a “big effect” on dizziness, a “moderate effect” on fatigue, and a “potential effect” on nausea.
The use of the cannabis plant itself did not show a statistically significant benefit and the results were affected by methodological issues, including not recording dose levels or side effects.
The authors said: “Evidence of whole plant products, CBD and other cannabinoids was limited by severe inaccuracy and a lack of ability to assess consistency and study methodological limitations.
“These studies were not designed to assess harm outcomes and often excluded patients who were most at risk for harm, potentially underestimating the harm of cannabinoid treatment.”
Psychosis and cannabis addiction were also not considered by “whole plant” studies, they said, which is one of the main concerns about drug use.
The lead author, Professor Marian McDonagh, an epidemiologist at the university, said the review found a surprising lack of evidence for using cannabis to treat pain.
She said: “Overall, the limited amount of evidence surprised us all.”
“With so much hype about cannabis-related products and the readily available availability of recreational and medical marijuana in many states, consumers and patients could assume there would be more evidence of the benefits and side effects.
“Unfortunately, there is very little scientifically valid research on most of these products.
“We only saw a small group of observational cohort studies on cannabis products that would be readily available in states that allow it, and these were not designed to answer important questions about treating chronic pain.”
In a comment in the same journal, University of Michigan anesthesiologists Professor Daniel Clauw and Dr. Kevin Boehnke said the study could not demonstrate the benefits of cannabis due to the limitations of the study.
They said: “These limitations are well documented in the literature on cannabinoids and chronic pain and are due in part to the ‘War on Drugs’ policies which have overwhelmingly favored the study of cannabis-related harm over therapeutic effects.
“Unfortunately, this means that this well-conducted review found limited generalizable evidence to inform long-term use of the cannabis products available for chronic pain.”
But researchers urged doctors to be pragmatic when dealing with patients who want to try using cannabis to relieve pain.
They said: “Conventional painkillers are only effective in a subset of people, so it is not surprising that many patients are attracted to the widely available cannabis products.
“Doctors can witness, record, and offer compassionate guidance to help patients with chronic pain use cannabis wisely.”
CANNABIS: THE FACTS
Cannabis is a class B illegal drug in the UK, which means that possession could lead to a five-year prison sentence and those who supply the drug face up to 14 years in prison.
However, the drug is widely used for recreational purposes and can make users feel relaxed and happy.
But smoking can also cause feelings of panic, anxiety, or paranoia.
Scientific studies have shown that the drug can relieve depression, anxiety and stress, but intensive use can make long-term depression worse by reducing the brain’s ability to release bad memories.
It can also contribute to mental health problems among people who already have them, or increase users’ risk of psychosis or schizophrenia, according to research.
Marijuana can be prescribed for medical use in more than half of the U.S. states, where it is used to combat anxiety, aggression, and sleep problems. Researchers are also investigating whether it could help people with autism, eczema or psoriasis.
Cannabis oil containing the psychoactive chemical THC, which is illegal in the UK, is said to have anti-cancer properties, and a 52-year-old woman from Coventry is said to have recovered from terminal cancer. intestine and stomach taking the drug.
