Vaporized cannabis mitigates pain intensity in diabetic subjects in a dose-dependent manner, according to clinical trial data published online ahead of print in The Journal of Pain.
Investigators at the University of California, San Diego assessed the efficacy of inhaled cannabis versus placebo in 16 patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).
Authors reported: “This small, short-term, placebo-controlled trial of inhaled cannabis demonstrated a dose-dependent reduction in diabetic peripheral neuropathy pain in patients with treatment-refractory pain… Overall, our finding of an analgesic effect of cannabis is consistent with other trials of cannabis in diverse neuropathic pain syndromes.”
A series of clinical trials conducted by investigators affiliated with the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego previously reported that the inhalation of whole-plant cannabis is efficacious in the treatment of various types of treatment-resistant neuropathic pain, including HIV-associated neuropathy and spinal cord injury. According to the findings of a 2014 clinical trial published in the Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, “At least 10 randomized controlled trials, lasting for more than 1000 patients, have demonstrated efficacy of different types of cannabinoids for diverse forms of neuropathic pain.”
An abstract of the study, “Efficacy of inhaled cannabis on painful diabetic neuropathy,” appears online here.
This piece first appeared on the NORML Blog.
Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML.
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