Cannabis Science

Participants in Cannabis for Chronic Pain Study Describe Life-Changing Results

November 14, 2019 Adolescents, Adult, Adverse Effects, Anti-inflammatory properties, Anxiety, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Case Study, Cognition, Future Medicine, Impairment, Memory, Pain

Restored Self: A Phenomenological Study of Pain Relief by Cannabis

In Summary:

In an Israeli qualitative study investigating the impact of cannabis use on chronic pain patients, all but one of the nineteen study participants experienced pain relief after cannabis use. Participants explained how cannabis allowed them to not just discontinue medications treating their pain, but also medications treating secondary outcomes of their pain, such as poor sleep and anxiety. Patients described feeling “a sigh of relief,” being “reborn” or being saved by cannabis use after years of debilitating pain and medication side effects.

Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:

The pathway through which cannabis works to combat pain is different from the usual pathways doctors have used for the last 90 years. Prior to the 1930s, cannabis was used routinely, just about everywhere, but political and social agendas kidnapped the medicine and hid it away from most of the mainstream and from routine medical education.

Patients often describe typical pain relievers as adjusting the impact of the pain. Reducing or quieting the pain, softening discomfort, allowing the sufferer to perform previously typical tasks without debilitation or dysfunction. Cannabis, on the other hand, is sometimes described as “taking the sufferer away from the pain,” rather than the other way around. The effects that cannabis can have on the reduction of inflammation, attention, memory, and relaxation, provide a new type of opportunity for relief.

Still, other patients describe the effects of cannabis through a lens of mental focus. Whereas in daily use we typically open a standard set of drawers, some have said, the use of cannabis allows the consumer to open up a different set of draws, and through this adjusted lens, to see discomfort from a different perspective.

For those suffering with chronic pain, years upon years of discomfort, suffering that, when paired with modern medicines, has only met frustration and further discomfort, cannabis is frequently seen as a welcome “sigh of relief.”

Sample of text discussing lack of adverse side effects of cannabis

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Restored Self: A Phenomenological Study of Pain Relief by CannabisDownload

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Cannabinoids Further Demonstrate Therapeutic Potential in Interactions with Adrenaline and Serotonin Systems

November 7, 2019 Adult, Behavior change, Biosynthesis, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, CB1, CB2, Depression, Future Medicine, Genetics, Mental Health, Neuropathy, Obesity, Pain, Schizophrenia

Regulation of noradrenergic and serotonergic systems by cannabinoids: relevance to cannabinoid-induced effects

In Summary:

Among many system-wide interactive effects, the noradrenergic and serotonergic hormone/signaling systems are responsible for pain, mood, arousal, wakefulness, learning, anxiety, and feelings of reward. A recent review dives deeper into the interactions between cannabinoids and these two systems: cannabinoids play roles in exciting, inhibiting, and regulating the nerve activity and feedback of both the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems. This data further underscores the therapeutic potential of cannabis for conditions such as depression, chronic pain, and insomnia, all of which are mediated, at least in part, by these systems. Further research may uncover more specific therapies targeted toward the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems and their interactions with cannabinoids.

Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:

It would be shocking to imagine that, in addition to the usual fruits and vegetables on display at supermarkets, all of a sudden, there was a new category of healthy food. Similarly, the recognition that cannabinoids play a central role in animal physiology is embarrassingly recent. Surveying a sea of illnesses that have become increasingly common, over the last hundred years, before which cannabis was a common household product, also begs the question about a relationship between the circumstances. Might some of the common maladies of modern medicine be attributable to a cannabinoid deficiency syndrome?

A Schematic overview for regulation of NA/LC and 5-HT/DRN cells by the CB1 receptor

Neurochemical Evidence for cannabinoid-induced effects

Electrophysiological evidence for acute effects of cannabinoids on neuronal activity

Neurochemical evidence for cannabinoid-induced effects in the locus coeruleus

Functional evidence fo cannabinoid-induced effects

Electrophysiological evidence for acute effects of cannabinoids

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Regulation of noradrenergic and serotonergic systems by cannabinoids: relevance to cannabinoid-induced effectsDownload

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Pre- and Post-natal Tobacco and Cannabis Exposure Impacts Children in a Sex-Specific Manner

October 28, 2019 Adolescents, Adverse Effects, Behavior change, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, Citizen Science, Female Fertility, Future Medicine, Gender, Pregnancy, Welfare, Women in Cannabis

Pre- and postnatal tobacco and cannabis exposure and child behavior problems: Bidirectional associations, joint effects, and sex differences

Summary Info:

Prenatal maternal cannabis and tobacco use is predictive of behavioral problems among toddlers. Resulting differences from control groups include anxiety, depression, and attention problems. Female children of mom’s consuming substances, in particular, seem to be more susceptible to problems relating to internalization, attention, and sleep. Additionally, the behavioral problems induced by prenatal cannabis and tobacco consumption often lead to further maternal substance consumption, which frequently exacerbates existing behavioral problems.

Highlights of study of mother's prenatal and postnatal consumption of cannabis

Highlights of interplay of mother's prenatal and postnatal consumption of cannabis with children

Highlights of interplay of mother's prenatal and postnatal consumption of cannabis with toddlers

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Pre- and postnatal tobacco and cannabis exposure and child behavior problems: Bidirectional associations, joint effects, and sex differencesDownload

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Veterans Using Cannabis Medicinally More Likely to have PTSD than Recreational Users

October 25, 2019 Adult, Behavior change, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Depression, Future Medicine, Impairment, Insomnia, Legislation, Opiates, Pain, PTSD, Reefer Madness, Stigma, Veterans

Title: Medicinal versus Recreational Cannabis Use among Returning Veterans

In Summary:

A recent study found significant mental and physical health differences between veterans who use cannabis that they label as “medicinal” use versus those who prefer to label their use as “recreational.” Veterans who feel that they are self-medicating with cannabis, in what they believe fits more closely with a “medical” label are five times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), nearly four times more likely to suffer from Major Depressive Disorder, and are more likely to experience Insomnia, or trouble sleeping. Furthermore, a majority of veterans medicating with cannabis suffer from conditions that qualify them to receive a medical marijuana registration card. Even so, they tend to refrain from discussing their interest in access with their doctors, out of fear of losing their valuable VA benefits.

Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:

Over the years, countless veterans have valiantly and courageously dedicated themselves to missions of support for their fellow men, women, and country. In preparation, training, service, battle, leadership, education, and so many other ways, veterans have given back to their culture in a way few others can. The understanding that they may be shunned by their culture for seeking help, related to the suffering they may have experienced while serving their country, is unconscionable. It is shameful that the government and military have not appreciated and supported the easy opportunity to give back to our veterans, and it is long overdue that the culture gives back to those who have given a piece of themselves so that others may share the liberties they have served to uphold.

group differences between medicinal and recreational cannabis users in diagnoses, cannabis-related problems, reasons for using marijuana, and other health-related and substance use outcomes

characteristics of medicinal cannabis users

Medicinal versus Recreational Cannabis Use among Returning VeteransDownload

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Extensive Cannabis Studies Underway Globally

October 23, 2019 Adult, Adverse Effects, Anti-inflammatory properties, Anxiety, Arthritis, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, CBD, Cocaine, Future Medicine, News

Current Status and Prospects for Cannabidiol Preparations as New Therapeutic Agents

In Summary:

As of 2016, upwards of 60 clinical trials relating to the use of medical cannabis were in progress. The scope of clinical trials included conditions such as anxiety, cocaine dependence, infantile spasms, schizophrenia, solid tumor, and many more. The status of cannabis as a Schedule I drug, under the Controlled Substance Act, limits researchers’ ability to freely collect data if they require support from NIH funding. While there are opportunities for researchers to study cannabis and its derivatives with the support of private funds, this typically risks an appearance of sacrificed scientific integrity and independence. Very few private entities would condone research which might shed an unfavorable light on their products. On the other hand, current NIH-funded research requires the use of the national supply of cannabis, a crop well-known to be very limited in quality. Increasingly, more states have been legalizing the medical and recreational use of cannabis in recent years, allowing scientists with more opportunities for private funding in which to shed more light on the vast medicinal benefits of cannabis. Animal models and human trials have pointed toward clinical applications of medical cannabis including anxiety, nausea, seizures, and inflammation, although the array of competing and synergistic compounds within the plant seem to continually open new doors to relief from a large array of illnesses.

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Current Status and Prospects for Cannabidiol Preparations as New Therapeutic AgentsDownload

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Pre-clinical Evidence for Analgesic Effects of Cannabis Doesn’t Match Human Trial Results

October 18, 2019 Adult, Adverse Effects, Anxiety, Arthritis, Behavior change, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, Dr Caplan, Future Medicine, Impairment, Muscle Pain, Neuropathy, Pain, Stigma, Stress

Current evidence of cannabinoid-based analgesia obtained in preclinical and human experimental settings

In Summary:

Pre-clinical animal models of pain provide a wealth of data supporting the pain-relief capabilities of cannabis; however, reproducing this data in human clinical trials has proved difficult. Data from the animal pre-clinical trials point to cannabinoids reducing stress responses and pain-evoked stress, desensitizing pain receptors, and increased pain sensitivity in animals that lack cannabinoid receptors. However, human trials present conflicting results: several studies have shown dose-dependent relationships, and in the current review this was experienced by many participants, wherein lower and medium doses provided pain relief, but higher doses triggered increased sensitivity to pain. Controlled studies may show a lack of impressive pain relief effects, personal reports of pain relief associated with cannabis use are nearly universal in retrospective reports. This suggests that there may be an important effect on well-being or mood, rather merely sensory pain. Furthermore, the relieving effects of cannabis appear to impact men and women differently.

Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:

Additionally, much of pain relief is subjective, in both sensation, description, and inside the study environment. The description of pain varies from person to person, and researchers may be asking the wrong questions to the right people or the right questions to the wrong people. In fact, a growing perspective is that this mismatch may be more common and more pronounced than previously recognized. The makeup of pain is also quite complicated. For instance, a limb might hurt, but if there is swelling or tenderness nearby, those may amplify the discomfort. How can we take the full picture into account in the form of helpful data points? What of the emotional or psychological impacts of pain? Is it even possible that such things can be fully understood, let alone measured reliably? Assuming that emotional phenomenon or stress/suffering can be conveyed to research scientists, how can we ever hope to compare one person’s experience to another’s? For example, one would imagine that frustration associated with the pain experienced by a venerable world war veteran, who has previously endured tremendous and complex pains and associated psychological trauma may be quite different from someone who has never experienced a particular pain before.

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Current evidence of cannabinoid-based analgesia obtained in preclinical and human experimental settingsDownload

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Many Chronic Pain-Related Cannabis Studies Lack “High-Quality” Evidence

October 16, 2019 Adult, Behavior change, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, Future Medicine, Impairment, Injury, Muscle Pain, Neuropathy, Pain, Placebo-Controlled, Science, Stigma, Survey

Cannabis-based medicines for chronic neuropathic pain in adults (Review)

In Summary:

In a recent Cochrane meta-analysis of studies investigating the use of medical cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain management, the authors determined that no results were what they could consider “high quality.” All data which related to degrees of pain relief, adverse events, and “Patient Global Impression of Change” were largely of very low or low quality, with some outcomes being of moderate quality. The meta-analysis concluded that no existing evidence backs up the use of cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain; however, the quality of evidence examined highlights the need for more controlled studies.

Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:

Depending on the system of organization one prefers, pain can be divided up into different subtypes. For one system, it’s three subtypes: neuropathic, nociceptive, and “other.” For another system, pain can be organized by timing (sharp, acute, chronic, breakthrough), location (bone, soft tissue, nerve, referred, phantom), or by the relative system (emotional, cancer, body.) This review discusses the subtype category of “neuropathic pain” as a means of grouping pain to study. The measures used to assess the pain are as subjective as the categories themselves. Clearly, compounding the two subjective divisions is unlikely to produce “high quality” data, but it is a misleading interpretation to take away that there is no good quality information to glean from the observations this review organizes, and also a misinterpretation to jump to an idea that cannabis is not helpful. Rather, given the statistical tools we currently use, and the subjective systems of understanding pain are not well-matched to translating the effects of cannabis on pain into this type of data.

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Cannabis‐based medicines for chronic neuropathic pain in adults Download

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Spinal Cord Injury and Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Patients Use Cannabis to Manage Symptoms

October 16, 2019 Adult, Anti-inflammatory properties, Anxiety, Behavior change, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, Concussion, Impairment, Injury, Memory, Pain, Science, Traumatic Brain Injury, Veterans

Cannabis Use in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury or Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Colorado

In Summary:

Spinal cord injury patients report that medical cannabis helped them alleviate many symptoms of their injury including spasticity, pain, sleep disruptions, stress, and anxiety. Traumatic brain injury patients list their reason for use as reducing stress/anxiety and improving sleep. Both groups of patients reported recreational use prior to and following injury for a variety of reasons.

Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:

Healing from traumatic injuries is never solely a matter of local tissue changes. The injured tissues, and the experience of being injured create ripple effects which can disrupt multiple other organ systems, and the entire experience of normalcy. A chemical stress response is one of the most common (and often adaptive) responses to an injury, but the burden of stress, adapting to a new illness, and associated loss of normalcy and sleep can be disastrous to the process of healing. As anxiety and sleeplessness snowball into daily problems themselves, a kernel of injury sometimes amplifies to become a life-altering change.

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Cannabis Use in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury or Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Colorado Download

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Arthritis Sufferers Lead the Way for Advancing Cannabis as Pain Medicine

October 10, 2019 Adult, Anti-inflammatory properties, Autoimmunity, Cannabis, Cannabis News, Cannabis Science, CED In The News, Dr Caplan, Future Medicine, Topical

A Weedmaps News piece, looking earnestly at cannabis and arthritis. As the title suggests, arthritis sufferers are, indeed, leading the way for advancing cannabis as pain medicine.

Arthritis Sufferers Lead the Way for Advancing Cannabis as Pain Medicine

“We know cannabis is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent that functions differently from other drugs like Tylenol, Ibuprofen, steroids, or the biological options that work on the immune system and can present severe side-effects,” Caplan told Weedmaps News. “We don’t see that w/ cannabis”

“There is still not enough of what modern medicine calls the gold standard- randomized trials or review trials that collect multiple studies – but anecdote is not meaningless,” Caplan said.

“Stories we hear from individuals are very meaningful and worthwhile,” Caplan said. “We live in a scientific culture that thinks we should discount anecdotes and only pay attention to the highest quality data, which I think is misleading and not fair.”

Could Inhaled Cannabis Be More Effective to Relieve Pain than Oral Cannabinoids?

October 4, 2019 Adult, Adverse Effects, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Dosing, Edibles, Muscle Pain, Pain, Smoking, THC, Vaping

Cannabis for Chronic Pain: Challenges and Considerations

In Summary:

Comparisons between the use of inhaled cannabis plant versus pharmaceutical-grade oral cannabinoids demonstrate an advantage of inhalation over oral delivery. Conditions for which inhalation has provided superior over oral consumption include:

HIV, diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, complex regional pain syndrome, spinal cord injury, traumatic neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis, and cervical disk disease.

An important note: patients consuming cannabinoids orally are more likely to withdraw from studies due to negative side effects and lack of efficacy. Also, edible cannabis may compete, amplify, or have effects delayed, when interacting with other ingested foods and drinks, A major advantage of inhalation is the opportunity for patients to titrate, or easily test varying dosages at home, with reasonably rapid feedback. On the other hand, dosage adjustments for oral food-borne cannabinoids are much more complex, and cannabis in the form of oral pharmaceutical-products may require a doctor visit and a new prescription.

Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:

In the clinic, there seems to be a great divide in the population, a group of patients who simply adore the edibles (often in low-dose candies, low-dose chocolate, or titrated tinctures), and a group who use inhalation, almost exclusively. There are also some who are discovering topicals (salves, patches, lotions). There is a growing number of patients who use each of these methods with intention, related to their timing of onset and their duration of action, but this requires education, practice, and a degree of sophistication in use that is relatively new to the industry.

As with most consumption, medicinal or not, it seems common for individuals to find a method that they enjoy and stick to it. Interestingly, in recent years, the US cannabis industry has evolved in a wild growth phase. As it has embraced a dynamic landscape, with increasing competition from all sides, including new stores and product offerings popping up all the time, there seems to be a growing openness, in consumers, to trying new products and exploring new offerings. Coincidentally, this openness to change and the unfamiliar happens to mirror one of the core neurobiological functions of cannabis in the brain, as seen across the neuropsychiatric and neuroimaging cannabis literature.

How exciting to imagine a future medicine that may help consumers to be more open to change?

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Cannabis for Chronic Pain: Challenges and Considerations Download

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