Cannabis as an opioid substitute “very promising”, show the first study results

According to a June 21 press release, South Africa’s first ethically-approved cannabis clinical trials have begun in Johannesburg with the aim of determining whether cannabis can replace opioids for pain management. Cannabis is showing increasing potential to reduce or replace opioids for certain types of pain management.

Biodata, a subsidiary of Labat Africa, “is the brainchild of Dr. Shiksha Gallow, a cannabis clinician and the principal investigator in the studies, which took over 18 months to receive official approval,” read the announcement. dr Gallow is a South African pioneer in international medical cannabis research.

Researchers will monitor 1,000 participants who have been taking opioids for pain management for at least three months and are willing to switch to cannabis as an alternative. Two chemovars currently in use are Tallyman and Exodus, which are sourced from Labat’s Sweetwaters Aquaponics SAHPRA licensed facility in the Eastern Cape. Aquaponics is a growing technique believed to offer more benefits. The third strain to be launched soon, 9 Pound Hammer, will be next – selected for its high THC and CBG profile and high in beta-caryophyllene and myrcene.

“We are currently recruiting patients and collecting all patient questionnaires and feedback for the live study,” said Dr. Gallow. “It was pretty slow. However, more options were introduced in the live study than suggested by the patients in the pilot study. The pilot study results were very promising, showing that 98% of patients experienced some form of pain relief from the cannabis.”

The researchers were able to wean patients off their opioid treatment. Flower contained a large amount of THC, 15-25 mg THC, with 0.5 mg CBD. The balanced oil formulation (1:1 ratio) contained 15-20 mg THC/15-20 mg CBD. In the pilot group of patients under the age of 55, they preferred to smoke flowers, while patients over the age of 55 preferred the oil. Patients who smoked cannabis experienced relief almost immediately, while the oil took some time.

dr Peter Grinspoon is a medical cannabis specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an instructor at Harvard Medical School, and the son of psychiatrist and longtime cannabis advocate Lester Grinspoon. You can watch him discuss America’s opioid crisis on HarvardX or similar topics on TEDx.

“First of all, I think cannabis is really good for mild to moderate pain,” says Dr. Grinspoon to High Times. “I don’t think it works for severe pain. So I think it depends a bit on what the patient’s condition is and how bad their pain is, and it’s not just about stopping cannabis and opiates or cannabis and opiates. Together they work very well. They work synergistically at some of the same receptors.”

Grinspoon added that people who resort to this alternative can achieve a better quality of life and cannabis is generally safer than opiates. “But I think for other people, they’re probably going to get dose reduction, which will also be huge harm reduction.” [benefit]. So again, it’s not really binary, like off opiates or not off opiates.”

There’s evidence that other people have used cannabis to reduce opioid use – which makes testing people for opiates for cannabis incredibly stupid because it’s likely to help them.

“There’s no reason for a pain specialist to consider it an enemy,” he said.

“We don’t really know how effective opiates are,” added Dr. Grinspoon added, as there are people with withdrawal symptoms who have pain that is difficult to separate from chronic pain. On the other hand, there are people with severe pain, such as phantom limb pain, who absolutely need opioids.

“It’s either non-steroidal opiates, you know, like your Advil, your Motrin, and those aren’t safe either,” says Dr. grinspoon

“These things are really dangerous and can cause heart attacks, stomach ulcers and a lot of kidney damage. So the question is, what is the least harmful drug for chronic pain? There is no free lunch. All drugs have side effects, cannabis certainly has side effects, but I always ask myself, ‘What is the least dangerous and common?’”

Cannabis is definitely safer than opiates, he said, and he wonders if it’s safer than the nonsteroids in some cases.

Meanwhile, research is growing showing the true potential of cannabis in the field of pain management. The research team of Dr. Gallow in South Africa extended this study for another year.