Just read an article on the front page of BBC News' website. In a round about way they are basically saying patients who use cannabis for pain get a sense of relief because they are so high they forget that they are in pain, rather than cannabis being a pain reliever or healer itself. "Cannabis can make patients 'less bothered by pain' Cannabis makes pain more bearable rather than actually reducing it, a study from the University of Oxford suggests. Using brain imaging, researchers found that the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis reduced activity in a part of the brain linked to emotional aspects of pain. But the effect on the pain experienced varied greatly, they said. The researchers' findings are published in the journal Pain. The Oxford researchers recruited 12 healthy men to take part in their small study. Participants were given either a 15mg tablet of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) - the ingredient that is responsible for the high - or a placebo. The volunteers then had a cream rubbed into the skin of one leg to induce pain, which was either a dummy cream or a cream that contained chilli - which caused a burning and painful sensation. Each participant had four MRI scans which revealed how their brain activity changed when their perception of the pain reduced. Dr Michael Lee, lead study author from Oxford University's Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, said: "We found that with THC, on average people didn't report any change in the burn, but the pain bothered them less." MRI brain imaging showed reduced activity in key areas of the brain that explained the pain relief which the study participants experienced. Dr Lee suggested that the findings could help predict who would benefit from taking cannabis for pain relief - because not everyone does. "We may in future be able to predict who will respond to cannabis, but we would need to do studies in patients with chronic pain over longer time periods." He added: "Cannabis does not seem to act like a conventional pain medicine. Some people respond really well, others not at all, or even poorly. "Brain imaging shows little reduction in the brain regions that code for the sensation of pain, which is what we tend to see with drugs like opiates. "Instead cannabis appears to mainly affect the emotional reaction to pain in a highly variable way." Mick Serpell, a senior lecturer in pain medicine at Glasgow University, said the study confirmed what was already known. "It highlights the fact that cannabis may be a means of disengagement for the patient, rather than a pain reliever - but we can see that happen with opioids too." The study was funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre." its funny how all of this comes when MP's were confronted with the decriminalization of cannabis in the UK (they refused as they said their drug policy has been working very well..... i find that really hard to believe. Although i do know it makes them shit loads of money.) Last time i checked, a huge majority of over the counter medicines do NOT heal the illness, it only makes symptoms more manageable until your body heals itself. I feel like this is just an attack on cannabis as a way to enforce the MP's verdict on keeping their drug policy as well as making it seem more credible.
Thats exactly what it is bro. More "scientific" studies to keep the war on drugs going. I always dont believe BRAIN studies because even scientists themselves have admitted that they dont fully comprehend the functions and activity of the brain. However, there is no need to get fuzzy about this. The studies that have shown how cannabis heals lots of other ailments including cancer will reduce all of MJ's enemies to a memory.
I read the article, and I don't think it's an attack on cannabis at all.(The title kind of seems like it is, but often the person who writes an article dosen't get to pick the headline.) Where exactly in the article does it say "Cannabis is bad?" The actual article is about a scientific study on THC and pain, and I don't see anything wrong with the study itself. The study was about how THC affects people's reactions to pain. The MRI showed that THC did not lower the body's ability to feel pain--to sense injury or damage to itself--but instead changed the way that the mind reacted to and perceived the pain signals that the body sensed. The conclusion made was that THC may be good for some pain patients and not for others. This makes sense. It depends on what kind of pain, and how the patient already reacted to it. (whether most of their pain is because of what was retrieved by sensory nerves or how those signals were perceived in the brain.) One thing I'd like to point out about this study: They only tested THC, not Cannabis itself. To my knowledge, it was not THC that was known for pain relief, but certain CNBs. I think the next step for research should be to test the effects of various other cannabinoids on pain perception and reaction. This would allow dispensaries to recommend particular strains to pain patients depending on the levels of different chemicals in different kinds of weed, and help them choose what would be most beneficial.
I wanna read the actual journal entry. Lots of holes in the story like the carrier of the thc and was it decarbbed? Or was it synthetic? Lots of things missing in it that effect how the user feels
Yeah I would have liked to have seen how the study was done before I form an opinion on it, lots of blank spaces
It's a nonsense study. 12 healthy men is never an adequate sampling for any type of study. This is a good as me going out and asking 12 doctors if they take Tylenol or Motrin for headaches and determining each drug has varied effectiveness for headaches. It says absolutely nothing about anything and I'm sure the bastard doctors knew it when they got paid to come up with something negative to say about it. At least the had the gumption to mention that's all the other popular pain killers do too. It's very difficult to just turn pain off without doing damage whereas it isn't hard to lessen the reaction to it.
In high school that was one of my hideas I literally came to the conclusion that I simply forgot there was any pain and thus a better mood . In a nutshell it does make sense
My wife is currently undergoing treatment for cancer in her brain with RSO. it's the only thing that has ever completely removed her pain and allowed her 8 hours of sleep. It removed her headaches when Morphine and Butalbital (barbiturate) couldn't put a dent in it!
Sounds about right, i thought the CBN's or CBD's were for pain, if all they had was THC then yes, the pain should only be more bearable due to being high.
So if something relieves pain without relieving pain its not a pain reliever? What in gods hell did i just read? This is hilarious. Either a drug relieves pain or it doesnt. "but it relieved pain by cheating!" What?
I've actually thought this and I agree 100% with the article,in most cases it makes u forget about the pain and or make it so your distracted from the pain. There is nothing wrong with this article Aslong as it helps people and makes them not in pain and overall more healthy and lively it will still be prescribed so yea Everyone assumes an article like this is directly attacking the cannabis community or mmj patients but its really not so people need to be less defensive
I don't think it's an attack - seems pretty neutral. But just dumb and pointless. Cannabis might or might not relieve pain. Okay, good job doc. I coulda told you that my second time smoking.
yes it seems neutral.... because if you ask a doctor, "Am I not feeling pain because i just dont care about it, or because its actually gone away?" they're smart enough to say, "does it matter? your not in pain, and wasnt that the goal" I mean lets be honest. i think this is the point where society starts to over analyze it. for example in scenarios of depression, myself, i used to lay in bed all down and not be able to get out bed and it was ridiculous. there was just this barrier that wouldn't let me sit up. My dad use to say just ignore it and power through and get up, and i could never do it. one year i satyed in my bed for 121 days straight. it was bad if im having trouble in the morning now, mj lets me ignore that barrier and literally not give a fuck im depressed, and i get up and go about my day, with zero issues. like a light switch, and its truly incredible, because Doctors have been trying to get me stabilized for 10+ years via traditional anti depressants, since I met Mj, the past 3 years have been 100% problem free. the sad thing is, if i explain that to pops, he;d still be against it old fashioned. bleh rambled but point made
Man I get what you mean about that "barrier". That's when your motivation to live is just at level 0. Doesn't matter if you're alive, dead, on fire, whatever - as long as you can just sit there, mind blank and body warm/numb. I've never had it that bad, but I completely get it and agree with your post. Weed just gives you something to look forward to in the morning because really, most days are shit - not that life's hard or anything, but there's really not much enjoyment to be had in waking up, getting ready for work, going to work, exhausting yourself for a meagre paycheck so you can relax for a couple hours just to repeat the cycle.
so morphine gets rid of pain because it gets u high too? nice hahah i didn't know that but the study dosnt say that morphine does too if they going pull that bs.
I've been using cannabis for my pain for over three years now, and I cannot dispute everything this article says. It does not matter what kind of cannabis I use, or how I use it, it never gets rid of all my pain. After I use cannabis I am still in some pain. I know it's there, but I don't really care. Does it relieve some of my pain? You bet it does! If it didn't, I wouldn't be able to walk without my cane or some assistance after smoking. When I'm sober, I need a cane to get around. Otherwise, it feels like my legs are going to buckle underneath me. I also believe that the depression often associated with level 7, or higher, pain sufferers has a great deal to do with how cannabis relieves pain. It's a vicious circle; pain causes depression, depression causes more pain. Cannabis has been proven to relieve both of these symptoms. I'm sure you all can read where this is leading.
While the study was to small to provide any sure-fire results, the results don't surprise me all that much at all. One, simply from experience cannabis doesn't create the "numbing" sensation of analgesic drugs (opiates, alcohol, etc.). I've smoked pot in pain before and never have I been able to say it "takes away" any of the pain. Secondly, pain is caused by the release of substance P (along with a couple other neurotransmitters) in a synaptic cleft. Block this substance P, block the sensation of pain. Opiates do this, cannabis does not. Cannabis is an effective medication choice for quite a few different ailments, but it isn't a cure-all like so many MMJ advocates would lead one to believe.