The most common reason patients seek medical marijuana is for chronic pain. This hardly a surprise considering over one third of Americans are dealing with a chronic pain issue. It is now understood that certain types of marijuana work better than others in reducing a person's chronic pain. Does dosing matter? Meaning does medical marijuana work well up to a certain dose and then does it become counterproductive at higher doses?
A clinical study from UCSD shows that a dose effect may exist, with higher doses actually making the pain worse rather than helping. The UCSD research placed injections of capsaicin into healthy volunteers' forearms. Capsaicin is actually pepper cream, and is rubbed on to the skin to produce a numbing region to relieve pain. In this study, however, it was injected underneath the skin, where it was painful.
After injecting the painful capsaicin, the volunteers smoked marijuana at 3 doses. The low dose had no effect, while the medium dose decreased the pain substantially. However, the high dose increased pain. What happened?
The first problem is that no one truly knows how cannabis works for chronic pain. We know receptors exist for marijuana in the brain and throughout the body. But what happens when cannabinoids attach to these receptors is a mystery. We know that smoking marijuana increases heart rate 7 to 12 beats per minute. But how does the brain know to tell the body's nerves not to transmit pain signals?
Some studies have shown that marijuana maintains some active pain reduction for cancer patients. These patients would actually fall into the chronic pain category, but technically most states with legal marijuana have a separate cancer category. Numerous studies have shown that medical marijuana is effective for chronic painful conditions like cancer, but not for acute pain situations like for instance severe sunburn.
Having stated that, there has been a study looking at cannabis in conjunction with opioids for post-operative pain medication requirements. The study showed a decrease in opioid requirements as cannabis intake increased. However, that study did not go over a 15mg THC dose. Would a higher dose have made the opioid needs increase as a counter-intuitive effect?
There are a lot of unanswered questions about medical marijuana and chronic pain. The more research that is produced, the better we will be able to align marijuana usage with chronic pain and the dosing.
A clinical study from UCSD shows that a dose effect may exist, with higher doses actually making the pain worse rather than helping. The UCSD research placed injections of capsaicin into healthy volunteers' forearms. Capsaicin is actually pepper cream, and is rubbed on to the skin to produce a numbing region to relieve pain. In this study, however, it was injected underneath the skin, where it was painful.
After injecting the painful capsaicin, the volunteers smoked marijuana at 3 doses. The low dose had no effect, while the medium dose decreased the pain substantially. However, the high dose increased pain. What happened?
The first problem is that no one truly knows how cannabis works for chronic pain. We know receptors exist for marijuana in the brain and throughout the body. But what happens when cannabinoids attach to these receptors is a mystery. We know that smoking marijuana increases heart rate 7 to 12 beats per minute. But how does the brain know to tell the body's nerves not to transmit pain signals?
Some studies have shown that marijuana maintains some active pain reduction for cancer patients. These patients would actually fall into the chronic pain category, but technically most states with legal marijuana have a separate cancer category. Numerous studies have shown that medical marijuana is effective for chronic painful conditions like cancer, but not for acute pain situations like for instance severe sunburn.
Having stated that, there has been a study looking at cannabis in conjunction with opioids for post-operative pain medication requirements. The study showed a decrease in opioid requirements as cannabis intake increased. However, that study did not go over a 15mg THC dose. Would a higher dose have made the opioid needs increase as a counter-intuitive effect?
There are a lot of unanswered questions about medical marijuana and chronic pain. The more research that is produced, the better we will be able to align marijuana usage with chronic pain and the dosing.
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Want to find out more about Arizona medical marijuana, then visit Arizona MMC's site on how to choose the best Arizona medical marijuana doctor for your needs.
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