Canadian Patients Report Significant Reductions In Pain Following Cannabis Use
Canada was at the forefront of medical cannabis policy modernization, having adopted national medical cannabis reform in 2001. Canada remains an international leader in the emerging legal global medical cannabis industry, an industry that continues to experience tremendous growth.
According to a recent market analysis by The Business Research Company, the legal global medical cannabis industry “is projected to rise from $27.5 billion in 2023 to $33.3 billion in 2024, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.1%” and “is expected to reach $72.9 billion by 2028.”
A major driver of the expanding legal medical cannabis industry is patients using medical cannabis to treat chronic pain. A recent study conducted in Canada found that suffering patients report significant reductions in pain following medical cannabis use. Below is more information about the study and its results via a news release from NORML:
Hamilton, Canada: Cannabis products provide short-term relief for patients suffering from chronic muscle, joint, or nerve pain, according to data published in the journal Cannabis.
Canadian investigators assessed the short-term effects of cannabis on chronic pain in a cohort of 741 individuals over a 3+ year period. Study participants self-administered cannabis products at home and reported symptom changes in real time on a mobile software application (Strainprint). Most participants inhaled botanical cannabis. Twenty-one percent ingested cannabis oil extracts. Changes in participants’ pain scores were assessed using a 10-point scale.
On average, subjects reported a three-point reduction in their pain scores following cannabis use. Male participants were more likely than females to experience greater pain relief. Greater efficacy was associated with products either dominant or balanced in THC content as compared to CBD-dominant products.
“Our analysis of observational data from chronic pain patients who use medical cannabis found large reductions in pain, and that men were more likely to experience greater pain relief than women,” the study’s authors concluded. “Our findings require confirmation in rigorously conducted randomized trials that include a placebo control to account for non-specific effects.”
Separate data published in 2023 in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that nearly one in three patients with chronic pain use cannabis as an analgesic agent and many of those who do substitute it in place of opioids.
Full text of the study, “Predictors of response to medical cannabis for chronic pain: A retrospective review of real-time observational data,” appears in Cannabis. Additional information on cannabis and pain management is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.
