By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Low-doses of medical cannabis delivered through an inhaler significantly reduced pain in patients with neuropathy, back pain and other chronic pain conditions, according to a new study.

Researchers assessed the efficacy of vaporized cannabis in 138 pain patients using the Syqe Inhaler, a pocket-sized device that delivers microdoses of aerosolized cannabis. The study was funded and conducted by Syqe Medical, a medical technology company in Israel that makes the inhaler.

Unlike smoking or traditional vaping, the Syqe inhaler heats the cannabis to a temperature below combustion and uses airflow controls to deliver precise doses of cannabis to the patient's lungs in less than 2 seconds. The mean dose in the study was 1.5 mg of aerosolized delta-9-THC, a fraction of what a typical cannabis user would get from a joint or vaporizer.

Participants in the study used the inhaler up to several times a day, depending on need, and were followed for up to a year.

The study findings, published in the journal Pain Reports, show that pain levels fell from an average of 7.3 (on a zero to 10 pain scale) to 5.5 after 120 days – a reduction of nearly 23 percent. For patients in severe pain, pain levels dropped over 28 percent.

Most participants also reported significant improvement in their quality of life, with 92% saying their lives were “better” or “much better.”  

Of the 43 patients who were using opioid pain medication at the start of the study, 58% reported using lower doses after initiating treatment with the inhaler.

Adverse events, such as dizziness and headache, were minor and usually lasted only a few minutes. About 17% of patients reported no decrease in pain intensity and 7% reported more pain.

“Medical cannabis treatment with the Syqe Inhaler demonstrated overall long-term pain reduction, quality of life improvement, and opioid-sparing effect in a cohort of patients with chronic pain, using just a fraction of the amount of MC (medical cannabis) compared with other modes of delivery by inhalation,” researchers reported.

“These outcomes were accompanied by a lower rate of AEs (adverse events) and almost no AE reports during a long-term steady-state follow-up. Additional follow-up in a larger population is warranted to corroborate our findings.”

The Syqe Inhaler is currently only available in Israel and Australia. The company said in an email that it plans to launch the device in Canada and New Zealand in the coming months. No timetable was offered on its availability in the United States.

“We believe it is our responsibility to reduce the pain and suffering of as many patients as possible in the fastest possible way, and we are determined to make medical cannabis treatment a standard of care utilizing advanced technologies,” said Sharon Cohen of Syqe’s Customer Experience Team.