{"id":15206,"date":"2019-03-11T18:30:17","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T18:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=15206"},"modified":"2019-04-18T18:48:52","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T18:48:52","slug":"there-is-no-conclusive-evidence-that-marijuana-helps-with-chronic-pain-and-ptsd-20-year-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2019\/03\/there-is-no-conclusive-evidence-that-marijuana-helps-with-chronic-pain-and-ptsd-20-year-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"There Is NO Conclusive Evidence That Marijuana Helps With Chronic Pain And PTSD, 20-Year Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">US Department of Veteran Affairs found an increase in PTSD symptoms from veterans who used medical marijuana\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Among patients who use medical marijuana, 80% use it for chronic pain and 33% for PTSD<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Use for chronic pain can lead to increased risk of motor vehicle accidents and short-term cognitive impairment, experts warn<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Medical marijuana is allowed in 30 states including DC\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">The NFL is looking into medical marijuana use for its players for pain relief<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">There is no conclusive evidence that marijuana helps with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, experts say.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Since legalization, 80 percent of medical marijuana patients use it for chronic pain and about 33 percent use it for PTSD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">However, experts warn that there isn&#8217;t enough research to confirm it is effective for users.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Researchers around the country are scrambling to find evidence of the harms and benefits of patients using medical marijuana as it becomes legalized in more states.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">And now they have found that there is still an insufficient amount of evidence to prove if medical marijuana can help with chronic pain and PTSD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DM_chronic_ptsd.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-15208\" src=\"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DM_chronic_ptsd-300x192.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DM_chronic_ptsd-300x192.jpg 300w, https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DM_chronic_ptsd.jpg 634w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Researchers from the US Department of Veterans Affairs analyzed data into the treatment of chronic pain and PTSD in patients.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">With chronic pain, the results in one clinical trial showed only 28 percent of participants feeling a change when using\u00a0nabiximols, which is a mixture THC and CBD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Also, there was 16 percent of participants who felt a change when taking a placebo.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">This suggests psychological symptoms are possible when someone thinks they are feeling pain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Experts also warn the use of marijuana for chronic pain could lead to an increase risk of harm such as motor vehicle accidents, psychotic symptoms and short-term cognitive impairment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Dr Thomas O&#8217;Brien, who has run his own medical marijuana office in New York City for the past year-and-a-half, told Daily Mail Online that he&#8217;s seen high success rates from his patients dealing with chronic pain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">The type of marijuana he gives to his patients is high in CBD, so he says it doesn&#8217;t have the psychotic symptoms that critics worry about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">&#8216;My patients do not feel sleepy or experience memory loss when they take it,&#8217; Dr O&#8217;Brien said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">The marijuana he prescribes is from an indica-dominant strain. This means there is high CBD and low THC, which he says won&#8217;t give patients the same &#8216;high&#8217; feeling that is felt from recreational marijuana.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">NFL says it WILL study marijuana in terms of pain relief for players<\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Early this month, the NFL confirmed with Daily Mail Online that it will look into using medical marijuana for its players.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">The NFL has had a strict stance against their players using marijuana.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">But a report came out saying 50 percent of NFL players admitted to using marijuana to relieve pain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">The league usually prescribes highly addictive opioid painkillers to help players deal with game-related injuries and pain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">This change comes after player Calvin Johnson retired due to chronic pain and injury.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">He said the players were given opioids from doctors &#8216;like candy&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Currently, a player caught with THC in their system will face a fine and full-season suspension.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\"><i>Source: Bleacher Report<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">He will prescribe a dose with a higher level of THC only if his patient&#8217;s symptoms are so bad that they can&#8217;t sleep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">He works with his patients to figure out the best mixture for them and their symptoms based on a spectrum level.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">&#8216;They are in pain and suffering from their conditions,&#8217; Dr O&#8217;Brien said. &#8216;This is not recreational.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Dr O&#8217;Brien has worked with more than 600 patients and claims that close to 90 percent have seen success.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">&#8216;The key is to educate the community that it is not like you&#8217;re going out back and sneaking a puff.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">In a large observational study of veterans, the researchers found an increase in participants who experienced a heightening of their PTSD symptoms when using medical marijuana.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">The study looked at evidence from 47,000 veterans dealing with PTSD from 1992 to 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">From this group of veterans, the researchers could not conclusively say that medical marijuana has benefits when dealing with people with PTSD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">US Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin said: &#8216;My opinion is, is that some of the states that have put in appropriate controls, there may be some evidence that this is beginning to be helpful. And we&#8217;re interested in looking at that and learning from that.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">But the VA does not prescribe medical marijuana to its veterans currently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">&#8216;Until the time that federal law changes, we are not able to be able to prescribe medical marijuana for conditions that may be helpful,&#8217; Shulkin said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Marijuana is legal for medical and recreational use in eight states: Massachusetts, Colorado, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Nevada, California and Maine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">It is also legal for strictly medical use in the District of Columbia and 21 states: Montana, North Dakota, Arizona, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware and Hawaii.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">How is THC used and what its effects<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Tetrahydrocannabinoil (THC) is a natural element found in a cannabis plant. It is the most common cannabinoid element found in the cannabis plant. THC is found in the recreational form of marijuana.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span class=\"mol-style-bold\" style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">THC is psychoactive:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">This means that the drug has a significant effect on the mental processes of the person taking it.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Effects on people taking it:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<li><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Produces the &#8216;high&#8217; feeling<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Relaxation<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Altered senses<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Fatigue<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Hunger<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">How it helps medically:\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Marijuana with THC are used to help with chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Medical marijuana practitioners can diagnose a mixture of THC and CBD to the patient for treatment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">How is CBD used and what its effects<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Cannabidiol (CBD) is a natural element found in a cannabis plant. It is lesser known than THC and does not produce the same &#8216;high&#8217; that people experience when they have recreational marijuana.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">CBD is an antipsychotic:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">This means that the drug helps manage psychosis such as hallucinations, delusions or paranoia. Antipsychotic drugs are used for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Effects on people taking it:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify\">\n<li><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Reduces anxiety and paranoia<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Boosts energy<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Helps with pain and inflammation<\/span><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">How it helps medically:\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Marijuana with CBD strains are used to help with chronic pain, PTSD and epilepsy<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><em><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Medical marijuana practitioners can diagnose a mixture of THC and CBD to the patient for treatment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">The study notes that there is still a lack of evidence and clinical trials to conclusively say there are benefits or harms to medical marijuana.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Former Surgeon General Dr Vivek Gupta released a report in November saying: &#8216;Marijuana is in fact addictive.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">But he supported the idea of easing up restrictions on marijuana studies to help better understand the drug since its legalization is moving fast through the US.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Dr O&#8217;Brien said part of the issue was people not understanding the difference between the use of THC and the use of CBD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">&#8216;It is very safe [CBD],&#8217; he said. &#8216;We need to study it for other medical conditions that haven&#8217;t been approved by the states yet.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">The restrictions on marijuana studies are partly due to the Drug Enforcement Agency&#8217;s hesitation on allowing medical marijuana across the US.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Last year, the DEA said it would accept applications for new growers to be used for clinical trials and other studies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Currently, there is only one federally regulated operation that studies marijuana use and it is at the University of Mississippi.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">There have been 25 applicants so far to host a new grow operation but none have been approved yet, according to\u00a0<a class=\"\" style=\"color: #0000ff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/u-s-called-for-new-marijuana-research-bids-but-granted-no-approvals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Scientific American<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">This has led to many critics saying that the DEA is still trying to slow down the research into medical marijuana to prevent its use federally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;font-size: 10pt;color: #0000ff\">Source: <a style=\"color: #0000ff\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/health\/article-4789388\/Medical-marijuana-does-not-help-chronic-pain-PTSD.html\">http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/health\/article-4789388\/Medical-marijuana-does-not-help-chronic-pain-PTSD.html<\/a> August 2017<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US Department of Veteran Affairs found an increase in PTSD symptoms from veterans who used medical marijuana\u00a0 Among patients who use medical marijuana, 80% use it for chronic pain and 33% for PTSD Use for chronic pain can lead to increased risk of motor vehicle accidents and short-term cognitive impairment, experts warn Medical marijuana is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,68,64,60,104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cannabis-marijuana","category-drug-use-various-effects","category-health","category-marijuana-and-medicine","category-political-sector"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15206\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}