Marijuana, THC, and the Science of Pain Relief

In this week's episode, we explore the use of marijuana (cannabis) as a pain relief medication. We go over the main psychoactive component of marijuana, THC, how it works, and how it interacts with neurons in the brain and body to lower our perception of pain.References:Rikard, S. M. (2023). Chronic pain among adults—United States, 2019–2021. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 72. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10121254/Knopp, K. L., Downing, A. M., Anthony, L., Chaterjee, S., Price, K., & Sparks, J. (2024). An innovative phase 2 chronic pain master protocol design to assess novel mechanisms in multiple pain types. Pain Reports, 9(6), e1203.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11487222/Grant, K. S., Petroff, R., Isoherranen, N., Stella, N., & Burbacher, T. M. (2018). Cannabis use during pregnancy: pharmacokinetics and effects on child development. Pharmacology & therapeutics, 182, 133-151. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163725817302243Rollston, C. (2020). The emergence of alphabetic scripts. A companion to ancient near eastern languages, 65-81. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119193814.ch4Henson, J. D., Vitetta, L., & Hall, S. (2022). Tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol medicines for chronic pain and mental health conditions. Inflammopharmacology, 30(4), 1167-1178. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/S10787-022-01020-ZSokolaj, E., Assareh, N., Anderson, K., Aubrey, K. R., & Vaughan, C. W. (2024). Cannabis constituents for chronic neuropathic pain; reconciling the clinical and animal evidence. Journal of Neurochemistry, 168(11), 3685-3698. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jnc.15964Borges, J. P., Mekhail, K., Fairn, G. D., Antonescu, C. N., & Steinberg, B. E. (2021). Modulation of pathological pain by epidermal growth factor receptor. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 12, 642820. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.642820/fullApkarian, A. V., Baliki, M. N., & Geha, P. Y. (2009). Towards a theory of chronic pain. Progress in neurobiology, 87(2), 81-97. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301008208001135Bie, B., Wu, J., Foss, J. F., & Naguib, M. (2018). An overview of the cannabinoid type 2 receptor system and its therapeutic potential. Current Opinion in Anesthesiology, 31(4), 407-414. https://journals.lww.com/co-anesthesiology/abstract/2018/08000/an_overview_of_the_cannabinoid_type_2_receptor.5.aspxShahbazi, F., Grandi, V., Banerjee, A., & Trant, J. F. (2020). Cannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors: The story so far. IScience, 23(7). https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)30488-0Vučković, S., Srebro, D., Vujović, K. S., Vučetić, Č., & Prostran, M. (2018). Cannabinoids and pain: new insights from old molecules. Frontiers in pharmacology, 9, 416167. Share with a friend. Rate, Review, and Subscribe to MedEvidence! Articles to be notified when new episodes are released.Follow us on Social Media:FacebookInstagramTwitterLinkedInTiktokYoutubeFor more great content, including discussions by physicians and clinical research experts, check out the MedEvidence! Podcast and MedEvidence.comThank you for listening!