Chronic pain patients using medical cannabis report better quality of life in new survey

A new study published in the journal, Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids on patients with chronic pain conditions showed improvements in their quality of life following the use of cannabis.

The researchers analysed cannabis use among 181 pain patients who rolled in Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis access program. The patients were assessed at baseline then at two, four and eight weeks.

Over the course of the study, participants experienced ‘a significant improvement in both pain and HRQoL scores‘. The HRQoL score is the health-related quality of life measure developed by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The scale has 14 items that give an overview of a person’s health and wellbeing.

Patients reported a significant improvement in anxiety management.

The authors wrote: “The results of this study show that MM (medical marijuana) when used for the treatment of pain, can be beneficial at improving a patient’s QoL (quality of life) along with alleviating their pain.”

Quality of life

A previous study on web-based survey results between April 2016 and February 2018 revealed that medical cannabis may experience an increase in various measures of life quality. The study surveyed 1,200 participants in the US who were registered with the Realm for Caring Foundation, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to cannabis research.

The results, published in The Cannabis and Cannabinoids Research Journal, showed that participants experienced better sleep, less pain and a reduction in anxiety. The survey revealed that on average, the patients using medical cannabis experienced a nine percent decrease in pain and a 12 percent decrease in anxiety on their QoL scores. Patients also reported using 14 percent fewer prescriptions compared to non-cannabis users.

Family quality of life

In a recent report by Drug Science, eleven families in the UK reported that medical cannabis had helped their families to experience a better quality of life by lessening seizures for their children.

Some parents noted that the night-time seizures had stopped allowing them to get some sleep. When previously they had had to stay up all night to monitor their children. For the first time in years, this allowed families to get a full night’s sleep.  This had huge benefits for their own physical and mental health.

Read more on this report here