A newly published review of research on marijuana and chronic nerve pain concludes that treatment with cannabinoids offers “significant relief from chronic pain” with “minimal to no side effects”—potentially providing patients a “life-changing alternative” to conventional pharmaceuticals.
“The positive effects of cannabinoids in pain management are clear and their merit in the treatment thereof is evident,” says the research, published last month in the journal Cureus. It adds that “the fact that cannabinoids are natural garners it support over traditional synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs.”
Authors considered thousands of research papers for the review, ultimately including in their analysis five placebo-controlled randomized control studies published between 2000 and 2024. They found that treatment with cannabinoids offered markedly more pain relief than did placebo.
“Compared to placebo, cannabinoids provided significant relief from chronic pain (33% vs 15%) as measured by the visual analog scale,” the paper says. “The transdermal application of CBD led to a more pronounced reduction in sharp pain, according to the neuropathic pain scale. Minimal to no side effects were recorded, further highlighting the potential benefits of cannabinoids.”
Authors, from Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Medical College, in Mauritius, noted that while there’s still “insufficient evidence available on their long-term adverse effects and drug interactions, due to their ambiguous legal status and heightened social taboos globally,” the results indicate that cannabinoids nevertheless offer a paradigm-changing alternative to pharmaceuticals.
“The potential benefit of cannabinoids is that they are naturally derived drugs that have already been shown to have the potential to effectively decrease chronic pain with minimal side effects as compared to the standard drugs being used,” the review concludes. “The ability of cannabinoids to provide pain relief with minimal side effects and concurrently be a naturally derived product may potentially be a life-changing alternative that the pharmaceutical market is in dire need of.”
The research looked specifically at neuropathic pain, caused by damage to or dysfunction of the nervous system and often associated with conditions such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS, shingles, multiple sclerosis and even side-effects from certain pharmaceutical drugs or radiation therapy. Treatment of such pain “is a complex endeavor,” the paper notes, “which often requires specialist care and intensive drug therapy.”
“Cannabis-derived drugs in their most effective formulation and dosage can be a major breakthrough in the treatment of chronic pain,” authors continue. “It is thus obvious that a greater emphasis should be put on medical cannabis as a treatment option through larger scale clinical trials.”
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