Five must-read studies on medicinal cannabis

At Bedrocan, we strive to bridge the gap between patients’ need for cannabis and the quality standards of modern medicine. That’s the focus of our research.  We build strong academic and private research partnerships and conduct our own independent studies. In the end, we share what we learn.

Every month, several study results on the use of medicinal cannabis are published in the media. With sometimes varying results. But how do you know what a good study is? Dr. Mikael Kowal from our own clinical research department has listed the most important ones. To become acquainted with cannabinoid research you should have read these five studies.

1. Acute pain

This review discusses the evidence surrounding the efficacy of cannabinoids for acute pain. It concludes that there is low-quality evidence indicating that cannabinoids may be a safe alternative for a small but significant reduction in subjective pain score when treating acute pain. It is worth reading to illustrate the difference in the evidence for the effectiveness of cannabis in treating acute, as opposed to chronic, pain.

2. Chronic pain

This review evaluates the efficacy, acceptability and safety of cannabis-based medicines for chronic pain management. It provides a summary of data presented in previous reviews, so it is a valuable overview of most of the data available on the topic. The review concludes that there are inconsistent findings of the efficacy of cannabinoids in neuropathic pain and painful spasms in multiple sclerosis. Moreover, there are inconsistent results on tolerability and safety of cannabis-based medicines for any chronic pain.

3. Pain management

This review evaluates the efficacy, acceptability and safety of cannabis-based medicines for chronic pain management. It provides a summary of data presented in previous reviews, so it is a valuable overview of most of the data available on the topic. The review concludes that there are inconsistent findings of the efficacy of cannabinoids in neuropathic pain and painful spasms in multiple sclerosis. Moreover, there are inconsistent results on tolerability and safety of cannabis-based medicines for any chronic pain.

4. Multiple Sclerosis

This summary of reviews aims to synthesize findings from systematic reviews that examined the safety and effectiveness of cannabinoids in multiple sclerosis. It concludes that cannabinoids may have modest effects in MS for pain or spasticity. The review provides a complete overview of the evidence on cannabinoids and MS.

5. Fibromyalgia

This is currently the only clinical published study which we fully supported as Bedrocan. Aside of providing interesting information on the efficacy of our varieties in treating fibromyalgia chronic pain and THC/CBD interactions, it is worth reading in order to have an idea how to set up a properly designed randomized controlled trial with cannabis.

Interested in more studies?

Check our cannabis research page.