WEDNESDAY, Aug. 6 (HealthDay News) — Medicinal marijuana helps relieve neuropathic pain in people with HIV, says a University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine study.
It included 28 HIV patients with neuropathic pain that wasn’t adequately controlled by opiates or other pain relievers. The researchers found that 46 percent of patients who smoked medicinal marijuana reported clinically meaningful pain relief, compared with 18 percent of those who smoked a placebo.
The study, published online Aug. 6 in Neuropsychopharmacology, was sponsored by the University of California Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR).
“Neuropathy is a chronic and significant problem in HIV patients as there are few existing treatments that offer adequate pain management to sufferers,” study leader Dr. Ronald J. Ellis, an associate professor of neurosciences, said in an UCSD news release. “We found that smoked cannabis was generally well-tolerated and effective when added to the patient’s existing pain medication, resulting in increased pain relief.”
The findings are consistent with and extend other recent CMCR-sponsored research supporting the short-term effectiveness of medicinal marijuana in treating neuropathic pain.
“This study adds to a growing body of evidence that indicates that cannabis is effective, in the short-term at least, in the management of neuropathic pain,” Dr. Igor Grant, a professor of psychiatry and director of the CMCR, said in the UCSD news release.
More information
The American Medical Association has more about medical marijuana.
– Robert Preidt
SOURCE: University of California, San Diego, news release, Aug. 6, 2008
Last Updated: Aug. 06, 2008
Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
Related Links:
Comments (2)
I was runover by UPS truck had mayor spine surgery that made everythibg so much worse I got hooked on painkillers that barely tapped the pain & I need HELP!!! I know maybe cannabis might help me but don’t know how to ask doctor for it to be prescribed
What you need to do is find a doctor (there are lots in california) who will prescribe it for you and give you a card that says you have a medical reason to smoke it, or eat it, etc.
Doctors are very careful not to give them out to just anyone. You need to bring in the meds you are already taking and explain to him why you want to try medical M. People sometimes can’t continue to take vicodine or other pain killers because they tear up the stomach lining.
Good Luck and don’t be afraid to go get our license. This is a natural drug that has lots of positives. If you are worried about the damage smoking can cause yur lungs, use a water pipe or “bong”…the water takes out over 80% of the carcinogens (cancer causing agents).
x
C