Medicinal Cannabis and Pain
One of the most widespread and well known purposes of medicinal cannabis is to reduce and relieve pain. The use of the plant for this end has been around for hundreds of years, but was banned from use during the first half of the 20th century, as part of turning the general use of the plant into an illegal activity.
The effectiveness of medicinal cannabis in reducing pain is due to the cannabinoids, a family of active substances that include THC and CBD. These components are famous for their ability to relieve various kinds of pain, both transient as well as chronic pain.
The positive effect of medicinal cannabis in situations of pain is supported by dozens of research studies carried out in this field up to this point in time. Thus, for example, a British medical journal published in 2011 the results of a study indicating that in 15 out of 18 trials conducted in parallel, medicinal cannabis assisted in treating pain. This is in addition to the fact that no adverse side effects were observed, as opposed to those that occur when the patients consume pharmaceutical pain relievers.
Up to this point in time, the studies indicate that medicinal cannabis is capable of assisting in treating neuropathic pain in AIDS sufferers, in acute pain after surgery, in general neuropathic pain, in multiple sclerosis pain, rheumatism, and chronic pain that is not directly related to cancer.
However, in Israel it is customary to prescribe medicinal cannabis only in cases of chronic pain where the use of commercial pharmaceutical pain relievers has not been effective.
The reasons for the sensation of pain are many and varied, from injury due to some sort of accident, through surgical procedures, and up to and including diseases such as cancer or fibromyalgia. While pain is the body’s way of notifying us regarding a particular problem requiring attention, a situation of chronic pain becomes a problem in itself, which drives people to seek a cure for the pain by means of any method available.
The reason for the use of medicinal cannabis for the treatment of pain is clear to anyone who is forced to contend with chronic pain. These are situations in which the pain is persistent, intermittent, or a combination of these and other types of pain. Pain under such circumstances leads the sufferer to deterioration in the ability to function normally as well as affects his or her state of mental health. Such a sufferer requires assistance to contend with the pain and thus facilitate handling day to day tasks.
While pharmaceutical pain remedies usually have severe side effects on the patient, the effects of medicinal cannabis on users by and large have slight side effects which dissipate upon the effects of the plant waning.
