Medical Marijuana Saved Me After Forced Opioid Tapering

By Christine Kucera

I can tell you outright that medical marijuana saved my life!  

I am an intractable pain patient who was harmed in 2019 when the chief medical officer at my well-known health institution decided to implement mandatory system-wide opioid policies for all doctors and patients, based on the CDC’s opioid guideline.

I am not opioid naive, don't have adverse reactions to opioids (other than some don't work on me), and I wasn't misusing or even at risk of overdose. But that didn't matter to the CMO. He forced my pain management provider to taper all his patients on opioids or risking losing his position.

I was subsequently tapered to 90 MME (morphine milligram equivalent), which was a third of the well-managed opioid regimen I was on for over 30 years.  Messed up, right?  

Medical marijuana/cannabis was the alternative of last resort for me. Unlike opioids, I'm extremely sensitive to marijuana, and need to be able to think and talk. As the taper continued, my ability to cope with unmanageable, agonizing pain went bye-bye. I couldn't sit, stand, lay down or sleep without the pain being unbearable. I was literally being tortured to death.  

I became severely ill, my health destabilized, and I was hospitalized numerous times. I became depressed and suicidal, reaching out to everyone for help as hopelessness set in. Thoughts about transitioning to death were my constant companion. 

I had a choice: fight with what's available or give in to despair. I refused to give up hope and decided to try medical marijuana. After discussing it with my provider, I applied for a Massachusetts medical marijuana license. Once approved, I immediately went to a dispensary and the experimentation began. 

Everyone will have different experiences with cannabis. Just like opioids, it depends how your body metabolizes it. I had more than a few negative experiences, but refused to give up. It took me 2 years of experimentation to figure out the right dose, strain (sativa, indica, hybrid) and preparation (flower, edibles, tinctures, topical).  

After a lot of trial-and-error, I found my goldilocks zone. It was micro dosing a 1:1 tincture (equal parts THC and CBD) and applying a 1:1 cream. That regime saved my life!  

Key to Success: Start Slowly 

Some important things I learned along the way:  

For naive patients using cannabis for the first time, I recommend starting with a couple drops of tincture (0.25ml to 0.5 ml under the tongue) every 6-8 hours. It can take upwards of 2 hours to feel the full effects. Do not consume additional tincture too soon or you will potentially experience a compounding effect, producing unwanted side effects.

Increasing the dose, amount and frequency should only be attempted once your body adjusts. Everyone has different titration periods, which can take days or weeks. Experimenting is the only way to figure out what will work for you personally.

I suggest going slowly, incrementally increasing the dose by 0.25ml (0.5ml, 0.75ml, 1ml and so forth) over days to weeks until you reach optimal effect. I personally use <0.25ml during the day and <0.5ml at night. During my experimentation period with the 1:1 tincture, I would try increasing every 3 days.

There are many types of tinctures. I do not recommend jumping straight to a full strain tincture, using indica or sativa, without building a tolerance first

The same goes for edibles. Cut them in half or even a third to start with. Remember it can take up to 2 hours for edibles to work, so don't take more or you may experience unwanted side effects. I could successfully microdose edibles 2-4 times daily, depending on need.  

Topicals are amazing and work! I prefer the ointment over creams and gels, but the costs can add up. You can make your own inexpensive topical by mixing a tincture with a favorite ointment or cream.  

For first time users, I don’t recommend smoking marijuana flower or buds until you've first built-up tolerance with a 1:1 tincture or edibles. Smoking has a much faster mode of action and it can be difficult to manage the unwanted side effects.  

If you're willing to experiment, I recommend smoking at night at home when you have no responsibilities. I found that was best. Start slowly with one very small hit, it doesn't take much. Wait approximately 15-20 minutes before deciding to inhale a second or third hit. The side effects can be bad if you smoke too much, especially if you haven't built up tolerance.  

Always research the side effects and talk with staff at the dispensary. They can help with selecting flower or edibles that have pain, sleep, and mood helping properties. 

If you live in a state where medical marijuana is legal, get a license or card to protect yourself from discrimination, pain management contracts, and urine drug tests. I informed my providers and gave them a copy of my license to put in my medical health records.  

Before you use marijuana, be sure to talk with your prescribing provider, as you don't want to unintentionally breach your pain contract. If you smoke at home, landlords may also be an obstacle. 

The war on drugs propaganda is only meant to illicit fear. Educate yourself about the benefits of marijuana. It's not a gateway drug. Utilized responsibly, with the right strain, dose and preparation, marijuana can help reduce pain, inflammation and anxiety. It is absolutely worth trying.   

Lastly, don't give up! 

Christine Kucera lives with psoriatic arthritis, spondyloarthropy, spondylitis, polyarthritis, sacroiliitis, degenerative joint disease, dermatomyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, spinal radiculopathy, hypoparathyroidism, rare endocrine tumors, psoriasis, endometriosis stage IV, pelvic adhesive disease, and other painful conditions.

Prior to becoming disabled, Christine was a healthcare research systems developer and analyst for federally funded CMS, AHRQ, and NIH grants and programs.

Medical Marijuana Laws Had Little Impact on Opioid Prescribing

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

The cannabis industry and advocates in the U.S. have long claimed that state laws legalizing medical marijuana could help solve the opioid crisis by reducing demand for prescription opioids.

Various studies have suggested that may be true, like a recent one in New York state that found patients on high-dose opioids significantly reduced their opioid use once they started using medical cannabis. A similar study in 2021 found that cannabis was so effective in reducing chronic pain that most patients were able to reduce or completely stop their use of opioids.

But a large new study of commercially insured adults with chronic non-cancer pain found that the legalization of medical cannabis in 12 states (Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania) had little to no effect on opioid prescribing.  

“Some research suggests that perhaps medical cannabis laws reduce opioid prescribing for chronic non-cancer pain because some people may substitute cannabis,” said lead author Beth McGinty, PhD, chief of the Division of Health Policy and Economics at Weill Cornell Medicine. “We found no effects of these laws on opioid prescribing or any types of treatment for chronic non-cancer pain that we looked at.”

McGinty and her colleagues looked at prescription data for over 150,000 chronic pain patients in the four years prior to state legalization and compared it to their medication use in the three years after medical marijuana laws were adopted. That data was then compared to prescription data for over 430,000 pain patients in 17 other states without medical marijuana laws, who served as a control group   

The study findings, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, show that opioid prescribing for chronic pain fell only slightly in states with medical marijuana laws, leading to tiny decreases in the average supply of opioids (0.35 fewer days) and for daily doses in morphine milligram equivalents (0.42 less MME). Small reductions were also noted in the prescribing of non-opioid pain relievers and in treatments such as physical therapy.

Importantly, the decreases were not substantially different than the data from states where medical marijuana remained illegal.

“Medical cannabis laws do not appear to be associated with changes in the prescription opioid or other non-cannabis, non-opioid treatments for chronic non-cancer pain,” McGinty said. “Policy makers trying to curb excess opioid prescribing and overdoses should focus on other strategies.”

Researchers say the minimal impact of medical cannabis on opioid prescribing may be due to the slow implementation of medical marijuana laws. Surveys show that most doctors are reluctant to discuss cannabis with their patients, and have doubts about its safety and effectiveness.

Doctors may not approve, but nearly a third of U.S. adults with chronic pain have used cannabis as a pain reliever and over half of them have reduced their use of pain medication. Many had no choice but to look for alternatives. Nationwide, opioid prescribing for commercially insured adults has fallen by 51% since 2011.

More States Should Require Insurers to Pay for Medical Cannabis

By Paul Armentano, Guest Columnist

Should health insurance programs reimburse patients for their use of medical cannabis products? In a growing number of states, the courts are saying “yes.”

In the most recent example, a Pennsylvania Appellate Court ruled that workers’ compensation plans must cover cannabis-related expenditures when an employee uses it to recover from a workplace-related injury. The court ruled that employees in Pennsylvania possess “a statutory right” to be reimbursed for medical marijuana expenses that are reasonable and necessary to treat a work injury.  

“The MMA (Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act) specifically mandates that no medical marijuana patients be denied any rights for (the) lawful use of medical marijuana,” the Court said.

The Pennsylvania Court is not the first to issue an affirmative verdict in this matter. Courts in several states, including Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico and New York, have provided similar opinions – determining that the denial of compensation claims would be antithetical to the legislatures’ express findings that cannabis is a state-legal therapy.

By contrast, courts in some other states, including Minnesota, have issued contradictory opinions – finding that it would be inappropriate for insurers to reimburse claimants for their use of a federally illegal substance. Federal law still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance, placing it in the same legal category as heroin.

In most states, however, the law is largely silent on the issue. But don’t expect that to be the case for much longer. As scientific consensus and public attitudes surrounding the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis continue to evolve, the way insurers approach patients’ use of marijuana is likely to change too.

For example, lawmakers in Massachusetts recently introduced legislation explicitly providing that injured employees be reimbursed for their medical marijuana-related costs. In New York, lawmakers just advanced legislation, A. 4713, requiring public insurance plans to treat medical cannabis like any other medication. 

Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia currently regulate the production and dispensing of cannabis for medical purposes. No state government has ever repealed or even rolled back these laws. That’s because these policies are widely accepted among both the public and among health professionals.

In fact, according to nationwide survey data recently compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over two-thirds of practicing physicians acknowledge the efficacy of medical cannabis and over one-quarter say that they have recommended it to their patients. 

Tens of millions of Americans are now using cannabis therapeutically. The number has doubled over the past decade, as peer-reviewed data that support the use of medical cannabis for the treatment of pain, multiple sclerosis, and other ailments has continued to grow. In many instances, patients are replacing their use of opioids, benzodiazepines and other prescription medications with cannabis because they find it more effective and with fewer adverse side effects. 

In short, most patients, most physicians, and most state laws view cannabis as a legitimate therapeutic option. Therefore, the millions of Americans who rely upon medical cannabis products ought to be afforded the same entitlements as those who use other conventional medications and therapies. Those privileges should include insurance-provided reimbursement for medical cannabis treatment.  

State legislators ought to see to it that this is a right provided for and protected in jurisdictions where medical marijuana is legally available under the law. 

Paul Armentano is the Deputy Director for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Medical Cannabis Helps Pain Patients Stop or Reduce Use of Opioids

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

A large new survey of medical marijuana users found that many who have chronic pain were able to reduce or even stop their use of opioid pain medication. The survey also found that pain patients reported less pain and better physical and social functioning once they started using medical cannabis.

Researchers at Emerald Coast Research and Florida State University College of Medicine surveyed 2,183 people recruited from marijuana dispensaries in Florida. Participants had a range of health problems, including chronic pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Most were using medical cannabis daily.

Answers to the 66-question online survey revealed that nine out of ten participants found medical cannabis to be very or extremely helpful in treating their medical conditions.

Most (61%) reported using opioid pain medication prior to medical cannabis. Of those, 79 percent reported either stopping (42%) or reducing (37%) their use of prescription opioids. A small number were also able to stop using psychiatric medications for anxiety, depression and PTSD.

“The majority of Florida medical cannabis users surveyed described medical cannabis as helpful and important to their overall quality of life. Notably, a large percentage of patients reported improvements in the areas of physical functioning, social functioning, and bodily pain after beginning medical cannabis,” wrote lead author Carolyn Pritchett, PhD, founder of Emerald Coast Research.

“We also found a substantial number of patients reduced the amount of OBPM (opioid-based pain medications) used after gaining access to legalized medical cannabis, with some patients specifically describing improved functioning in daily life as a result.”

The survey findings, published in the journal Substance Use and Misuse, lend credence to previous studies suggesting that legalization of cannabis leads to fewer prescriptions for opioids and other medications.

A recent study by researchers at Cornell University found that legalization of recreational marijuana in 11 states significantly reduced prescribing for Medicaid patients for a broad range of medications used to treat pain depression, anxiety, seizures and other health conditions.

A 2021 study of chronic pain patients being treated at medical cannabis clinics also found that most were able to stop or reduce their use of opioids. Almost half (48%) reported a significant decrease in pain, and most said they had better quality of life (87%) and better physical function (80%) while using medical cannabis.

A 2021 Harris Poll found that twice as many Americans are using cannabis or CBD to manage their pain than opioid medication.

Medical Cannabis Is Losing Credibility

By Roger Chriss, PNN Columnist

As more and more states legalize medical cannabis for chronic pain, anxiety, seizure disorders and other common medical conditions, the question of efficacy becomes increasingly important. Recent studies show a lack of efficacy, but so far states are not modifying their list of approved conditions for medical cannabis.

Many states approved cannabis for medical conditions without good evidence. California legalized medical marijuana in 1996, yet nearly three decades later the Medical Board of California is still advising physicians that “there is a lack of evidence for the efficacy of cannabis in treating certain medical conditions.”

We not only still lack evidence, but new research suggests that cannabis doesn’t help and may actually be harmful:

• A small randomized trial in Boston found no significant improvement in pain, anxiety or depression in people given medical marijuana cards, but a higher risk of developing cannabis use disorder.

• A matched cohort study in Hawaii on people 50 or older saw a “significantly greater risk of coronary heart disease, chronic non-cancer pain, stroke, myocardial infarction, cyclic vomiting, and injuries” in people using cannabis compared to non-users.

• An observational study in New York of 29 people with epilepsy given two formulations of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concluded that “we found no evidence of efficacy… in treating epilepsy, sleep, or behavior in our population.”

Recent reviews of past studies are similarly disappointing.

• A review of 16 studies of CBD for mental health disorders found that “there is currently not enough high-quality evidence to suggest the clinical use of CBD for any psychiatric disorder.”

• A systematic review of 28 studies on medical marijuana for multiple sclerosis concluded that “the magnitudes of effects on short-term neurological outcomes in MS patients are either small, limited, or moderate.”

Lack of Efficacy

The 2017 National Academies report on cannabis noted the need for more research. Since then, over 6,400 studies have appeared on PubMed on medical cannabis specifically, and a total of 12,100 studies on cannabis in general. More studies are forthcoming, including 460 clinical trials of cannabis that are active or recruiting.

The result so far is a growing body of high-quality studies and clinical trials published in major journals showing a lack of efficacy and a risk of poor outcomes for conditions that cannabis is state-approved for.

Ordinarily, states follow the laws and regulations of the Food and Drug Administration, recommendations from medical societies, and research findings and other sources of major reviews. With almost any other substance with such a weak track record, there would have been a reassessment by now. But not with cannabis.

California still approves medical cannabis for glaucoma, even though the American Academy of Ophthalmology is against it due to lack of efficacy. California is not alone. So far, no state has removed any condition from its approved list for medical cannabis use.

However, the conditions of using cannabis are changing. Some states now require patients in pain management programs to have their urine tested for cannabinoids. Many medication management agreements – known as “pain contracts” – also expressly forbid cannabis use even if it has been legalized in that state. Some medical specialties tell patients to simply avoid cannabis because of risks from drug interactions and contraindications.

Although cannabis may be safer than some prescription drugs, that won’t matter if it has no demonstrable benefit. Cannabis is losing credibility as a therapeutic as studies show poor outcomes for diagnoses that states approve cannabis for.

Holding cannabis to the same standards as other therapeutics would increase confidence in cannabis where it is shown to be beneficial. It will also help improve patient outcomes. As it stands now, however, medical cannabis is starting to look more like medicinal alcohol during Prohibition than a credible therapeutic for 21st-century medicine.

Roger Chriss lives with Ehlers Danlos syndrome and is a proud member of the Ehlers-Danlos Society. Roger is a technical consultant in Washington state, where he specializes in mathematics and research. 

Study Warns of High Risk of Addiction in Medical Marijuana Users

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Medical marijuana is often touted as a treatment for chronic pain, but a new clinical trial found cannabis provided no significant improvement to people who took it for pain, anxiety or depression. Marijuana did help people sleep better, but it also raised their risk of cannabis use disorder (CUD).

“There have been many claims about the benefits of medical marijuana for treating pain, insomnia, anxiety and depression, without sound scientific evidence to support them,” says lead author Jodi Gilman, PhD, with the Center for Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). “We learned there can be negative consequences to using cannabis for medical purposes. People with pain, anxiety or depression symptoms failed to report any improvements, though those with insomnia experienced improved sleep.”

Gilman and her colleagues enrolled 186 people in the study and randomly assigned them to one of two groups. The first group was allowed to immediately obtain a medical marijuana card, while the second group had to wait 12 weeks before getting one. Both groups were allowed to choose their cannabis products at a dispensary, with no limits on the dose or frequency of use.

Participants in the immediate card acquisition group reported significantly more cannabis use in the study period, with nearly one in five (17%) developing CUD symptoms such as craving, tolerance and withdrawal within 12 weeks. The odds of having CUD were nearly 3 times higher in the immediate acquisition group than in the delayed acquisition group.

“This trial showed that CUD can develop at a fast rate within the first 12 weeks of medical marijuana card ownership, suggesting that those with a card may develop CUD at a similar rate as those who use cannabis recreationally and that the (medical) motive for use may not be protective,” researchers reported in in JAMA Network Open.

“Although most cases of CUD onset in the trial were mild, with 2 to 4 symptoms, these symptoms developed over a short, 12-week initial exposure. The most commonly reported CUD symptoms were higher tolerance and continued use despite the recurrent physical or psychological problems caused or exacerbated by cannabis.”

People with anxiety or depression -- the most common conditions for which medical cannabis is sought -- were at significantly higher risk of developing CUD than those with pain and insomnia.

Incidence of Cannabis Use Disorder

SOURCE JAMA NETWORK OPEN

“Our study underscores the need for better decision-making about whether to begin to use cannabis for specific medical complaints, particularly mood and anxiety disorders,” said Gilman, who called for more regulation of medical marijuana.  “There needs to be better guidance to patients around a system that currently allows them to choose their own products, decide their own dosing, and often receive no professional follow-up care.”

Cannabis advocates say Gilman’s findings are at odds with larger observational studies (here, here and here) that found cannabis use disorder declined in states that legalized medical marijuana. They feel the study also lacked detail of CUD symptoms or what impact they had.

“Although the authors stress the notion that those in the card-holders groups were more likely to be diagnosed with symptoms of CUD, they never identify what these symptoms were, their severity, or how disruptive they were to these individuals daily lives and functioning — or even if in fact they were at all,” said Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, a marijuana advocacy group. 

“Finally, it should be recognized that virtually all therapeutic agents possess varying safety profiles. Medical cannabis is not innocuous. But its safety profile is far superior to that of many conventional pharmaceuticals for which it can provide an alternative, including opioids and benzodiazepines — even if one is to take these findings at face value.” 

A recent survey found that twice as many Americans are now using cannabis or cannabidiol (CBD) to manage chronic pain than opioid medication.

The Pros and Cons of Medical Marijuana

By Joanna Mechlinski, Guest Columnist

If you live with chronic pain, chances are someone has mentioned medical marijuana to you. And why shouldn’t they? It’s constantly being discussed in the media.

So far, 36 states have legalized medical marijuana, and many have extended the qualifying illnesses to include some chronic pain conditions. A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found that 91% of American adults approve of the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. And a recent Gallup poll found that over two-thirds of adults believe marijuana should be legal for both medical and recreational use.

So to the average person, trying to be helpful, it might seem that cannabis is a simple and obvious answer to a pain patient’s prayers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way for everyone.

In 2019, my rheumatologist suggested I try medical marijuana. Considering that I’d been living with chronic pain for over fifteen years, thanks to lupus and polymyositis, and tried all sorts of medications and treatments to no avail, I was understandably excited.

Although I’d had my hopes dashed numerous times already, I still continued to feel a tiny bit of hope whenever a doctor suggested something new. Maybe, just maybe, this would be the thing that would help alleviate my life of never-ending pain and fatigue. If so many other people were turning to medical marijuana, surely it had to be a good thing?

Like many other pain patients, I was tired of the constant battle to prove I “deserved” opioid painkillers. I was also tired of never daring to mention the fact that opioids were the main reason I was still a productive member of society. Many people choose to ignore that fact and focus instead on the potential for addiction.

Unfortunately, it’s not as if you can just walk into a marijuana dispensary and be handed a life-altering concoction. There’s a lot more to it, much of which no one ever seems to mention.

For starters, not every medical professional is legally permitted to certify a patient for cannabis, which is required in many states. You need to find a doctor or APRN (advanced practical registered nurse) who is --- and it’s usually not cheap.

Here in Connecticut, the practitioner I saw charged $175 for new patients and $125 for a renewal. Then, along with your application, you need to send the state $100. This gets you a medical marijuana certificate, good for only one year, if you have a “debilitating medical condition” recognized by the state.

Different states charge different prices and your certificate or license can last longer, depending on where you live. There are also some discounts - again, not everywhere - for veterans and low-income individuals. Still, the various costs can add up quickly, and they are not covered by insurance.

Your first visit is a consultation, at which you and a staff member discuss your condition and symptoms. Unfortunately, it’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of thing. Your body may react differently to a particular marijuana strain or product than another person suffering from similar symptoms.

So, if you’re like me, you may have to try a wide variety of tinctures, oils, vapes and other products. Each will cost, on average, between $50-$100 for a few weeks’ dosage. You can only pay with cash or a debit card.

Over two years, I returned to the dispensary numerous times, hoping the next product might be the one. But at best, there was just a slight improvement. I was wanting so badly for cannabis to work that it might have solely been in my imagination.  

At any rate, I wasn’t willing to keep paying large amounts of money for something that was causing me about 5% improvement at best.  More realistically, it was probably closer to zero.

Does all this mean you shouldn’t give medical marijuana a try? Of course not. If you and your doctor feel it may alleviate your pain and is a good option, you should definitely give it a try. Just keep in mind there are a lot of factors to consider, and patience is definitely key to the process.

Joanna Mechlinski is a former journalist who currently works in school transportation. She lives with lupus, polymyositis and fibromyalgia, and is passionate about advocacy. 

Pain News Network invites other readers to share their stories with us. 

Send them to: editor@PainNewsNetwork.org. 

The Marijuana Ad You Won’t See During the Super Bowl

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

The hype over Super Bowl LIII between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots took a back seat this week to a debate over the benefits of medical marijuana.

The February 3 game is being broadcast by CBS, which rejected a 30-second Super Bowl ad by Acreage Holdings -- the cannabis company that recently hired former House speaker John Boehner as a spokesman. Along with the other broadcast networks, CBS currently does not accept any cannabis related advertising.

The Acreage ad features 3 cannabis users -- a boy who suffers from epilepsy, a man who took opioid medication for 15 years for back pain, and a military veteran who suffers from phantom limb pain after losing a leg in the service. The ad doesn’t promote Acreage products, but urges viewers to call their congressional representatives and advocate for medical marijuana.

“We’re disappointed by the news but somewhat unsurprised,” Acreage President George Allen told CNN Business. “Still, we developed the ad in the spirit of a public service announcement. We feel it’s our responsibility to advocate on behalf of our patients.”

The chief marketing officer for Acreage was less diplomatic.

“You will see countless ads (during the Super Bowl) for beer and erectile dysfunction medications but our ad with an educational goal to help people who are suffering is rejected. That is the irony we are looking to highlight,” Harris Damashek told the Green Entrepreneur.

A 30-second ad during the Super Bowl would have cost Acreage over $5 million, but the company is getting a lot of free publicity over the controversy.  A 60-second version of the ad was posted on YouTube.

Medical marijuana is legal in 33 states and Washington DC, but remains illegal under federal law. Although cannabis is a banned substance in the NFL, many current and former players use it for pain relief.

“When you compare it to what the alternative is in their training rooms; pills, pills, pills, that are being put into these guys’ hands and turning them into addicts,” former NFL player Nate Jackson told PNN. “I was never big on those pills. I medicated with marijuana and it helped me and I think it helped save my brain.”

Although the NFL has a reputation as a league that closely monitors and disciplines players for illegal drug use,  Jackson estimates over half its players currently use marijuana to relieve pain and stress after games.

Seniors in Pain Hop Aboard the Canna-Bus

By Stephanie O’Neill, Kaiser Health News

Shirley Avedon, 90,­­ had never been a cannabis user. But carpal tunnel syndrome that sends shooting pains into both of her hands and an aversion to conventional steroid and surgical treatments is prompting her to consider some new options.

“It’s very painful, sometimes I can’t even open my hand,” Avedon said.

So for the second time in two months, she’s climbed on board a bus that provides seniors at the Laguna Woods Village retirement community in Orange County, Calif., with a free shuttle to a nearby marijuana dispensary.

The retired manager of an oncology office says she’s seeking the same relief she saw cancer patients get from smoking marijuana 25 years ago.

“At that time [marijuana] wasn’t legal, so they used to get it off their children,” she said with a laugh. “It was fantastic what it did for them.”

Avedon, who doesn’t want to get high from anything she uses, picked up a topical cream on her first trip that was sold as a pain reliever. It contained cannabidiol, or CBD, but was formulated without THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient.

“It helped a little,” she said. “Now I’m going back for the second time hoping they have something better.”

As more states legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use — 30 states plus the District of Columbia to date — the cannabis industry is booming. Among the fastest growing group of users: people over 50, with especially steep increases among those 65 and older. And some dispensaries are tailoring their pitches to seniors like Avedon who are seeking alternative treatments for their aches, pains and other medical conditions.

On this particular morning, about 35 seniors climb on board the free shuttle — paid for by Bud and Bloom, a licensed cannabis dispensary in Santa Ana.

After about a half-hour drive, the large white bus pulls up to the parking lot of the dispensary.

About half of the seniors on board today are repeat customers; the other half are cannabis newbies who’ve never tried it before, said Kandice Hawes, director of community outreach for Bud and Bloom.

“Not everybody is coming to be a customer,” Hawes said. “A lot are just coming to be educated.”

STEPHANIE O’NEILL FOR KHN

Among them, Layla Sabet, 72, a first-timer seeking relief from back pain that keeps her awake at night, she said.

“I’m taking so much medication to sleep and still I can’t sleep,” she said. “So I’m trying it for the back pain and the sleep.”

Hawes invited the seniors into a large room with chairs and a table set up with free sandwiches and drinks. As they ate, she gave a presentation focused on the potential benefits of cannabis as a reliever of anxiety, insomnia and chronic pain and the various ways people can consume it.

Several vendors on site took turns speaking to the group about the goods they sell. Then, the seniors entered the dispensary for the chance to buy everything from old-school rolled joints and high-tech vaporizer pens to liquid sublingual tinctures, topical creams and an assortment of sweet, cannabis-infused edibles.

Jim Lebowitz, 75, is a return customer who suffers pain from back surgery two years ago.

He prefers to eat his cannabis, he said.

“I got chocolate and I got gummies,” he told a visitor. “Never had the chocolate before, but I’ve had the gummies and they worked pretty good.”

“Gummies” are cannabis-infused chewy candies. His contain both the CBD and THC, two active ingredients in marijuana.

Derek Tauchman rings up sales at one of several Bud and Bloom registers in the dispensary. Fear of getting high is the biggest concern expressed by senior consumers, who make up the bulk of the dispensary’s new business, he said.

“What they don’t realize is there’s so many different ways to medicate now that you don’t have to actually get high to relieve all your aches and pains,” he said.

Limited Research

But despite such enthusiasm, marijuana isn’t well researched, said Dr. David Reuben, the Archstone Foundation professor of medicine and geriatrics at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.

While cannabis is legal both medically and recreationally in California, it remains a Schedule 1 substance — meaning it’s illegal under federal law. And that makes it harder to study.

The limited research that exists suggests that marijuana may be helpful in treating pain and nausea, according to a research overview published last year by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Less conclusive research points to it helping with sleep problems and anxiety.

STEPHANIE O’NEILL FOR KHN

Reuben said he sees a growing number of patients interested in using it for things like anxiety, chronic pain and depression.

“I am, in general, fairly supportive of this because these are conditions [for which] there aren’t good alternatives,” he said.

But Reuben cautions his patients that products bought at marijuana dispensaries aren’t FDA-regulated, as are prescription drugs. That means dose and consistency can vary.

“There’s still so much left to learn about how to package, how to ensure quality and standards,” he said. “So the question is how to make sure the people are getting high-quality product and then testing its effectiveness.”

And there are risks associated with cannabis use too, said Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, who directs the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“When you have an industry that does nothing but blanket our society with messages about the medicinal value of marijuana, people get the idea this is a safe substance to use. And that’s not true,” she said.

Side effects can include increased heart rate, nausea and vomiting, and with long-term use, there’s a potential for addiction, some studies say. Research suggests that between 9 and 30 percent of those who use marijuana may develop some degree of marijuana use disorder.

Still, Reuben said, if it gets patients off more addictive and potentially dangerous prescription drugs — like opioids — all the better.

Jim Levy, 71, suffers a pinched nerve that shoots pain down both his legs. He uses a topical cream and ingests cannabis gelatin capsules and lozenges.

“I have no way to measure, but I’d say it gets rid of 90 percent of the pain,” said Levy, who — like other seniors here — pays for these products out-of-pocket, as Medicare doesn’t cover cannabis.

“I got something they say is wonderful and I hope it works,” said Shirley Avedon. “It’s a cream.”

The price tag: $90. Avedon said if it helps ease the carpal tunnel pain she suffers, it’ll be worth it.

“It’s better than having surgery,” she said.

Precautions to Keep in Mind

Though marijuana use remains illegal under federal law, it’s legal in some form in 30 states and the District of Columbia. And a growing number of Americans are considering trying it for health reasons. For people who are, doctors advise the following cautions.

Talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor you’re thinking about trying medical marijuana. Although he or she may have some concerns, most doctors won’t judge you for seeking out alternative treatments.

Make sure your prescriber is aware of all the medications you take. Marijuana might have dangerous interactions with prescription medications, particularly medicines that can be sedating, said Dr. Benjamin Han, a geriatrician at New York University School of Medicine who studies marijuana use in the elderly.

Watch out for dosing. Older adults metabolize drugs differently than young people. If your doctor gives you the go-ahead, try the lowest possible dose first to avoid feeling intoxicated. And be especially careful with edibles. They can have very concentrated doses that don’t take effect right away.

Elderly people are also more sensitive to side effects. If you start to feel unwell, talk to your doctor right away. “When you’re older, you’re more vulnerable to the side effects of everything,” Han said. “I’m cautious about everything.”

Look for licensed providers. In some states like California, licensed dispensaries must test for contaminants. Be especially careful with marijuana bought illegally. “If you’re just buying marijuana down the street … you don’t really know what’s in that,” said Dr. Joshua Briscoe, a palliative care doctor at Duke University School of Medicine who has studied the use of marijuana for pain and nausea in older patients. “Buyer, beware.”

Bottom line: The research on medical marijuana is limited. There’s even less we know about marijuana use in older people. Proceed with caution.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

App Helps Document Effectiveness of Medical Cannabis

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Two innovative studies have found evidence that medical marijuana can provide significant relief from a wide range of symptoms associated with chronic pain, including insomnia, seizures, depression, anxiety and fatigue.

Unlike many clinical trials that evaluate a small number of patients with surveys, researchers at the University of New Mexico relied on data from the Releaf App, a free mobile software program that collected user-entered, real-time information from over 2,800 people on their use of cannabis and its effects.

"If the results found in our studies can be extrapolated to the general population, cannabis could systematically replace multi-billion dollar medication industries around the world. It is likely already beginning to do so," said co-author Jacob Vigil, PhD, a UNM psychology professor.

In the first study, published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, users reported an average symptom reduction of nearly 4 points on a 1-10 scale after the consumption of cannabis in various forms, including vaporizers, joints, oils and topicals.

Twenty-seven different health conditions were evaluated, from inflammation and tremors to muscle and nerve pain. Over 94 percent of cannabis users reported some type of symptom relief, with patients suffering from anxiety and depression having the greatest improvement.

“Clinically and statistically significant reductions in patient-reported symptom severity levels existed in every single symptom category, suggesting that cannabis may be an effective substitute for several classes of medications with potentially dangerous and uncomfortable side effects and risky polypharmaceutical interactions, including opioids, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants,” said Vigil.

“Our results indicate that patients report greater symptom relief for treating agitation/irritability, anxiety, depression, excessive appetite, insomnia, loss of appetite, nausea, gastrointestinal pain, stress, and tremors than they do for treating back pain. Patients reported less symptom relief for treating impulsivity, headache, and nerve pain as compared to relief for treating back pain.

source: frontiers in pharmacology

The second study, recently published in the journal Medicines, focused on the use of cannabis flower (also known as “buds”) in treating insomnia. Over 400 patients self-reported their symptoms using the Releaf app. Researchers found the use of pipes and vaporizers to ingest cannabis was associated with greater symptom relief and fewer negative side effects than the use of joints. Cannabidiol (CBD) was also associated with greater symptom relief than tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana that causes euphoria.

A major weakness of both studies is that there was no control group or use of a placebo. Participants were also more likely to have previously used cannabis and may have been biased when reporting on their own symptoms. But UNM researchers say their findings are more representative of what cannabis users will actually experience.

“Observational studies are more appropriate than experimental research designs for measuring how patients choose to consume cannabis and the effects of those choices,” said Vigil. “By collecting massive amounts of patient-entered information on actual cannabis used under real-life circumstances we are able to measure why patients consume cannabis, the types of products that patients use, and the immediate and longer-term effects of such use.”

In addition to its therapeutic benefits, cannabis use was associated with frequent, although not serious side effects. Patients reported more positive feelings (relaxed, peaceful, comfy) than they did negative ones (paranoid, confused, headache).  

"If the short-term risk-benefit profile of cannabis found in our studies reflects its longer-term therapeutic potential, substitution of cannabis for traditional pharmaceuticals could reduce the risk of dangerous drug interactions and the costs associated with taking multiple medications by allowing patients to treat a constellation of comorbidities with a single treatment modality,” said co-author Sarah See Stith, PhD, a UNM economics professor.

Marijuana Use by Baby Boomers Growing

By Pat Anson, Editor

Marijuana use by middle-aged and older adults in the U.S. has grown significantly over the past decade, in part because more baby boomers are seeking relief from neuropathy and other painful conditions associated with aging.

In a survey of over 17,600 adults aged 50 and older, researchers found that 9 percent of adults aged 50-64 reported marijuana use in the past year, double the percentage that used it a decade earlier. Nearly 3 percent of adults 65 and older also reported marijuana use, seven times the number that used it a decade ago.

DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE

The 2015-2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health asked respondents about their marijuana use, including when they first used it and whether they used it in the past year. The researchers also looked at several health issues, including substance use and chronic disease.

"Marijuana has been shown to have benefits in treating certain conditions that affect older adults, including neuropathic pain and nausea,” said lead author Benjamin Han, MD, MPH, a professor of Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care at NYU School of Medicine.

“However, certain older adults may be at heightened risk for adverse effects associated with marijuana use, particularly if they have certain underlying chronic diseases or are also engaged in unhealthy substance use.”

Han and his colleagues say adults who used marijuana were more likely to also report alcohol use disorder, nicotine dependence, cocaine use, and misuse of prescription medications (including opioids and sedatives) than non-users.

The new findings, published online in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, builds on an earlier study by the same researchers that found a significant increase in cannabis use among adults over 50.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana and a handful of states allow its recreational use. Although today's marijuana users are more likely to be young adults, the baby boomer generation is unique, having more experience with recreational use of drugs than previous generations. Many baby boomers first tried marijuana when they were 21 or younger.

“The baby boomer generation grew up during a period of significant cultural change, including a surge in popularity of marijuana in the 1960s and 1970s. We're now in a new era of changing attitudes around marijuana, and as stigma declines and access improves, it appears that baby boomers -- many of whom have prior experience smoking marijuana -- are increasingly using it," said Han.

Many older adults who used marijuana in the past year (15% of users aged 50-64 and nearly 23% of those 65 and older) reported that a doctor had recommended it to them.

A recent survey by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) found that most older Americans think marijuana is effective for pain relief, anxiety and nausea and should be available to patients with a doctor’s recommendation.

Australian Study Finds Cannabis Does Little for Pain

By Roger Chriss, PNN Columnist

A controversial study recently published in The Lancet Public Health followed over 1,500 Australian adults with chronic non-cancer pain for four years – one of the longest studies of its kind. All used prescription opioids and about half tried using cannabis for pain, some occasionally and others daily or near daily.

Advocates of medical marijuana as a treatment for pain may be surprised by the findings.

In the Pain and Opioids IN Treatment (POINT) study, Gabrielle Campbell, PhD, and colleagues at the University of New South Wales found "no evidence that cannabis use improved patient outcomes.”

"At each assessment, participants who were using cannabis reported greater pain and anxiety, were coping less well with their pain, and reported that pain was interfering more in their life, compared to those not using cannabis," said Campbell, who was lead author of the study. "There was no clear evidence that cannabis led to reduced pain severity or pain interference or led participants to reduce their opioid use or dose."

These findings are not unique. Campbell was co-author of a recent review in the journal Pain that found that “evidence for effectiveness of cannabinoids in chronic non-cancer pain is limited.”  Cochrane reviews came to similar conclusions about cannabis for treating fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain.

In short, cannabis helps, but maybe not that much.

The POINT study would seem to contradict the 2017 National Academies of Sciences (NAS) report, which found “substantial evidence” that cannabis is an effective treatment for chronic pain, but in only five good-to-fair quality studies. Overall, the NAS report found that “cannabinoids demonstrate a modest effect on pain.”

About a third of the cannabis users in the POINT study reported reduced opioid use, but the prescription data showed that there was actually no difference.

The study also found that most cannabis users believed they were benefiting from cannabis, but there was no objective improvement in their pain scores.

“It is really difficult to disentangle the reasons for this,” Campbell told Cosmos. “One hypothesis is that it may improve sleep and subjective well-being.”

This is consistent with other findings that cannabis doesn’t reduce pain, but helps people feel better. The book “A New Leaf: The End of Cannabis Prohibition” states that “patients often say that cannabis mostly disassociates them from the pain, like it’s placed in another room instead of eliminated.”

Similar results were obtained in an Oxford study, which found that “an oral tablet of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, tended to make the experience of pain more bearable, rather than actually reduce the intensity of the pain.”

Masking pain may seem like a good thing. But as Grant Brenner, MD, points out in Psychology Today, believing that there is a benefit when there isn't one is problematic. Making pain more bearable may improve mood and sleep, but it could also lead patients to underestimate the significance of a serious health issue. This problem applies to many forms of pain management and requires further research.

“The illusion that a drug is helping with a condition when it is not can get in the way of seeking effective treatment and obtaining real relief,” said Brenner. “Rather than helping with actual pain, difficulty from pain, and need for opioid medication, cannabis consumption may lead people to believe they are improving when in reality they are not.”

The POINT study found what many other studies have been finding about cannabis and chronic pain: Some people experience some benefits some of the time. But the study also has limitations. Participants had chronic pain severe enough to merit opioid therapy, so they may not be representative of people with chronic conditions in general. They also only had access to illicit cannabis that was not part of structured pain management program.

Still, as an editorial in The Age points out: "The findings do not mean medical cannabis does not merit a place in the treatment of various other ailments."

Cannabis and cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals like Epidiolex are proving useful for managing seizures, reducing chemotherapy side effects, and treating multiple sclerosis. There may yet be other uses to be discovered. For instance, cannabis may be effective for more rare disorders. And cannabis may be a viable add-on therapy or alternative for people who cannot tolerate or do not do well with conventional therapies.

The POINT study shows that cannabis is not a panacea for pain. Instead, cannabis is a drug, and we have to treat it with the respect we give any drug if we're going to learn how to use it effectively.

Roger Chriss lives with Ehlers Danlos syndrome and is a proud member of the Ehlers-Danlos Society. Roger is a technical consultant in Washington state, where he specializes in mathematics and research.

The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.

5 Myths About Cannabis and the Opioid Crisis

By Roger Chriss, PNN Columnist

Cannabis has a glowing halo of health around it. Claims of medical efficacy abound, including a recent article in The Street that asks, “Can Legal Cannabis Help Slow the Opioid Drug Epidemic in the U.S.?”

Another article in The Charlotte Observer is more of a plea than a question:  "What’s it going to take for us to recognize the value of cannabis in combating the opioid epidemic?"

These articles perpetuate five key myths about cannabis. The opioid crisis requires a significant response, but enthusiasm needs to be tempered by fact.

“I think we need to be very circumspect in what we are expecting from cannabis with respect to the opioid epidemic,” Dr. Susan Weiss of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) said at a recent forum at the Center for the Study of Cannabis at the University of California, Irvine.

We also need to be accurate. Cannabis has significant medical potential, but if we lose sight of facts, we may fall into one or more risky myths. 

Myth 1: Cannabis is Not Addictive

According to NIDA, 30 percent of those who use marijuana may have some degree of marijuana use disorder. In current parlance, a “use disorder” is a broad term that includes all forms of misuse, abuse and addiction. 

The World Health Organization estimates that about one of every eight cannabis users is dependent in some way. Since the U.S. has about twice the world average for cannabis use disorder, this puts the U.S. rate at an estimated 25%, close to the number from NIDA.  

“There should be no controversy about the existence of marijuana addiction,” Dr. David Smith, who has been treating drug addiction in San Francisco for 50 years, told The Pew Charitable Trusts. “We see it every day. The controversy should be why it appears to be affecting more people.”

Myth 2: There Has Never Been a Fatal Cannabis Overdose

In May, the Journal of Forensic Science reported on two fatal cases of chronic nausea and vomiting, apparently caused by persistent cannabis use.

Although cannabis has a very wide therapeutic window, it is not infinite. And cumulative effects become significant for regular users, including medical cannabis patients. There is extensive literature on non-fatal cannabis toxicity, along with increasing rates of unintentional cannabis intoxication among children.

In addition, Israeli pharmacists have been cautioning that “for older patients who suffer from cardiovascular diseases, use of the drug can lead to increased risks of blood pressure fluctuations, heart attacks, ongoing cardiac distress and even sudden cardiac death.”  

Myth 3: Cannabis Can Treat Chronic Pain

In the wake of the 2017 National Academies report on cannabis, a number of major reviews and meta-analyses have been performed. A recent review in the journal Pain concluded that “it appears unlikely that cannabinoids are highly effective medicines" for chronic non-cancer pain. 

Cochrane came to similar conclusions in two recent reviews, one on cannabis for fibromyalgia and the other on cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain in adults.

In other words, cannabis may not be quite the panacea that some people hope. Instead, it may be like most other medications, effective in some people for certain conditions but not for others.

Myth 4: Medical Cannabis Reduces Prescription Opioid Use

A recent study by the RAND Corporation found little evidence that states with medical marijuana laws have reduced prescribing of opioid pain medication.

"If anything, states that adopt medical marijuana laws... experience a relative increase in the legal distribution of prescription opioids,” said Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center.

And rather than reducing opioid abuse, statistical analyses of drug databases found that people who use medical marijuana may be at higher risk for misusing or abusing prescription drugs.

Many studies on medical cannabis look at people in state medical cannabis programs. But such programs act as biased filters that select people who are most likely to benefit from medical cannabis or believe they already have. These patient self-reports are often inaccurate and have to be interpreted with caution.

Myth 5: Cannabis Helps Recovering Drug Addicts

Pain Medicine News reported on a study that found many people undergoing addiction treatment self-medicate with cannabis to relieve their pain, anxiety, depression and poor sleeping habits.  The researchers cast doubt on the effectiveness of that strategy, saying “cannabis may have an odd but unproductive effect on symptoms in some people.” 

Similarly, a new study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that: "cannabis use was associated with negative long-term symptomatic and treatment outcomes” for anxiety and mood disorders.

There are plenty of anecdotal success stories about cannabis treating chronic pain, addiction and other conditions, but the plural of anecdote is not data. That hasn’t stopped 29 states and the District of Columbia from legalizing the medical use of cannabis.

“Public policy is light years ahead of the science right now,” Ziva Cooper, a professor of clinical neurobiology at Columbia University told The State Journal Register.  “There seems to be this nationwide experiment on the effects of cannabis that is happening in the absence of rigorous studies.”

We have to treat cannabis with the same respect we give to any medication. Cannabis can be used medically, but we should be aware of the risks involved. And it is vital that myths be dispelled so that people who benefit from medical cannabis can use it safely and effectively. 

Roger Chriss lives with Ehlers Danlos syndrome and is a proud member of the Ehlers-Danlos Society. Roger is a technical consultant in Washington state, where he specializes in mathematics and research.

The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.

Medical Marijuana Reduces Opioid Use in Older Adults

By Pat Anson, Editor

Medical marijuana can significantly reduce pain levels in older adults and reduce their need for opioid pain medication, according to a small study of cannabis users. The findings add to growing -- and sometimes conflicting evidence -- that medical marijuana reduces demand for prescription opioids.

To gauge how effective medical marijuana is at managing chronic pain and reducing opioid use, researchers at Northwell Health, a healthcare network based in New York State, surveyed 138 patients who started using medical marijuana in the previous month. The patients have chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis, spinal stenosis, and chronic hip and knee pain.

The 20-question survey focused on how often they used marijuana, in what form they took it, how much it reduced pain and whether they were able to cut back their use of painkillers.

A month after they started using medical marijuana, most patients reported that their average pain score dropped from 9 (on a scale of 0-10) to a more moderate pain level of 5.6.

Nearly two-thirds said they were able to reduce or stop their use of painkillers, with 27% saying they were able to stop completely. Over 90% said they would recommend medical marijuana to others.

DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE

"My quality of life has increased considerably since starting medical marijuana," one patient said. "I was on opiates for 15 years."

"It (medical marijuana) is extremely effective and has allowed me to function in my work and life again. It has not completely taken away the pain, but allows me to manage it," another patient said.

About 45% of patients said they ingested marijuana using vaporized oil, 28% used pills and 17% used marijuana-laced oil. Most said they used marijuana daily, with 39% using it more than twice a day.

"What I'm seeing in my practice, and what I'm hearing from other providers who are participating in medical marijuana programs, is that their patients are using less opioids," said Diana Martins-Welch, MD, co-author of the study and a physician in the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at Northwell Health. "I've even gotten some patients completely off opioids."

Research in Israel also found that cannabis can significantly reduce chronic pain in elderly patients. But the evidence is less certain that it reduces opioid use.   

A recent study of Medicare and Medicaid patients found that prescriptions for morphine, hydrocodone and fentanyl dropped in states with medical marijuana laws, but daily doses for oxycodone increased. A second study found nearly a 6% decline in opioid prescribing to Medicaid patients in states with medical marijuana laws.  Both studies were conducted during a period when nationwide opioid prescribing was in decline.

A recent study by the RAND corporation found little evidence that states with medical marijuana laws experience reductions in the volume of legally prescribed opioids. RAND researchers believe some pain patients may be experimenting with marijuana, but their numbers are not large enough to have a significant impact on prescribing. 

Despite the uncertainty of the evidence, the Illinois Senate recently passed legislation that would expand the state’s medical marijuana program by allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to any patient who is prescribed opioid medication.  The idea is to get patients off opioids before they become addicted or dependent on the drugs.

"We know that medical cannabis is a safe alternative treatment for the same conditions for which opioids are prescribed," said Sen. Don Harmon, the bills’ sponsor. "This legislation aims to stop dependence before it begins by providing an immediate alternative."

Although 29 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana and a handful of states allow its recreational use, marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Medical Marijuana Offers Little Benefit for Acute Pain

By Roger Chriss, Columnist

Colorado lawmakers are considering a bill that would let doctors recommend cannabis for short-lived acute pain. According to the Denver Post, the bill would allow doctors to recommend marijuana for any condition “for which a physician could prescribe an opiate for pain.”

State law currently allows Colorado doctors to recommend marijuana for nine long term medical conditions, including severe chronic pain. But Dr. Larry Wolk, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, cautioned that there isn’t enough evidence to support marijuana’s use for acute pain.

“We’re not set up … for this acute pain situation,” Wolk said at a hearing. “This would last maybe three days to a week. But, when you receive a (medical marijuana) card, it’s good for a year.”

Cannabis is one of the most studied substances in the world, but many basic questions about its medical use remain unexplored. Research has found that cannabis doesn’t work well for acute pain.

In 2008, Dr. Birgit Kraft led a small study of cannabis for acute inflammatory pain. Kraft used a double-blind, crossover protocol on 18 healthy female volunteers, evoking pain in several ways and treating it orally with a cannabis extract. It did nothing to reduce acute pain and may have increased it in some subjects.

"The surprising result of our study was the absence of any kind of analgesic activity of THC-standardized cannabis extract on experimentally induced pain using well-established human model procedures,” Kraft said in an interview with Science Daily. “Our results also seem to support the impression that high doses of cannabinoids may even cause increased sensitivity in certain pain conditions.”

A similar study with a more limited scope was performed in 2007 using smoked cannabis. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study with 15 healthy volunteers, researchers tested sensitivity to capsaicin-induced pain. They concluded that there was a "window of modest analgesia for smoked cannabis, with lower doses decreasing pain and higher doses increasing pain.”

In other words, the best cannabis could muster was a mild benefit if a person could manage to hit a sweet spot between too little and too much.

A clinical study in 2006 on cannabis for post-surgical pain did not go so well. Researchers in Berlin used Cannador (a cannabis plant extract) on patients after surgery. None of the patients was able to achieve sufficient pain relief at any dose of Cannador. Several experienced significant side effects, including sedation and nausea. Importantly, the study had to be halted because of a severe adverse event in one patient.

And a 2018 study on “the good, the bad, and the ugly” about medical cannabis came to this conclusion: “Cannabinoids appear to be most effective in controlling neuropathic pain, allodynia, medication-rebound headache, and chronic noncancer pain, but do not seem to offer any advantage over nonopioid analgesics for acute pain.”

There is thus little evidence to suggest that cannabis may be useful for acute, short-lived pain. Instead, the available research points to nontrivial risks, including the possibility of increased pain and adverse reactions.

Better Options Available

Moreover, there are a wide variety of options for treating acute pain, from ibuprofen and other NSAIDs to acetaminophen, topical analgesics, lidocaine and other local anesthetics, and ultrasound therapy. It is more than a bit puzzling that Colorado would be seeking to replace opioids with cannabis when so many well-established options are readily available for acute pain.

For instance, the Journal of the American Dental Association published an analysis of the benefits and risks of analgesic medications in the management of acute dental pain. Results showed that ibuprofen plus acetaminophen offered the best outcome, with acetaminophen with oxycodone and diclofenac, ketoprofen, and difunisal also giving good results. The article concludes that the risks of opioid analgesics, in particular for children and adolescents, can be minimized by medically appropriate use of NSAIDs and acetaminophen.

Furthermore, cannabis does have side effects and risks. Some people do not tolerate it well, and cannabis use disorder reportedly develops in 9% or more of people who use it. Even CBD oil, arguably the safest form of cannabis, has side effects that include fatigue, diarrhea, and possible effects on liver enzymes.

Untreated or undertreated pain has significant clinical consequences, from impeding appropriate diagnostic testing and evaluation to impacting follow-up care and recovery. There are already reliable and effective options for acute and short-term pain management, with fewer risks and side effects than cannabis, few issues with misuse or abuse, and no legal conflicts between federal and state law.

Cannabis has important medical benefits, from controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and reducing seizures in childhood epilepsy to helping with some chronic pain conditions. But the available evidence does not support cannabis for the management of short-lived acute pain.

Roger Chriss lives with Ehlers Danlos syndrome and is a proud member of the Ehlers-Danlos Society. Roger is a technical consultant in Washington state, where he specializes in mathematics and research.

The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represents the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.