Original report A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Trial of Cannabis Cigarettes in Neuropathic Pain Barth Wilsey, Thomas Marcotte†, Alexander Tsodikov‡, Jeanna Millman§, Heather Bentley, Ben Gouaux and Scott Fishman§ University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, University of California, San Diego, California. †Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California. ‡UC Davis/VANCHCS General Clinical Research Center and Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis Medical Center, Davis, California. VA Northern California Health Care System, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of California, Davis Medical Center, Davis, California. §Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of California, Davis Medical Center, Davis, California. Received 25 June 2007; revised 10 December 2007; accepted 18 December 2007. Available online 10 April 2008. Abstract The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) report that no sound scientific studies support the medicinal use of cannabis. Despite this lack of scientific validation, many patients routinely use ”medical marijuana,” and in many cases this use is for pain related to nerve injury. We conducted a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study evaluating the analgesic efficacy of smoking cannabis for neuropathic pain. Thirty-eight patients with central and peripheral neuropathic pain underwent a standardized procedure for smoking either high-dose (7%), low-dose (3.5%), or placebo cannabis. In addition to the primary outcome of pain intensity, secondary outcome measures included evoked pain using heat-pain threshold, sensitivity to light touch, psychoactive side effects, and neuropsychological performance. A mixed linear model demonstrated an analgesic response to smoking cannabis. No effect on evoked pain was seen. Psychoactive effects were minimal and well-tolerated, with some acute cognitive effects, particularly with memory, at higher doses. Perspective This study adds to a growing body of evidence that cannabis may be effective at ameliorating neuropathic pain, and may be an alternative for patients who do not respond to, or cannot tolerate, other drugs. However, the use of marijuana as medicine may be limited by its method of administration (smoking) and modest acute cognitive effects, particularly at higher doses. The Journal of Pain Volume 9, Issue 6, June 2008, Pages 506-521 doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2007.12.010 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.