Investigation of Cannabis for Chronic Pain and Palliative Care
Status:
Withdrawn
Trial end date:
2021-10-28
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The use of cannabis for severe medical conditions is being legalized in different states,
increasing the mandate to make cannabis legal for medically ill patients. However, there is a
lack of placebo-controlled studies investigating the efficacy of cannabis. Dronabinol
(synthetic, oral Δ-9-THC) is FDA approved for the appetite stimulation in AIDS-related
anorexia and nausea/vomiting in chemotherapy patients. Nabilone, a synthetic analogue of THC,
is approved for nausea/vomiting in chemotherapy patients. These medications have been found
to be effective for these disorders, but there remains an interest in studying cannabis,
partly due to the numerous cannabinoids contained within the cannabis plant. Among these is
cannabidiol, which does not produce subjective effects, but has been shown to have potent
anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, there is data indicating that cannabidiol may be
effective for neuropathic pain and nausea/vomiting.
The goal is to investigate the effects of high CBD/low THC cannabis on symptoms such as pain,
nausea/vomiting, and quality of life in seriously ill participants. While there is data
beginning to emerge that cannabis may have a beneficial effect on these symptoms, there are
few placebo controlled, double-blind studies. Additionally, the administration of cannabis to
medically ill patients may be limited by its subjective effects, such as anxiety,
intoxication, or paranoia. Most cannabis available today has high levels of Δ-9-THC (about
15%). By using cannabis that is high in CBD, but low in - Δ-9-THC, it is hypothesized that
some of these effects can be avoid, while maximizing the therapeutic effects, if any.