Systematic review indicates a possible reduction in pain intensity after cannabis intake

Medicinal cannabis may potentially reduce pain intensity. This is the conclusion of the Bedrocan research team, which analysed the results of eleven studies in which the cannabis products Bedrocan® and Bediol® were used to treat various pain-related medical conditions. The results of the literature review have been published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Pharmacology in a special issue about the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids under the title ‘The effects of standardized cannabis products in healthy volunteers and patients: a systematic literature review’.

In total 18 papers investigated the acute effects of standardised cannabis products in different medical conditions. Eleven of these papers assessed subjective pain as the main outcome measure in pain-related medical conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and migraine. Cannabis varieties used in these studies included Bedrocan® (22% THC) and/or Bediol® (6.3% THC; 8% CBD), with large differences in the route, dose and frequency of administration.

Nevertheless, all studies demonstrated a significant reduction in pain intensity. Treatment with medicinal cannabis demonstrated a mild safety profile with feeling high, coughing and mental confusion as the most frequently reported side effects. Other studies reported a relief in symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tourette’s Syndrome, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Side effects and drop-out rates

The review team would like to add a footnote to the results. Although all studies demonstrate a decrease in subjective pain intensity, this evidence mainly comes from observational and retrospective studies. Despite a generally mild safety profile for most patients, some cases of discontinuation of cannabis were also observed. These were primarily due to side effects such as confusion. Two possible factors involved in the experience of side effects and drop-out rates were cannabis use history as well as a higher dose of THC-dominant cannabis. For other medical conditions, it is even harder to draw conclusions because of the limited availability of scientific studies. Future research should focus on conducting randomised clinical trials with sufficient sample size to determine whether patients could benefit from treatment with standardised medicinal cannabis.

Systematic literature review

Bedrocan’s research team identified and included a total of sixty papers that conducted research with standardised cannabis products/varieties from Bedrocan in the systematic literature review. Research topics addressed in these papers could be subdivided into the following four categories:

1. pharmacokinetics of THC and CBD
2. acute subjective experiences
3. impact on cognitive assessments
4. influence of CBD:THC ratios on acute outcome measures.

The current systematic literature review is the first review about the acute effects of standardised cannabis products/varieties from Bedrocan in healthy volunteers and patients. Read the full outcome of the review on the Frontiers website.