pain management support group

A new Canadian research study reports that smoking high-THC cannabis reduces neuropathic pain. This recently-published report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests that smoking marijuana, or "pot," can reduce symptoms of pain, improve mood, and aid sleep in patients with chronic neuropathic pain. However, this study actually provides only a smidgen of valid evidence and much more research is needed before patients are advised to "light up" for better pain relief.

Read the entire article here: http://updates.pain-topics.org/2010/09/is-smoking-pot-helpful-for-neuropathic.html#comment-form .

It is known that THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, binds with opiate receptors in the brain. So, it should come as no surprise that the qualitatively higher THC content in this study results in significant pain reduction. That the participants report a feeling of "caring less" about their pain might present an added effect, which should be further studied.

Another area of interest is whether oral THC (Marinol) has the same beneficial effect. Many people today use Marinol off-label for chronic nociceptive and neuropathic pain. An obvious area of interest for future research should be to explore any difference in efficacy between inhaled and ingested THC. A confounding factor might be the dozens of chemicals that enter the bloodstream when cannabis is smoked, compared with the single chemical associated with ingestion (THC). It is possible that some of the added chemicals associated with inhaling the drug are also beneficial to pain relief. And, of course, inhaled THC reaches peak plasma level much more swiftly than ingested THC. Might this alter the patient's perception of the quality of pain relief?

Tens of thousands of people have reported a decrease in pain associated with cannabis intake. This study only reinforces that belief. Unfortunately, this study used a rather small population. While the number of participants, particularly those using the highest THC content remains low, the results still appear statistically significant to some extent. Hopefully, future research will use much larger populations and will attend to the efficacy of oral THC, in addition to the inhaled option.