u.s. funds Cannabis studies on Pain relief To whaTever exTenT iT may also help as an analgesic, Thc was lefT ouT of The sTudies because of iTs psychoacTive proper Ties.
I
n its largest effort yet to determine the effectiveness of CBDs and other cannabis compounds on pain, the National Institutes of Health announced it will allocate $3 million to fund nine new studies. Conducted at research institutes and universities across the country, these studies will focus on CBDs, minor cannabinoids and terpenes. The NIH wants to find an alternative to opioids and the problems they cause with addiction. “The treatment of chronic pain has relied heavily on opioids, despite their potential for addiction and overdose and the fact that they often don’t work well when used on a long-term basis,” said Helene Langevin, M.D., in the official NIH announcement. Far beyond THC alone, there are over 500 different compounds in cannabis. They include cannabinoids, terpenes, flavinoids and omega fatty acids. The idea of the combined studies is to conduct more detailed research on these lesser-known compounds and find ways to include them as part of a pain control regimen that could reduce the need for opioids.
“the treatment of chronic pain has relied heavily on opioids, despite their potential for addiction and overdose and the fact that they often don’t work well when used on a long-term basis.” Helene Langevin, M.D. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
The government wants to know if CBDs, terpenes and minor cannabinoids can help to replace opioids in pain-management treatment.
Perhaps the most unusual of the nine studies doesn’t even involve cannabis. Atlanta’s Emory University will study the pain effectiveness of terpenes from hops, Humulus Lupulus, an ingredient in beer which has a terpene profile very similar to cannabis.
“Natural products, including cannabinoids, have shown promise for potential use as nonopioid analgesics,” said the NIH announcement. “However, we need to know more about whether they work, what they do in the body, and how they might be integrated into multidisciplinary pain management.” Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, will study the effects of minor cannabinoids on inflammatory and neuropathic pain. The New York University School of Medicine will focus on arthritis pain.
The narrow focus of each study, when combined with the others, will present a wider spectrum of research than currently exists on cannabinoids and terpenes. To whatever extent THC helps as an analgesic, it was left out of the studies because of its psychoactive properties. Now, the less famous compounds in cannabis will get a closer scientific look.
Doctors at Temple University will look at CBDs’ effectiveness when coupled with morphine, and the University of Utah at Salt Lake City will research changes in brain chemistry under short term use. North Carolina’s Research Triangle Institute plans to study individual terpenes, which produce the flavors and aromas in cannabis — alone and in combinations with other minor cannabinoids. Sponsored by:
ColleCtIves CarIng for the CommunIty. for more info:
www.Collective-giving.com CA licenses issued
paid advertisement
10.10.19
|
SN&R
|
9