Medical cannabis more effective painkiller in 86% of chronic pain patients
pharmafile | May 27, 2021 | News story | | medical cannabis
The Medical Cannabis Clinics (TMCC) have released new data from a survey of patients prescribed medical cannabis to treat pain, in which 86% reported medical cannabis to be more effective than other medication they had previously taken.
Patients with chronic pain in the UK are often prescribed opioid painkillers, with a 2019 report revealing that one in eight UK adults are prescribed some form of opioid. Opioids are highly addictive meaning that patients often take more than the recommended dose, and TMCC believe this new data show that medical cannabis is a potential solution to the issues surrounding opioids.
A study by The British Pain Society found that chronic pain affects more than 40% of the UK population, equating to more than 28 million adults in the UK living with pain that has lasted three months or longer.
Dr Sunny Nayee, Medical Director of The Medical Cannabis Clinics, said: “Medical cannabis has been unfairly stigmatised for decades, but recent advances and the success we have seen first-hand in the clinics have allowed us to reconsider this once disregarded treatment option.
“Existing treatments for both chronic pain and opioid addiction carry their own risks, which has led experts to consider alternatives and research how medical cannabis works in the body. Early data that we are seeing in our clinic supports the use of medical cannabis to manage chronic pain and allows patients to safely reduce opioid intake. We continue to be excited about the ongoing research into how medical cannabis can support patients with opioid dependency and improve their symptoms.”
A recent recommendation from NICE in April dissuaded healthcare professionals from prescribing pain medication, including opioids, with the assessment stating that there is “little or no evidence” that they make any difference to people’s quality of life, pain or psychological distress and can have a harmful impact on a patient’s life, including possible addiction.
Data from TMCC’s survey of 229 pain patients, showed that 90% of patients reported that medical cannabis had a positive impact on their life and 93% either had recommended or would recommend the treatment to others with their condition.
These data add to the preliminary results released earlier this month from independent research group Project Twenty21, who are collecting the UK’s largest body of medical cannabis evidence, which showed that the treatment improved quality of life by over 50% in patients with a range of medical conditions.
Medical cannabis was legalised in the UK in November 2018.
Kat Jenkins
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