CANNALYTIKS

Pain Management and Cannabis

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Why Is Pain So Difficult to Treat? There exists a variety of existing conventional analgesic products on the market. These pain-relieving drugs, such as opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), aspirin, and acetaminophen (Tylenol), vary significantly in strength, dose, and mechanism of action.

 

While all of these compounds may broadly be described as pain-relievers, these substances act in different ways and are possibly more effective in treating some specific types of pain conditions than others. Still, other types of pain conditions, such as migraines, might be poorly treated by all of these substances.

In short, all pain is not alike. As a result, there exist multiple types of analgesic agents intended to target specific types of pain populations. Cannabis is no different. While the cannabis plant possesses both anti-inflammatory and analgesic compounds, it is unrealistic to presume it will effectively treat all types of pain conditions, just as it would be unrealistic to expect the same of Tylenol.

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To date, cannabinoids appear to be most effective at treating chronic neuropathic pain. There are other pain conditions, such as post-operative pain and/or rheumatoid arthritis, where the available data is either less persuasive or has yet to be substantiated in clinical trial models.

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 Studies have documented self-reported pain reductions of up to 30 percent in various patient populations as a result of the placebo effect. As a result, in some of the clinical trials assessing the use of cannabis for pain relief, scientists have set parameters demanding subjects report a greater than 30 percent reduction in pain before concluding that cannabis reduces pain at a rate greater than that of a placebo.