Is medical marijuana superior to prescription analgesics in controlling chronic pain? Chronic pain generally constitutes the largest single dose of medical cannabis. Opioid anesthetics commonly used to treat chronic pain, such as codeine, morphine, oxycodone and methadone, may be addictive. Chronic pain medications may eventually lead to tolerance and require increased doses to maintain effectiveness.

A large number of patients have found that when medical cannabis is used to treat chronic pain, they can eliminate or significantly reduce the intake of opioids. THC and other cannabinoids inhibit acute responses to pain stimuli. They are effective in relieving chronic pain associated with nerve damage and inflammation. There are no large research projects that focus on the analgesic effects of cannabis. However, a large number of case reports indicate that marijuana is suitable for peripheral nerve pain, such as phantom limb pain that occurs after amputation.

Cannabis blocks the pain pathways of the central nervous system, but through a different neurochemical signaling system than opioids. Therefore, opioids and cannabis can be used together as an analgesic because they work in two different ways. Cannabis in cannabis can act directly on damaged tissue by reducing inflammation around the damaged nerve. An example of this is a patient with a post-laminectomy syndrome. After surgery releases the compressed nerves, the result may be an impressive pain relief. However, after a few months to a year, scar tissue may form around the nerves and there is continued leg pain, and then no further surgical answers.

This peripheral neuropathic pain is where the treatment of cannabis appears. Diabetic, HIV, and peripheral neuropathy after surgical scarring responded well in medical cannabis case studies. Neuropathic pain called allodynia also occurs in MS patients, which produces significant pain for commonly non-painful stimuli.

Opioids do not have clear signs of neuritis and neuropathy, but it has been shown that cannabis can alleviate peripheral neuropathy caused by HIV and diabetic neuropathy. THC can be used to treat pseudo-pain, causality, neuralgia and trigeminal neuralgia in patients with amputation.

Medical marijuana has also been successful in chronic cancer pain. A study by the university. Iowa found that 5 to 10 mg of oral THC is as effective as 60 mg of codeine and can be used to treat advanced cancer pain.

An obvious question – Does marijuana relieve pain because the patient no longer cares? Does the mental effect of marijuana only change the patient's attitude towards pain and allow him to "side effects"? Then the patient can focus on other things. Patients in the case study said that when taking opioids to treat chronic pain, they often develop depression and other side effects, such as constipation.

For patients with diabetes or chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, if medical marijuana partially relieves pain by acting directly on the inflamed and injured nerves, and another part simply by allowing the patient to focus on the more enjoyable aspects of life, Will it be so bad?

It is estimated that 20% of Americans suffer from migraine. 3/4 of them are women. As early as the 1800s, marijuana was the preferred migraine drug. Many patients say that in the event of a first sign of a migraine attack, such as visual impairment or tinnitus, smoking combined can avoid migraine attacks.

Is marijuana suitable for chronic pain management? was originally published on Spring