Cannabis Is No Better Than a Placebo for Treating Pain – New Research

Cannabis is one the most loved plants. widely used drugs All over the globe. Only a few countries are represented in this list. cannabis Can be used for recreational purposes, and many other countries have legalized it. medical reasons.

Reducing pain This is the number one reason people use medical cannabis. A US national survey has shown that this is the most common reason people use medical cannabis. 17% of respondents Anyone who had used cannabis in the previous year was prescribed medical cannabis. When it comes to self-medication, the numbers are even higher – with estimates that between 17-30% Adults in Australia, Europe, and North America report using it to manage pain.

While cannabis and cannabis-derived products such as CBD are widely used to reduce pain, it is not clear how effective they really are. Our recent systematic review and meta analysis sought to reveal this. The Journal of the American Medical Association published our study. It suggests that cannabis is a safe and legal medicine. no better at relieving pain It is more effective than a placebo

Our study looked at results from randomised controlled trials where cannabis was used to treat pain. Studies that measured the intensity of pain before and after treatment were included. We reviewed 20 studies that involved nearly 1,500 individuals.

The studies we included looked at a variety of different pain conditions (such as neuropathic pain, which is caused by damage to the nerves, and multiple sclerosis) and types of cannabis products – including THC, CBD and synthetic cannabis (such as nabilone). These treatments could be administered in many ways including pills, sprays, oils, and smoked.

The majority of the study’s participants were female (62%) and aged between 33 and 62. Most of the studies were conducted in the US, UK or Canada – though we also included studies from Brazil, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Israel, the Czech Republic and Spain.

A meta-analysis revealed that people felt less pain after using a placebo. The effect varied from moderate to severe depending on the individual. Our research also found no difference in pain relief between cannabis and placebo.

This supports the results of a 2021 meta-analysis. This 2021 meta-analysis found that participants in higher-quality studies had greater placebo responses when they were blinded (where neither the researchers nor the participants are aware of who is being given active substance). This could have resulted in an overestimation regarding the effectiveness of medical marijuana.

Participants were able to distinguish between active and placebo cannabis, even though they had the same smell, taste, and appearance. They are more likely to make biased evaluations of the effectiveness and whether they are actually receiving or not cannabinoids. So to ensure researchers are observing the actual effect of cannabis, participants can’t know what they receive.

Media coverage

We also looked at how the studies were reported in the media and academic journals, to determine if it had any impact on the therapeutic effects participants reported. Because research has shown that media coverage and information from the internet can have a positive effect on health, we did this. affect the expectations The amount of treatment a person receives.

Altmetric, a method for assessing mentions of studies in media and blogs, was used to measure media media presence. Academic impact was determined by the number and quality of citations made by other researchers. A total of 136 news stories were found in blogs and media.

We divided coverage into positive, neutral or negative depending on whether it focused on cannabis’s effectiveness in relieving pain. Most news articles reported that cannabis has a positive effect on pain relief. This means that media coverage towards cannabis tends to be positive, regardless of what a study’s outcomes actually were.

Many examples exist that show the connection between treatment expectations and placebo responses. People can be misled into believing that they will feel relief from their pain by using certain products or treatments. end up perceiving incoming pain signals – making them think their pain is less severe. Recent evidence suggests that the placebo effect may work even if we’re presented with evidence that contradicts our initial expectations.

It is not possible to prove that media coverage caused the high level of placebo response seen in our review. But given placebos were shown to be just as good as cannabis for managing pain, our results show just how important it is to think about the placebo effect and how it can be influenced by external factors – such as media coverage. Clinical trials of treatments like cannabinoids need to be rigorous.

Filip Gedin, Postdoctoral researcher, Pain research Karolinska Institutet This article has been republished from The Conversation Under a Creative Commons License Please read the original article.

Postdoctoral Researcher, Pain research, Karolinska Institutet

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases