- PMID: 37057257
- PMCID: PMC10088421
- DOI: 10.1177/20494637221147115
Abstract
Objectives: To examine the tolerability and effectiveness of medicinal cannabis prescribed to patients for chronic, refractory pain, with a subset analysis on arthritis.
Methods: This was an interim analysis of the CA Clinics Observational Study investigating self-reported adverse events (AEs) and changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes over time after commencing medicinal cannabis. Patients were prescribed medicinal cannabis by a medical practitioner, containing various ratios of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and/or cannabidiol (CBD).
Results: The overall chronic pain cohort, and specifically the balanced CBD:THC products, were associated with significantly reduced pain intensity scores (p = 0.003, p = 0.025), with 22% of patients reporting a clinically meaningful reduction in pain intensity. Patients in the arthritis subset (n = 199) reported significantly reduced pain intensity scores (p = 0.005) overall, and specifically for those taking CBD-only (p = 0.018) and balanced products (p = 0.005). Other HRQoL outcomes, including pain interference and pain impact scores were significantly improved depending on the CBD:THC ratio. Products that contained a balanced ratio of CBD:THC were associated with improvements in the most number of PROMIS-29 domains. Approximately half (n = 364; 51%) of the chronic pain cohort experienced at least one AE, the most common being dry mouth (24%), somnolence (19%) or fatigue (12%). These findings were similar in the arthritis subset.
Discussion: Medicinal cannabis was observed to improve pain intensity scores and HRQoL outcomes in patients with chronic, refractory pain, providing real-world insights into medicinal cannabis’ therapeutic potential.
Keywords: Medicinal cannabis, arthritis, cannabidiol, chronic pain, observational study, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol
© The Author(s) 2022.
Conflict of interest statement
The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Elise A Schubert is funded by scholarships from The University of Sydney and Canngea Pty Ltd. Masego T Johnstone was a Research Lead at Applied Cannabis Research Pty Ltd. during the conduct of this analysis. Nial J Wheate is a director of the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association and Science Director of Canngea Pty Ltd. Melissa J Benson was General Manager at Applied Cannabis Research Pty Ltd. during the conduct of this analysis. She continues to be an advisory board member at the time of publication.
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