![]() ![]() Surely, no one with a capacity for empathy would deny my friend her relief in that light, or criminalise her for seeking it. Nonetheless, the National Academies reviewers found "substantial" evidence of cannabinoids' efficacy in treating chronic pain, even as they begged for more and better research. That's how weird things are things with medicinal cannabis at the moment. It's possible – let's go wild and upgrade to a "probable" – that the guy at the weed dispensary provides better counsel on this than any doctor in New Zealand could. It might be that the buds my friend buys in Seattle are in fact more effective than not only the federal cannabis, but than the clinically-trialled pharmaceutical product. But until it does, cannabis research in America must be conducted with federal weed which is not only untouched by the mad science of modern cannabis-breeding and its cannabinoids, flavonoids and terpenes, but, according to a study at the University of Northern Colorado this year, is genetically unlike any pot anyone is actually using, recreationally or medically. The US Drug Enforcement Agency, which sets the policy, recently promised to license new suppliers. That's because US federal law has long required that nearly all cannabis used in medical trials must be supplied by National Institute on Drug Abuse, which in turn obtains it solely from the University of Mississippi. Overseas studies scrutinised in the earlier review that most influenced their findings mostly used a pharmaceutical product, Sativex, while US studies often used cannabis flower.įurther, they wrote, "many of the cannabis products that are sold in state-regulated markets bear little resemblance to the products that are available for research at the federal level in the United States". Or, rather, the case for a particular cannabis product in a particular dose, by a particular means of administration, is not made.Īs the authors of the 2017 National Academies review The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids noted in their Discussion of Findings on the efficacy of cannabinoids for treating chronic pain, the evidence is kind of a mess. not strong but will relieve pain".Īlthough there are a number of studies lending weight to the idea, including a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study in 2013 that found "significant" benefit for CPRS patients for whom nothing else had worked, and that low doses were as good as higher ones, the case for cannabis in treating neuropathic pain is not yet conclusively made. She's really happy, not just for the love, but because in Seattle she can go to a weed dispensary, describe her symptoms and have someone "advise a cannabis specific to my needs – i.e. This year, she moved from New Zealand to Seattle, to be with the love of her life. "You're doing the right thing," he told her, even though she was breaking the law. ![]() ![]() She found a new doctor and reported to him her cannabis self-medication. It was enough that she could dispense with other medications and manage her screen printing work (she'd already had to leave the job where she'd been injured). She preferred outdoor cannabis – it was less likely to mess with her head – but, as one does in a black market, took what she could get at the time. What she can remember clearly is the suicidal thoughts. Or so she was told – she can't remember most of the month she was on it. The second, an anti-convulsant, made her feel drowsy and act strangely in public. The first medication she was prescribed made her feel terrible. ReadingRoom Book of the Week: Russell Brown on weedĪn essay and review by Russell Brown in response to a newly-published guide to the future: medical cannabisĪ friend of mine has suffered for some time with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, an often-excruciating autoimmune condition triggered by nerve damage (in her case, in a workplace accident). ![]()
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