Use this page as a resource to start your research on the uses of, studied and reported health benefits of CBD.
In a world where people suffering from pain are placed on opioids by default causing our national Opiate addiction epidemic, the medical community and policy maker have no choice but to wake up to their need to utilize so alternatives to pharmaceuticals, no addictive alternatives offer us a natural and healing solution.
Pain, which is an unpleasant sensory experience, is designed as a warning system that something in the body is wrong. It can be experienced as a prick, tingle, burn, ache or sting. Pain has the capability of limiting productivity and adversely affecting one’s well-being. Pain is subjective, and according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, genetics can influence the levels of risk for developing pain, how sensitive one is to painful stimuli, whether certain therapies will help alleviate pain.
Pain is classified as either acute or chronic. Acute pain is primarily the result of disease, injury or inflammation. It typically comes on suddenly and often subsides once its cause is identified and treated. Chronic pain is the discomfort associated with a chronic disease and it can persist over a long period of time and is often resistant to many medical treatments. Chronic pain can cause serious problems and severely affect a person’s quality of life.
Pain is classified as nociceptive, neuropathic or psychogenic. Psychogenic pain is due to a psychological disturbance that causes anxiety or depression. Nociceptive pain (“somatic” or “visceral”) is due to the ongoing activation of pain receptors in either the surface or deep tissues of the body and is often associated with inflammation. Examples of conditions that can cause chronic pain include fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, HIV and AIDS, and cancer. Neuropathic pain is attributed to changes in the nervous system that sustain a painful sensation even after an injury is healed.
Pain is typically treated with a variety of medications, which could include acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents, and opioids. Opioids, like morphine, are effective at treating most pain but often come with side effects like constipation, nausea, and vomiting, and can be addictive.
The cannabinoids found in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), are effective at lowering pain levels associated with some cancer, neuropathy, spasticity, headache, migraines, and other acute pain and chronic pain conditions (Jensen, Chen, Furnish & Wallace, 2015) (Baron, 2015). THC and CBD are able to help in the management of pain because they active the two main cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) of the endocannabinoid system within the body. These receptors regulate the release of neurotransmitter and central nervous system immune cells to manage pain levels (Woodhams, Sagar, Burston & Chapman, 2015).
Studies have also demonstrated that using cannabis for the management of pain is safe. After a year of regular use, patients with chronic pain were found to be at no greater risk of serious adverse effects than non-cannabis users (Ware, et al., 2015).
Despite the clear pain relief benefits that medical cannabis can offer, mainstream health care providers continue to be hesitant to prescribe medical marijuana for their patients. Just 27% of the health professionals legally allowed to write medical cannabis authorizations in the state of Washington had issued the prescriptions because of a lack of education on scientific basis of medical cannabis or training on the best clinical practices of medical cannabis, according to a 2015 study (Carlini, Garrett & Carter, 2015).
Luckily, you no longer need to wait for your politicians, or your Dr to prescribe you cannabis. CBD oil is legal in all 50 states and CBD offers you the benefits of cannabis without the high.
Doctors are beginning to become more aware of CBD’s ability to to be an effective mild to moderately strong analgesic, prescribing Cannabidiol as a pain-reliever for patients with cancer-related pain, as well as other chronic pain such as central neuropathic pains.
CBD is currently regarded as one of the safest cannabinoids and it has been shown to be effective against a number of cancer-related pains in numerous clinical trials.
CBD and other cannabinoids have been shown to have analgesic properties for terminal cancer patients who have developed a resistance to strong opioid analgesics. This implies that Cannabidiol might be an effective alternative for pain relief even for patients whose bodies have become accustomed to high doses of powerful painkillers.
Cannabidiol is now considered alternative to strong analgesics when it comes to chronic pain management. It is basically a non-steroidal, non opioid, anti-inflammatory drug (a simple analgesic) and as such, CBD solutions are less powerful than opioid-based analgesics, but are generally considered to have far fewer side effects than these strong painkillers.
CBD also offers pain relief for acute pain. CBD’s direct analgesic properties are less potent than most opioid painkillers, however CBD’s synergistic effects against inflammation may mean that it will actually be more efficient against inflammatory pain than conventional analgesics.
It is also well know that CBD eases pain caused by some chemotherapy drugs, primarily in breast cancer patients, which helps patients tolerate chemo treatments more easily with less pain.
Cannabidiol Pain Relief Research Studies and Articles
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Cannabinoids in the management of difficult to treat pain – PubMed
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Pain relief with cannabinoids– the importance of endocannabinoids and cannabinoids for pain therapy – PubMed
Cannabidiol (CBD) Pain Relief YouTube Videos
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73 yr old Raymond 10 mg Cannabidiol (CBD) vape oil for pain/inflammation testimonial
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CBD (Cannabidiol) – Marijuana Health Benefits Without The High
References
http://medicalmarijuanainc.com/pain-medical-marijuana-research/