Medical cannabis and pain – new findings

Medical cannabis and pain – new findings see that almost 90 per cent of patients using medical cannabis to treat pain find it to be more effective than any other medication previously taken, new data suggests.

A survey of patients prescribed medical cannabis for pain relief shows that 86 per cent reported it to be the most effective treatment they had tried.

The data, from The Medical Cannabis Clinics (TMCC), further evidences medical cannabis’ potential over other existing treatment options; including the use of opioids in patients with chronic pain.

Patients with chronic pain in the UK are often prescribed opioid painkillers, with a 2019 report revealing that one in eight UK adults are prescribed some form of opioid.

Opioids are highly addictive, meaning that patients often take more than the recommended dose, putting them at risk of overdose and potential death.

Matt Irvine, a patient at TMCC, says: “My life has been severely impacted by chronic pain. I couldn’t work, I couldn’t wash or dress myself properly and I couldn’t do chores, so my mental health suffered as a result.

“I was prescribed opioids, but they put me in a zombie-like state and I was useless throughout the year I was taking them.

“Medical cannabis has given me some control back into my life and my depression and anxiety has practically disappeared. I’m relieved that now I can focus on living my life and feel more like a normal, healthy person.”

Chronic pain significantly impacts the quality of life of patients across the UK. A study by The British Pain Society found that chronic pain affects more than 40 per cent of the UK population, equating to more than 28 million adults in the UK living with pain that has lasted three months or longer.

Dr Sunny Nayee, medical director of TMCC, says: “Medical cannabis has been unfairly stigmatised for decades, but recent advances and the success we have seen first-hand in the clinics have allowed us to reconsider this once disregarded treatment option.

“Existing treatments for both chronic pain and opioid addiction carry their own risks, which has led experts to consider alternatives and research how medical cannabis works in the body.

“Early data that we are seeing in our clinic supports the use of medical cannabis to manage chronic pain and allows patients to safely reduce opioid intake. We continue to be excited about the ongoing research into how medical cannabis can support patients with opioid dependency and improve their symptoms.”

Data from TMCC’s survey, which gathered insights from 229 pain patients, further showed that 90 per cent of patients reported that medical cannabis had a positive impact on their life and 93 per cent either had recommended or would recommend the treatment to others with their condition.

These findings add to the preliminary results released earlier this month from independent research group Project Twenty21, which is collecting the UK’s largest body of medical cannabis evidence, which showed that the treatment improved quality of life by over 50 per cent in patients with a range of medical conditions.

Medical cannabis was legalised in the UK in November 2018, but access is still limited and the true positive impact of medical cannabis for pain patients remains to be seen.