Tag: United Kingdom

The cannabis plant is helping more and more suffering patients every day thanks to cannabis policies being reformed in a growing number of jurisdictions around the globe. While there is still much work to do, more patients are receiving safe access to medical cannabis, and that is a great thing.

Cannabis studies are increasing in frequency, and the knowledge that is being unlocked in the process will help humans for generations to come. A recent study from the United Kingdom is part of that growing body of evidence. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Patients’ consumption of medical cannabis products is well-tolerated and is associated with significant improvements in their health-related quality of life, according to observational data published in the journal Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology.

British investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of cannabis-derived products in 2,833 patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. All of the participants possessed a doctor’s authorization to access cannabis products. (Since 2018, specialists have been permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.)

Patients enrolled in the registry suffered from a variety of disorders, including chronic pain, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, migraine, inflammatory bowel disease, and other afflictions. Study participants consumed cannabis by either vaporizing marijuana flowers or by ingesting plant-derived extracts containing both THC and CBD. Researchers assessed subjects’ symptoms compared to baseline at one, three, six, and twelve months.

Authors reported that the majority of patients experienced sustained improvements following cannabis therapy. Adverse events associated with cannabis were typically mild, with the most frequently reported side-effects being dry mouth and fatigue.

They concluded: “This observational study suggests that initiating treatment with CBMPs [cannabis-based medicinal products] is associated with an improvement in general HRQoL [health-related quality of life], as well as sleep- and anxiety-specific symptoms up to 12 months in patients with chronic illness. … Most patients tolerated the treatment well, however, the risk of AEs [adverse events] should be considered before initiating CBMPs. In particular, female and cannabis-naïve patients are at increased likelihood of experiencing adverse events. These findings may help to inform current clinical practice, but most importantly, highlights the need for further clinical trials to determine causality and generate guidelines to optimize therapy with CBMPs.”

Full text of the study, “An observational study of safety and clinical outcome measures across patient groups in the United Kingdom Medical Cannabis Registry,” appears in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology.

Chronic pain and anxiety are two of the most common health conditions diagnosed around the world. In fact, it is estimated that as many as 20% of people on the planet suffer from chronic pain to some degree.

Anxiety also affects a large number of people globally, with it being estimated that over 264 million people around the world are now diagnosed with some form of anxiety disorder. It’s quite possible that the number is actually higher due to the lack of healthcare access in many parts of the planet.

For both conditions, the prescribing of pharmaceutical medications is standard, which is unfortunate. Many pharmaceutical drugs are not only ineffective – they can be harmful and addictive. This is not to say that is the case every time, however, it’s definitely a cause for concern.

The cannabis plant is significantly safer compared to many pharmaceutical drugs, and for many patients, cannabis can be more effective. Below is information regarding a recent study in the United Kingdom that found that cannabis is effective in treating chronic pain and anxiety, via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: The use of cannabis products is associated with symptomatic improvements in pain patients with and without comorbid anxiety, according to observational trial data published in the journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics.

British investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of cannabis-derived products in 1,254 chronic pain patients. Of these, 711 subjects were also diagnosed with anxiety. Study subjects were participants in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, and each of them possessed a doctor’s authorization to access cannabis. Study participants consumed cannabis by either vaporizing marijuana flower or by ingesting plant-derived extracts containing both THC and CBD. Researchers assessed subjects’ symptoms compared to baseline at one, three, and six-months.

Cannabis treatment was associated with “significant improvements in all primary outcomes … at all timepoints,” authors reported. Those with comorbid anxiety reported greater improvements in health-related quality of life as compared to those subjects diagnosed with chronic pain only. Both cohorts achieved significant reductions in their opioid consumption over the course of the study – a finding that is consistent with dozens of other observational trials.

Authors concluded: “A potential association between initiation of CBMPs [cannabis-based medicinal products] and improvements in pain and HRQoL [health-related quality of life], as well as reductions in opioid consumption and an acceptable AE [adverse events] profile in both cohorts was found, complimenting previous UKMCR studies. Moreover, CP [chronic pain] patients with co-morbid anxiety may achieve better HRQoL outcomes and potentially pain outcomes due to CBMPs’ peripheral and central effects.”

Several placebo-controlled trials document the ability of either inhaled or vaporized herbal cannabis to significantly mitigate pain in various patient populations, including those suffering from HIV, diabetes, spinal cord injury, or severe treatment-resistant neuropathy (nerve pain). Several observational trials similarly show reduced anxiety in patients taking medical cannabis. Data published earlier this year in the journal JAMA Network Open reported that nearly one in four pain patients residing in states where medical cannabis access is legal self-identify as marijuana consumers.

In recent months, British researchers have published findings from several observational studies involving patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, including those diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, depression, refractory epilepsy, headaches, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Full text of the study, “Comparing the effects of medical cannabis for chronic pain patients with and without comorbid anxiety: A cohort study,” appears in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics. Additional information on cannabis and pain management is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.

Anyone that has experienced a headache knows that it is no fun at all. A headache is a painful sensation in any part of a person’s head, with pain ranging from minor to severe. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Chemical activity in your brain, the nerves or blood vessels surrounding your skull, or the muscles of your head and neck (or some combination of these factors) can play a role in primary headaches.”

For some patients, headaches can be very common. Patients that fit that description have a condition known as ‘headache disorder,’ which is characterized by recurrent headaches. Headache disorder is one of the most common disorders of the nervous system.

The cannabis plant may possess the power to help people effectively treat headache disorders, as demonstrated by a recent study from the United Kingdom. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: The use of cannabis products is associated with symptomatic improvements in patients with headache disorders, according to observational trail data published in the journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics.

British investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of cannabis-derived products in 97 patients diagnosed with migraine and other headache disorders. Study subjects were participants in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, and each of them possessed a doctor’s authorization to access cannabis. Study participants consumed cannabis by either vaporizing marijuana flowers or by ingesting plant-derived extracts containing both THC and CBD. Researchers assessed subjects’ symptoms compared to baseline at one, three, and six-months.

Cannabis therapy was associated with sustained improvements in pain, anxiety, sleep, and other health-related outcomes. Fewer than one-in-five patients reported experiencing any adverse events from cannabis. Most events were perceived to be mild.

“[While] these results provide promise with respect to the changes in health-related quality of life experienced by those with primary headache disorders, there is a still a requirement for further RCTs [randomized placebo-controlled trials] to be conducted to understand the true efficacy of CBMPs [cannabis-based medicinal products] for this indication,” authors concluded. “However, whilst these are awaited, the present study outcomes with respect to safety and efficacy, provides useful insights to inform current clinical practice.”

According to a systematic review of the literature published in December, the inhalation of cannabis flowers is generally effective and well-tolerated among patients with migraine. Authors of the review concluded: “[M]edical marijuana has a significant clinical response by reducing the length and frequency of migraines. No severe adverse effects were noted. Due to its effectiveness and convenience, medical marijuana therapy may be helpful for patients suffering from migraines.”

Patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry with diagnoses of post-traumatic stress, depression, refractory epilepsy, and inflammatory bowel disease have also demonstrated symptomatic improvements following cannabis therapy.

Full text of the study, “UK Cannabis Registry: Assessment of clinical outcomes in patients with headache disorders,” appears in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics. Additional information on cannabis and headaches is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

Making healthcare decisions for a child is not an easy thing, as many factors have to be weighed and considered, not the least of which is the safety of the medicine/treatment. Being that children are still developing, special safety considerations have to be made.

Another major factor is the efficacy of the medicine and/or treatment. Many treatment regimens are perfectly safe in certain conditions, however, some parents experience cases in which their child’s condition is treatment-resistant. When that happens, parents have few places to turn, particularly from a safety standpoint.

One condition that results in cases of treatment-resistance in children is epilepsy. Fortunately, studies are finding that the cannabis plant may be able to help, including a recent study out of the United Kingdom. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: The daily administration of cannabis products is associated with reductions in seizure frequency among children with treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE), according to observational trial data published in the journal Neuropediatrics.

British investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of cannabis-derived products in 35 patients diagnosed with pediatric epilepsy. Study subjects were participants in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, and each of them possessed a doctor’s authorization to consume cannabis. Study participants consumed either CBD-dominant extract oils or a combination therapy containing both CBD and THC.

Researchers reported that over 90 percent of subjects treated with the combination therapy experienced a ≥50 percent reduction in seizure frequency at six months, whereas fewer than one-third of patients receiving CBD-only products did so. Investigators said that cannabis products exhibited an acceptable short-term safety profile in this patient cohort.

“The results show a promising signal toward the effectiveness of CBMPs [cannabis-based medicinal products] in children with TRE, particularly in the cohort of patients treated with delta-9-THC,” the authors concluded. They added: “The short term adverse effects appear well tolerated, but the long-term effects of CBMPs on neurodevelopment are still unknown. The results from this study could be utilized in the design of future phase II randomized controlled trials, particularly for dosing regimens.”

Subjects enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry who were diagnosed with a variety of other conditions, including post-traumatic stress, depression, and inflammatory bowel disease, have also demonstrated symptomatic improvements following cannabis therapy.

Survey data from Canada estimates that as many as one-third of epileptic patients consume cannabis products therapeutically.

In 2018, regulators with the United States Food and Drug Administration granted market approval for the plant-derived CBD prescription drug Epidiolex in the treatment of two rare forms of pediatric epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and Dravet syndrome. The drug is categorized as a Schedule V controlled substance. In 2020, FDA regulators expanded the prescription use of Epidiolex to patients with the genetic disorder tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).

Full text of the study, “Clinical outcomes of children treated with cannabis based medicinal products for treatment resistant epilepsy: Analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry,” appears in Neuropediatrics. Additional information on cannabis and epilepsy is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

Borderline personality disorder is a serious mental health condition that significantly impacts the way sufferers think and feel about themselves and the world around them. Examples of the negative impact that the condition can have include self-esteem issues, difficulty managing feelings and actions, and a pattern of being involved in unstable relationships.

Borderline personality disorder can involve a big fear of abandonment, and patients may have difficulty being alone, which can be particularly difficult given the fact that the condition often results in people not wanting to be around the patient due to their condition.

The condition usually starts during early adulthood, although a diagnosis could happen at any time during the person’s life. Fortunately, a growing body of evidence is demonstrating that the cannabis plant may be able to help treat the condition.

Below is more information about a recent study from the United Kingdom which presents a recent example of the promising area of research per a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: The use of cannabis products containing THC and CBD are safe and effective in mitigating symptoms in patients diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), according to a case series reported in the journal Brain Sciences. Emotionally unstable personality disorder (a/k/a borderline personality disorder) is a common mental health disorder associated with a range of chronic and debilitating symptoms, including impaired social functioning, unstable mood, and risky, impulsive, or self-injurious behavior.

An international team of researchers assessed the use of cannabis products in a cohort of seven EUPD patients. Subjects consumed products containing both THC and CBD in varying ratios for one month.

Six of the seven participants reported “an improvement in symptoms,” and “none of the participants reported any adverse side effects.”

The study’s authors concluded: “To our knowledge, this case series represents the first medical evidence of the use of CBMPs [cannabis-based medicinal products] for the clinical management of patients with a diagnosis of EUPD. …  [O]ur results suggest that, when deployed in a rigorously controlled clinical environment, CBMPs can provide substantial improvement in symptoms associated with EUPD thus warranting the need for further research on this therapeutic strategy.”

Full text of the study, “Cannabis based medicinal products in the management of emotionally unstable personality disorder: A narrative review and case series,” appears in Brain Sciences.

Inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella health term for two conditions – Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Both conditions are characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

It is still unknown exactly what causes inflammatory bowel disease, although it is tied in some way to a weakened immune system. Vitamins and supplements can help treat the condition, however, many patients are prescribed any number of pharmaceutical drugs to help treat the condition, many of which resulting in undesirable side effects.

The cannabis plant, and products derived from it, may possess the ability to successfully treat inflammatory bowel disease patients, as demonstrated by a recent study conducted in the United Kingdom. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: The daily administration of cannabis products is associated with symptom improvements in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, according to observational trial data published in the journal Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

British investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of cannabis products in 76 patients diagnosed with either Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. The study subjects were participants in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry and each of them possessed a doctor’s authorization to consume cannabis. Study participants consumed either cannabis extracts, THC-dominant flowers, or both for a period of three months.

Authors reported: “Initiation of CBMPs [cannabis-based medicinal products] was associated with an improvement in HRQoL [health-related quality of life] in the short term, with statistically significant improvements in IBD-specific and general HRQoL outcomes at 1 and 3 months after initiating treatment. Participants who previously consumed cannabis had greater improvements in HRQoL and fewer adverse events compared to naïve individuals. These findings highlight the potential utility of CBMPs as an adjunctive therapeutic option in the short term, especially in patients who continue to experience debilitating symptoms despite maximal medical therapy.”

Longitudinal data from Israel has similarly reported that the long-term use of whole-plant cannabis is associated with both symptom improvement and the reduced use of prescription medications in patients with treatment-resistant inflammatory bowel disease.

Subjects enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry with either post-traumatic stress or depression have also demonstrated symptomatic improvements following cannabis therapy.

Full text of the study, “The effect of medical cannabis on inflammatory bowel disease: Analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry,” appears in Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Additional information on cannabis and inflammatory bowel disease is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

When it comes to medical cannabis, inhaled consumption methods can be seen as controversial within certain medical and political circles. After all, so much effort has been spent encouraging people to not smoke tobacco cigarettes, and many people see the two products as being one and the same. However, tobacco and cannabis are not the same thing, and studies demonstrate that.

Many lawmakers around the globe seem to be hesitant to legalize medical cannabis in forms that involve inhalation, which is unfortunate. For many suffering patients, inhaling cannabis is the cheapest and easiest way to consume their medicine, and given that inhaled cannabis interacts with the human body quicker compared to ingested cannabis, many patients prefer it for one reason or another.

Suffering patients should be able to consume cannabis in any manner that helps them, including inhaling it. A recent study from the United Kingdom found that inhaled cannabis may help treat pain and anxiety. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: The sustained vaporization of THC-dominant cannabis flowers improves health-related quality of life measurements in patients suffering from chronic pain and anxiety-related disorders, according to observational data published in the journal Biomedicines.

A team of British and Spanish investigators assessed cannabis’ efficacy in a cohort of 451 British patients authorized to consume cannabis flowers for treatment-resistant pain and/or anxiety. Patients in the study were all enrolled with Project Twenty21, “the first U.K. multi-center registry seeking to develop a body of real-world evidence to inform on the effectiveness and safety of medical cannabis.” All of the study’s participants had failed to respond to at least two prescription treatment options prior to obtaining an authorization for medical cannabis. All participants vaporized cannabis flowers for a period of at least three months.

Researchers reported that cannabis inhalation was associated with sustained (6+ months) improvements in both patient populations and that side effects were “minimal.” Investigators reported more significant improvements among those diagnosed with treatment-resistant anxiety.

“Our results indicate that controlled inhalation of pharmaceutical grade, THC-predominant cannabis flos [flowers] is associated with a significant improvement in patient-reported pain scores, mood, anxiety, sleep disturbances and overall HRQoL [health-related quality of life] in a treatment-resistant clinical population,” authors concluded.

Numerous surveys indicate that patients most frequently self-report using cannabis to mitigate symptoms of pain and anxiety.

Full text of the study, “Controlled inhalation of THC-predominant cannabis flos (flowers for inhalation) improves health-related quality of life and symptoms of pain and anxiety in eligible UK patients,” appears in Biomedicines.

Historically, cannabis consumers have been portrayed by cannabis opponents as lazy ‘do nothings’ that sit on couches all day eating potato chips. Those stereotypes have also been perpetuated in mainstream media.

Unfortunately for cannabis opponents, there are numerous examples of people in peak physical condition that consume cannabis every single day, as demonstrated by the growing number of professional athletes that are coming out of the cannabis closet.

To be fair, there are certainly cannabis consumers that lack motivation, however, it’s not because of the cannabis. Some people are just lazy. That is reflected in the results of a recent study out of the United Kingdom. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Neither adults nor young people who consume cannabis exhibit symptoms of so-called ‘a-motivational syndrome,’ according to case control data published in The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology.

British researchers assessed apathy, anhedonia (an inability to feel pleasure), and effort-based decision making in a cohort of late-adolescent and young adult cannabis consumers. Their performance was compared to that of age-matched controls (non-cannabis consumers).

Researchers identified no significant differences between the two groups.

“Cannabis use has historically been linked with a-motivation, which is reflected in prevalent, pejorative ‘lazy stoner’ stereotypes. In this study, we counter this cliché by showing that a relatively large group of adult and adolescent cannabis users and controls did not differ on several measures of reward and motivation,” they concluded. “Specifically, people who used cannabis on average four days per week did not report greater apathy or anhedonia, reduced willingness to expend effort for reward, or reduced reward wanting or liking compared to people who did not use cannabis. … Our results add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that non-acute cannabis use is not linked with amotivation, which may help to reduce stigma experienced by people who use cannabis.”

The investigators’ findings are consistent with those of other recent studies refuting long standing claims that those with a history of marijuana use typically lack motivation.

Full text of the study, “Anhedonia, apathy, pleasure, and effort-based decision-making in adult and adolescent cannabis users and controls,” appears in The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology.