Cannabis relieves pain in the elderly

Medical marijuana appears to be very effective for the treatment of pain, according to a new study just published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Soroka University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, in Be’er-Sheva, Israel. Israeli scientists have been at the forefront of the research of medical applications of cannabis, starting with the discovery of THC in 1964 by a Hebrew University professor Raphael Meshulam.

In the current study, the researchers evaluated 2736 patients above 65 years of age who received medical cannabis from January 2015 to October 2017 in a specialized medical cannabis clinic. The mean age was 74 years. The most common indications for cannabis treatment were pain (67%) and cancer (61%). After six months of treatment, 94% of the respondents reported improvement in their condition and the reported pain level was reduced from a median of 8 on a scale of 0-10 to a median of 4. Most common adverse events were dizziness (9.7%) and dry mouth (7.1%). After six months, 18.1% stopped using opioid (narcotic) analgesics or reduced their dose.

The authors concluded that “the therapeutic use of cannabis is safe and efficacious in the elderly population. Cannabis use may decrease the use of other prescription medicines, including opioids.” Even though it was a very large study, it was an observational study with its obvious limitations. They also stressed the need for double-blind prospective trials to confirm the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis for the treatment of pain in the elderly.