Cannabis can make patients 'less bothered by pain'

[5thHorseman]

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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.
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Cannabis appears to mainly affect the emotional reaction to pain in a highly variable way.”

Dr Michael Lee Oxford University

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.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20810603

[frankiej]

I could have told you that it didn't kill pain. It didn't do much at all when I had crazy toothache, it simply put me in a state of mind where I could bear it.

Of course, an actual study is better than just taking my word for it.

[5thHorseman]

id take your word over some schmucky Oxford paper.

[Annik]

I could use some for my side and my head. Uuuugh.

[paulpablo]

I smoked it for ages mainly just because everyone around me smoked and i wanted to experiment for a while in my late teens with lots of drugs. Never once has it effected my pain, in fact smoking weed never did anything to me except make me feel tired and paranoid and id find stupid things funny and laugh at anything.
Its such a boring pointless drug in my opinion, ive heard a lot of people talk about it being a good drug with some good side effects but every single person ive ever smoked with in my life or any person who has been smoking it near me has had the same effects as i felt, they just get blood shot sore eyes, feel tired and paranoid. At a party even the biggest fattest party animals become drowsy and paranoid and want to go home after smoking it from my experience.
But contrarywise to all this ive heard it does help ease the symptoms of kemotherapy however you spell it, wether this is true or not i dont know because ive never had kemotherapy.
The drugs that did effect my pain a hell of a lot were painkillers logically. When i had a wisdom tooth i was on such strong painkillers it would actually take me 3 hours to masterbate because i just had no feeling down there, and i would have the wierdest dreams.
After reading this report all i can conclude is that it makes me a bit angry that doctors are using valuble research money and time on getting people stoned then rubbing chilli on their leg to see if it hurts, it sounds to me like they are having a laugh and a joke around at the expense of whoevers paying their wages. "they still felt the pain but felt less bothered by the pain" thats such an unscientific unmeasurable result.

[frankiej]

I smoked it for ages mainly just because everyone around me smoked and i wanted to experiment for a while in my late teens with lots of drugs. Never once has it effected my pain, in fact smoking weed never did anything to me except make me feel tired and paranoid and id find stupid things funny and laugh at anything.
Its such a boring pointless drug in my opinion, ive heard a lot of people talk about it being a good drug with some good side effects but every single person ive ever smoked with in my life or any person who has been smoking it near me has had the same effects as i felt, they just get blood shot sore eyes, feel tired and paranoid. At a party even the biggest fattest party animals become drowsy and paranoid and want to go home after smoking it from my experience.

Man, I smoke weed all the time and I have never felt paranoid. Everything just seems better after a joint, so I have had no reason to be paranoid.
Sore eyes? Never had that either... methinks you just had shit weed, man.

[paulpablo]

Man, I smoke weed all the time and I have never felt paranoid. Everything just seems better after a joint, so I have had no reason to be paranoid.
Sore eyes? Never had that either... methinks you just had shit weed, man.

I smoked it for about 5 years or so as a student a little bit after, and smoked various different types as i said i never smoked weed with anyone who didnt just get blood shot eyes and feel tired ever, not once. So people can say what they like about the effects and how they feel good and more awake and better after a joint i just tend to not believe them as harsh and ignorant as that sounds, ive never heard nor can imagine hearing anyone saying anything like "im so tired right now i just need a joint as a bit of a booster right now"

[CapnAwesome]

A bottle of scotch would kill the pain better, it's just easier to stay high all the time. Sometimes I feel that people get a little carried away with all the things they say that weed will help. I guess if I had a medical condition that needed me to eat a lot of food and watch cartoons weed would be pretty good.

[frankiej]

I smoked it for about 5 years or so as a student a little bit after, and smoked various different types as i said i never smoked weed with anyone who didnt just get blood shot eyes and feel tired ever, not once. So people can say what they like about the effects and how they feel good and more awake and better after a joint i just tend to not believe them as harsh and ignorant as that sounds, ive never heard nor can imagine hearing anyone saying anything like "im so tired right now i just need a joint as a bit of a booster right now"

I'm not arguing about the feeling drowsy part, it can have that effect, but I try my best to fight it if I am tired, because that would waste the high.
Also, your eyes being blood shot, who cares? I was talking about you saying "sore eyes", not the blood shot part.

Anyway, it doesn't make me feel more awake, but it certainly makes me feel better. If you don't believe me about that then I don't really give a fuck what you think. People wouldn't take it if it didn't make things better.

[5thHorseman]

it just knocks me out. Or if i mix it with cocaine, freaks me out for a few days!! not good!!!