More people are trying medicinal cannabis for chronic pain. But does it work? | Health News

Medicinal hashish is available in completely different types, akin to oils, capsules, dried flower (utilized in a vaporiser), sprays and edible types akin to gummies.

Since regulatory modifications in 2016 made medicinal hashish extra accessible, Australia’s regulator has issued greater than 700,000 approvals. (However approvals for medicinal hashish don’t replicate the precise variety of sufferers handled. One affected person could have a number of approvals, and never all authorized merchandise are essentially prescribed or provided.) Round half of the approvals have been for persistent ache that isn’t attributable to most cancers.

In Australia, persistent ache impacts round one in 5 Australians aged 45 and over, with an unlimited influence on individuals’s lives.

So what does the present proof inform us in regards to the effectiveness of medicinal hashish for persistent ache?

What the proof exhibits

A 2021 assessment of 32 randomised managed trials involving practically 5,200 individuals with persistent ache, examined the consequences of medicinal hashish or cannabinoids. The research discovered a small enhancements in ache and bodily functioning in contrast with a placebo.

A earlier assessment discovered that to attain a 30% discount in ache for one individual, 24 individuals would have to be handled with medicinal hashish.

The 2021 assessment additionally discovered small enhancements in sleep, and no constant advantages for different high quality of life measures, in keeping with earlier opinions.

This doesn’t imply medicinal hashish doesn’t assist anybody. Nevertheless it means that, on common, the advantages are restricted to a smaller variety of individuals.

Many ache specialists have questioned if the proof for medicinal hashish is enough to assist its use for ache.

The School of Ache Medication, the skilled physique devoted to the coaching and training of specialist ache physicians, recommends medical hashish ought to be restricted to scientific trials.

What does the regulator say?

Steerage from Australia’s regulator, the Therapeutic Items Administration (TGA), on medicinal hashish for persistent non-cancer ache displays these uncertainties.

The TGA states there’s restricted proof medicinal hashish offers clinically vital ache reduction for a lot of ache circumstances. Subsequently, the potential advantages versus harms ought to be thought of patient-by-patient.

The TGA says medicinal hashish ought to solely be trialled when different customary therapies have been tried and didn’t present sufficient ache reduction.

When it comes to which sort of medical hashish product to make use of, resulting from considerations in regards to the security of inhaled hashish, the TGA considers pharmaceutical-grade merchandise (akin to nabiximols or extracts containing THC and/or CBD) to be safer.

What about individuals who say it helps?

This proof could really feel at odds with the experiences of people that report reduction from medicinal hashish.

In scientific apply, it’s frequent for people to reply otherwise based mostly on their well being circumstances, beliefs and plenty of different components. What works nicely for one individual could not work for an additional.

Analysis helps us perceive what outcomes are typical or anticipated for most individuals, however there’s variation. Some individuals could discover medicinal hashish improves their ache, sleep or common well-being – particularly if different remedies haven’t helped.

What are the unwanted side effects and dangers?

Like several medication, medicinal hashish has potential unwanted side effects. These are normally gentle to average, together with drowsiness or sedation, dizziness, impaired focus, a dry mouth, nausea and cognitive slowing.

These unwanted side effects are sometimes higher with higher-potency THC merchandise. These have gotten extra frequent on the Australian market. Excessive-potency THC merchandise signify greater than half of approvals in 2025.

In analysis research, usually extra individuals expertise unwanted side effects than report advantages from medical hashish.

Medical hashish may work together with different drugs, particularly those who trigger drowsiness (akin to opioids), medicines for psychological sickness, anti-epileptics, blood thinners and immunosuppressants.

Even cannabidiol (CBD), which isn’t thought of intoxicating like THC, has been linked to critical drug interactions.

These dangers are higher when hashish is prescribed by a health care provider who doesn’t usually handle the affected person’s persistent ache or isn’t involved with their different health-care suppliers. Since medicinal hashish is usually prescribed by way of separate telehealth clinics, this fragmented care could enhance the danger of dangerous interactions.

One other concern is creating hashish use dysfunction (generally understood as “dependancy”). A 2024 research discovered one in 4 individuals utilizing medical hashish develop a hashish use dysfunction. Withdrawal signs – akin to irritability, sleep issues, or cravings – can happen with frequent and heavy use.

For some individuals, tolerance may develop with long-term use, that means it’s good to take larger doses to get the identical impact. This may enhance the danger of creating a hashish use dysfunction.

How does it evaluate to different remedies?

Like many medicines for persistent ache, the effectiveness of medicinal hashish is modest, and isn’t really useful as a sole therapy.

There’s good proof that, for circumstances like again ache, interventions akin to train, cognitive behavioural remedy and ache self-management training may also help and will have fewer dangers than many medicines.

However there are challenges with how accessible and reasonably priced these remedies are for a lot of Australians, particularly exterior main cities.

So the place does this go away sufferers?

The rising use of medicinal hashish for persistent ache displays each a excessive burden of ache locally and gaps in entry to efficient care. Whereas some sufferers report advantages, the present proof suggests these are prone to be small for most individuals, and have to be weighed in opposition to the dangers.

If you’re contemplating medicinal hashish, it’s necessary to speak to your traditional health-care supplier, ideally one acquainted with your full medical historical past, that will help you resolve the most effective approaches to assist handle your ache.