Cannabis as a Pain Medication is Finally Finding Legitimacy Among Medical Professionals

July 30, 2018 – Today’s guest blogger is Michael Jacobs who is the marketing and creative content specialist at GotVape.com, a supply company for marijuana users. Described as the premier vaporizer retail site in the world, GotVape.com is committed to delivering technology designed for what is becoming one of the fastest growing trends in modern medicine as well as in recreation – smoking marijuana.

For my Amercian and other international readers, you may not be aware that Canada has recently passed a federal statute legalizing the use of marijuana not just for medical purposes but recreationally as well. The law has authorized Canadian provinces and territories to create retail outlets for the sale of cannabis. Other than Uruguay, no other country in the Americas has given marijuana legitimate status as both a medicinal and recreational product. 

When Michael approached me about writing this posting it was with Canada’s legislation in mind that I accepted. The current limitations of the new Canadian law restrict the use of marijuana to ingesting it by breathing it in rather than eating it. By next year even that ban will come to an end in my country.

For the many people living with cancer who use marijuana to deal with nausea that often accompanies chemotherapy, and for those who use it to deal with arthritis and other painful maladies the Canadian government’s move is long overdue even though medical marijuana has been made available here for a number of years.

As always your comments are welcome.

Today, with the opioid epidemic sweeping the United States and to a lesser extent in other countries, many people are seeking alternative remedies to help treat pain. While willow bark, turmeric, and other herbal remedies have been touted to help treat pain, one herbal remedy stands out: cannabis. This plant has been used for millennia to treat pain, melancholy, and various other ailments throughout time. However, it is only recently that science has discovered how cannabis does this. To understand how pain is remediated by cannabis we need to understand the different types of pain individuals suffer of which there are three.

1. Nociceptive Pain

This kind of pain is triggered by injury. When tissue is damaged, cells rush to repair the injury and send off signals through the nervous system to the brain. Those signals are interpreted as pain. There are two common thoughts among medical professionals on how to treat this type of pain: dampen the pain signals as they make their way up the spinal cord, and cut off the inflammatory response at the injury site. Cannabis has shown to be an effective pain dampener relieving nociceptive pain in trials with both humans and mice.

2. Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain stems from direct damage to the nervous system as well as pain from conditions such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes. This is pain not caused by an inflammatory response. As a result, common treatments like Ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, don’t work. But cannabis has shown that it is an effective treatment in both cancer and non-cancer related neuropathic pain.

3. Central Pain

Central pain arises from disruptions to the nervous symptom. A prime example is a condition known as fibromyalgia. Though there are few studies on the efficacy of cannabis as a treatment for central pain, the relief provided to people who suffer from fibromyalgia is well documented.

Methods of Delivery

Although marijuana is commonly associated with smoking in the style of the conventional cigarette, one of the best methods for immediate pain relief is to deliver it through vaporization.

GotVape.com specializes in vaporization technologies. Taking cannabis and placing it in a portable dry herb vaporizer, or getting an oil cartridge for a vape pen, can provide a user with on-the-go relief as needed. 

Do all forms of cannabis provide equal pain relief for these three types of pain?

No. Different strains of cannabis, described below, are proving to be more effective at relieving different pain sources than others. 

Blue Dream

Blue Dream is a Sativa-dominant hybrid that combines full-body relaxation with subtle cerebral invigoration. It’s a popular choice for users needing daytime pain relief without feeling stoned which can happen with other strains.

Bubba Kush

This Indica strain has gained prominence for its relaxing effects, which includes muscle relaxation. Also known as a stress-buster it is effective in promoting sleep for those whose pain keeps them awake at night. 

White Widow

A balanced hybrid from the Netherlands where it was first bred in the 1990s, this strain promotes energy and creativity, as well as providing relief from stress, depression, and pain. It is cannabis that can be taken in the daytime for these reasons.

Going Beyond Pain

In this posting, we have focused on how cannabis can be used to treat pain, but there are indications that it can help relieve conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety, and depression. In a recent comprehensive study, cannabis has been shown to be effective for all these conditions and may even help ease addictions to alcohol and opioids.