by Dr. Julian Reindhurst

Studies have shown that medical marijuana can reduce the problem that happen when someone has what is known as chronic pain syndrome which is when a burning sensation occurs and a simple touch can feel like pain.

This condition is unaffected by drugs in the aspirin family and fairly resistant to stronger analgesics such as opiates.

In 2007 a study pertaining to neuropathic pain was done on patients with HIV related infections where they had fifty patients smoke medical marijuana cigarettes three times a day or medical marijuana cigarettes from which the active ingredients had been extracted.

The studies were then instructed to rate their pain on a scale ranging from no pain to worst pain imaginable.

The results indicated a 34% reduction in ratings of pain in the medical marijuana group compared with 17% in the placebo group over five days of treatment as was published in the journal Neurology.

Additional research concluded that 44 patients found that medical marijuana alleviated neuropathic pain arising from a variety of conditions, including spinal cord injury and diabetes and was published in June in the Journal of Pain.

The case study was conducted in the following manner — the medical marijuana group was first instructed two puffs, then three puffs an hour later, then four puffs an hour after that — from a single cigarette containing either 0%, 3.5%, or 7% THC.

The average pain ratings before smoking were 55 on a 100-point scale and decreased by 46% in both treatment groups and by 27% in the placebo group one hour after the last puff.

Analgesic drugs are often tested against experimentally induced pain. These studies have been conducted for medical marijuana as well.

One such example is when 15 healthy volunteers received skin injections with capsaicin which was done in 2007 and published in the journal Anesthesiology.

the chemical behind that fiery spice in chile peppers is capsaicin; the group then smoked different-strength medical marijuana cigarettes.

The medium dose, with a 4% THC concentration, lessened the burning pain.

The research concluded that smoking marijuana can bring relief to sufferers of neuropathic pain comparable to other analgesic drugs.

As with all pain pills you have to keep taking it to continue gaining the benefits.

About the Author:

Technorati Tags: