Cannabis Components: Which Provides Greater Therapeutic Benefit?

As has been frequently noted by different contributors to the PAINWeek platform, there is a range of opinion on the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis, brought on in no small part by the dearth of clinical study resulting from current federal regulatory status. New research from the University of New Mexico now adds to the conversation with their study of the reported therapeutic benefits of different cannabis components. The study findings contend that, contrary to prevailing scientific and popular belief, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) shows a greater correlation with therapeutic benefit than does cannabidiol (CBD). The findings were derived from analysis of the largest database of real-time measurements on cannabis effects in the US. Author Jacob Miguel Vigil, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Psychology stated "Despite the conventional wisdom, both in the popular press and much of the scientific community that only CBD has medical benefits while THC merely makes one high, our results suggest that THC may be more important than CBD in generating therapeutic benefits. In our study, CBD appears to have little effect at all, while THC generates measurable improvements in symptom relief.”

Co-author Sarah See Stith, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Economics, commented on the importance of understanding the relative effects of cannabis components. She observed, "More broadly understanding the relationship between product characteristics and patient outcomes is particularly important given the lack of medical guidance received by medical cannabis patients. Most receive only a referral for cannabis treatment from their healthcare provider with all other treatment advice coming from prior recreational experience, the internet, social interactions, and/or often minimally trained personnel working in dispensaries.” The findings were published last week in the journal Scientific Reports.

Read about the conclusions.

The journal article may be read here.

Other Categories:

• cannabis

• medical cannabinoids

• medical marijuana