South Africa has recently approved clinical testing trials in Johannesburg to determine if Cannabis can replace opioids in the pain management of citizens in need according to a June 21st press release. More and more, Cannabis shows promising potential at reducing the need for pain management with opioid use. BioData, which is the brainchild of Dr. Shiksha Gallow a cannabis clinician and principal investigator in the trials that took over 18 months to get clearance for. Dr. Gallow is a pioneer in the field of international Cannabis research.
“The biggest killer on the planet is stress, and I still think the best medicine is and always has been cannabis.”
Willie Nelson
Researchers will observe over 1000 participants in the trial who are taking opioids for pain, over the past 3 months and have agreed to switch to Cannabis as an alternative for pain management. The Cannabis is sourced from Labats SweetWaters Aquaponics, a licensed facility in Eastern Cape. Aquaponics is a cultivation technique believed to allow more benefits in the trials. A strain of “9 Pound Hammer” will be the next strain tested, due to its high THC content and CBG profile while being rich in Beta-Caryophyllene and Myrcene, in the upcoming trials.
Dr. Gallow is currently recruiting patients while collecting data and questionnaire feedback from study patients which he claims has been a slow process. However, more options have come through in the live study as suggested by pilot program participants. The results have been very promising as 98% of participating individuals have had some sort of pain relief from Cannabis.
Researchers have been able to wean patients off their opioid treatments. Flower contained a high amount of THC 15-20mg of THC/15-20mg CBD. In the pilot program patients under 55 years of age preferred to smoke flowers while patients over 55 preferred the oil. Patients who used the flower saw immediate relief while the oil took a longer time to have an effect.
Dr. Peter Grinspoon is a medical Cannabis specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at the Harvard Medical School as well as the son of a psychiatrist and long-time Cannabis advocate Lester Grinspoon. You can watch them discuss the opioid crisis at HARVARDX or similar topics on TEDX.
Dr. Grinspoon claims that Cannabis is great for moderate pain cases but in severe pain management it does not quite resolve pain issues. Dr. Grinspoon states that there will be cases where patients mix both Cannabis and Opioids and that they can work together to touch the same receptors causing pain. Grinspoon added that individuals who resort to alternative treatment of Cannabis can achieve an improved quality of life and Cannabis is usually safer than opioids. He states that even if the patient is combining the two they will most likely be prescribed a lesser dose of opioids which is beneficial. There is plenty of evidence to show reduced dependency on opioids with the help of Cannabis.
It is difficult to state the effectiveness of opioids since there are people who have withdrawal symptoms from decreasing or eliminating opioid use and it is hard to separate this from chronic pain. There are obviously people who need opioids who experience phantom limb pain and absolutely need opioids for that pain.
Taking Advil and other OTC medications for pain relief can have harmful long-term effects such as heart attacks, gastric ulcers, and lots of kidney damage. So, there is the question of “which is the least harmful approach?” All medicine has side effects as well as Cannabis so the question comes down to which is less harmful in the short and long term which is why these tests are being conducted.
In the meantime, research is showing the true benefits of Cannabis in the pain management field and is growing rapidly. Dr. Gallows’ team has renewed the research for another year based on recent trials.
