Chronic Pain

Prescribing Patients Medical Cannabis for Pain In December 2014, the College of Family Physicians of Canada published its preliminary recommendations for physicians recommending/prescribing smoked cannabis for chronic non-cancer pain in the organization’s journal, Canadian Family Physician. The authors reviewed the information available on cannabis for medical use, utilizing mainly level II (“well conducted observational studies”) and level III (“expert opinion”) evidence to create guidelines on the following aspects of medical cannabis use for chronic non-cancer pain: conditions recommended for use circumstances under which medical cannabis should not be recommended circumstances under which caution should be taken …

Researchers Study Patients With Non-Cancer Pain According to a recent study, of patients currently using prescribed opioids to control non-cancer pain, approximately 16% are also using whole-plant cannabis medicines for additional management. Additionally, approximately 25% report that they would use cannabis if it was made available to them. These results were published on December 2014 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Data gathered for this study was taken from a sample population of 1,514 people taking part in the Pain and Opioids In Treatment (POINT) study in Australia. Other information gathered, characterizing patients using …

Researchers at the University of Minnesota are currently investigating whether medical marijuana can help treat chronic pain resulting from sickle cell disease. They will relocate to California to commence human trials next month. What Is Sickle Cell Disease? Sickle cell disease is a group of disorders that affects hemoglobin in our blood, causing red blood cells to form in a crescent shape. These cells are typically rounded, much like a donut without a hole in the middle. “Sickle cell disease is …

What Is Chronic Pain? Pain is a complex phenomenon made up of physical, mental and social components. At a basic level, the ability to perceive pain has helped people survive throughout the ages. Without feeling the uncomfortable sensation when you touch a stove, which causes you to remove your hand, the heat from the stove would end up causing far more damage to the cells in your hand, than it did before you felt the pain. In essence, pain is the body’s way of letting you know something is wrong. However, it is when pain fails to subside, despite removing …