Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news - Tue, 01 Mar 2016 04:20:21 PST
Study: Long-Term Cannabis Use Mitigates Pain, Reduces Opioid Use
Jerusalem, Israel: The daily, long-term use of cannabis is associated with improved analgesia and reduced opioid use in patients with treatment-resistant chronic pain conditions, according to clinical trial data reported online ahead of print in The Clinical Journal of Pain.
Investigators with Hebrew University in Israel evaluated the use of cannabis on pain in a cohort of 176 patients, each of whom had been previously unresponsive to all conventional pain medications. Subjects inhaled THC-dominant cannabis daily (up to 20 grams per month) for a period of at least six months.
A majority of participants (66 percent) experienced improvement in their pain symptom scores after cannabis therapy, and most reported "robust" improvements in their quality of life. Subjects' overall consumption of opioid drugs declined 44 percent by the end of the trial, and a significant percentage of participants discontinued opioid therapy altogether over the course of the study.
Authors concluded, "In summary, this long-term prospective cohort suggests that cannabis treatment in a mixed group of patients with treatment-resistant chronic pain may result in improved pain, sleep and quality of life outcomes, as well as reduced opioid use."
The Israeli results are similar to those reported in a 2015 Canadian trial which concluded that chronic pain patients who use herbal cannabis daily for one-year experienced reduced discomfort and increased quality of life compared to controls, and did not possess an increased risk of serious side effects.
Separate data published in 2014 in The Journal of the American Medical Association determined that states with medical marijuana laws experience far fewer opiate-related deaths than do states that prohibit the plant. Investigators from the RAND Corporation reported similar findings in 2015, concluding, "States permitting medical marijuana dispensaries experience a relative decrease in both opioid addictions and opioid overdose deaths compared to states that do not." Clinical data published in 2011 in the journal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics previously reported that the administration of vaporized cannabis "safely augments the analgesic effect of opioids."
A scientific review published earlier this year assessing the clinical use of cannabinoids for pain in over 1,300 subjects concluded, "Overall, the recent literature supports the idea that currently available cannabinoids are modestly effective analgesics that provide a safe, reasonable therapeutic option for managing chronic non-cancer-related pain and possibly cancer-related pain."
Full text of the study, "The effect of medicinal cannabis on pain and quality of life outcomes in chronic pain: A prospective open-label study," appears in The Clinical Journal of Pain.
Study: No Increase In Problematic Cannabis Use
St. Louis, MO: The prevalence of problematic cannabis is decreasing, according to data published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Investigators at the Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis assessed trends in marijuana use and in the prevalence of marijuana use disorders during the years 2002 to 2013. Researchers determined that the self-reported use of cannabis by adults increased an estimated 19 percent, but that reports of cannabis-related problems actually declined during this period.
"We're certainly seeing some increases in marijuana use," the lead researcher of the study said. "But our survey didn't notice any increase in marijuana-related problems. Certainly, some people are having problems so we should remain vigilant, but the sky is not falling."
Separate evaluations of self-reported marijuana use by young people have determined that rates of cannabis use by high-school students is significantly lower today than it was 15 years ago.
The study's findings contradict those of a widely publicized 2015 paper which alleged that the use of marijuana had doubled over the past decade and that an estimated one-third of those who consumed cannabis did so problematically.
Full text of the study, "Recent trends in the prevalence of marijuana use and associated disorders in the United States," appears in JAMA Psychiatry.
Review: Marijuana Use Not Likely To Cause Psychosis
Laramie, WY: The use of marijuana alone is most likely not a contributor to psychosis disorder, according to a literature review published in the journal Current Psychiatry Reports.
A pair of researchers from the University of Wyoming and from Columbia University in New York City evaluated recent studies associating the use of cannabis with psychotic behaviors. They reported that cannabis use does not cause the psychosis, but rather, that subjects susceptible to the disorder are more likely to engage in early-onset use of the substance.
"Evidence reviewed here suggests that cannabis does not in itself cause a psychosis disorder," they concluded. "Rather, the evidence leads us to conclude that both early use and heavy use of cannabis are more likely in individuals with a vulnerability to psychosis."
Separate studies have similarly questioned whether cannabis use causes other psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, while others have suggested that certain compounds in cannabis, such as cannabidiol (aka CBD), may be potentially efficacious as anti-psychotic agents.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Cannabis and psychosis: A critical overview of the relationship," appears in Current Psychiatry Reports.
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