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Patients with chronic pain and other conditions report that cannabis is often more effective than conventional treatments, according to survey data published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.
German researchers surveyed patients’ experiences with cannabis products. (Plant cannabis and cannabinoid treatments, such as , were legalized by prescription use in Germany in 2017; however, such products are typically only authorized when patients are unresponsive to traditional therapies.) Over 200 patients participated in the survey. Most respondents suffered from chronic pain and over two-thirds of the survey’s participants consumed cannabis flowers or plant-derived extracts.
Consistent with numerous other studies, patients reported reductions in their daily pain following cannabis therapy. Patients also said that they were less likely to be either anxious or depressed while using cannabis. Participants reported “greater satisfaction” with cannabis and said that it was “more effective” than their prior therapies. Ninety-four percent of those surveyed reported holding more positive attitudes toward cannabis following treatment.
“The results of this cross-sectional survey suggest that most surveyed outpatients treated with prescription cannabinoids in Germany subjectively experience health benefits and symptom reduction associated with these therapies,” the study’s authors concluded.
Full text of the study, “Patients’ perspectives on prescription cannabinoid therapies: A cross-sectional, exploratory, anonymous, one-time web-based survey among German patients,” appears in Frontiers in Medicine. Additional information on cannabis and chronic pain is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
