Legal Commentary

Canadian Study: Three Puffs a Day Helps Chronic Pain Sufferers

By Jeralyn

Via Web MD: A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal finds that marijuana relieves chronic nerve pain and aids sleep. Three puffs a day is all it took for patients to find relief.

The study involved patients with chronic nerve pain due to injury or accident. Some received placebos and others received three different doses of cannabis.

How it worked: [More...]

'Each person was in the study for two months, and used all four strengths [including placebo]," Ware says. He rotated them through the four strengths in different orders, and they didn't know which they were using.

The cannabis was put into gelatin capsules, then put into the bowl of a pipe. Each person was told to inhale for five seconds while the cannabis was lit, hold the smoke in their lungs for 10 seconds, and then exhale. They did this single puff three times a day for five days for each of the doses and the placebo.

The results:

After each of the five-day trials, participants rated their pain on a scale of zero to 10, with 10 being the worst.

The highest dose, 9.4%, provided relief, Ware says. "They reduced their pain down to 5.4," Ware says. "Those on placebo were at 6.1."

The import, according to a doctor involved with the study:

"We've shown again that cannabis is analgesic," Ware says. "Clearly, it has medical value."

Full post as published by TalkLeft on August 31, 2010 (boomark / email).