Combining Medical Marijuana with Opiates to Fight Chronic Pain

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Scientists have found that patients who suffer from chronic pain can receive greater relief if medical marijuana is combined with their opiate-based pain medicine. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have conducted a small scale study to see if this combination produces any real benefits. They intended to show that the cannabis, rather than relieving pain itself, actually caused the opiate medicine such as morphine or oxycodone to be more effective. While the cannabis did not bolster the opiates in the blood, the patients all declared that their pain had been significantly decreased.

Scientists have found that patients who suffer from chronic pain can receive greater relief if medical marijuana is combined with their opiate-based pain medicine. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco have conducted a small scale study to see if this combination produces any real benefits. They intended to show that the cannabis, rather than relieving pain itself, actually caused the opiate medicine such as morphine or oxycodone to be more effective. While the cannabis did not bolster the opiates in the blood, the patients all declared that their pain had been significantly decreased.

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According to the National Centers for Health Statistics, 76 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, more than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. "Pain is a big problem in America and chronic pain is a reason many people utilize the health care system," said the paper's lead author, Dr. Donald Abrams, professor of clinical medicine at UCSF and chief of the Hematology-Oncology Division at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH). "And chronic pain is, unfortunately, one of the problems we're least capable of managing effectively."

The study was conducted by administering controlled amounts of cannabinoids, the main ingredient in medical marijuana, via inhalation through a vaporizer. The goal was to see if adding the cannabinoids changed the level of opiates in the blood stream. The researchers measured the opiate levels prior to the cannabis. Then, the 21 patients were subject to vaporized cannabis for four consecutive days. The result was a very slight drop in opiate levels, leading the scientists to believe that the patients would receive less pain relief.

However, they were surprised to find that the patients actually reported an increase in their overall pain relief. Those who were on morphine reported a 33 percent reduction in pain, and those on oxycodone reported a 34 percent reduction.

The results imply that patients may be able to decrease their intake of opiates but receive greater pain relief by also taking medical marijuana. This can be extremely beneficial due to the negative side effects of opiates, which can be highly addictive, suppress the respiratory system, and cause nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.

The researchers intend to expand their study by examining individual chemicals within marijuana. For example, the main psychoactive ingredient is Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-9 THC). Another ingredient which is good at fighting pain, without creating the "high" sensation, is cannabidol (CBD). The next step, according to Dr. Abrams, would be to conduct similar medical trials with each cannabis strain.

The report was published in the journal, Clinical Pharmacology & Therpeutics.

Link to published article: http://www.nature.com/clpt/journal/v90/n6/full/clpt2011188a.html

Image credit: http://www.whatisbackpain.com/how-to-avoid-low-back-pains/