cannabisnews.com: Cannabis 'Reduces Surgery Pain' 





Cannabis 'Reduces Surgery Pain' 
Posted by CN Staff on June 02, 2006 at 18:59:55 PT
Cannabis drugs could help after operations
Source: BBC News 
United Kingdom -- A cannabis plant extract provides pain relief for patients after major surgery, research has shown. An Imperial College London team tested the extract - Cannador - on 65 patients after surgery such as knee replacements and found it helped manage pain. The researchers believe the results could lead to new pain relief drugs, even though the chance of side effects increased with stronger doses. The research appears in the US journal Anesthesiology.
"This latest trial is another welcome contribution to the body of evidence that cannabinoids have a role to play in medicine." ~ Mark Rogerson, GW Pharmaceuticals Lead researcher Dr Anita Holdcroft said: "Pain after surgery continues to be a problem because many of the commonly used drugs are either ineffective or have too many side effects. "These results show that cannabinoids are effective and may lead to the development of a wider range of drugs to manage post-operative pain." The researchers tested Cannador in different doses on 65 patients who had previously undergone surgery. While all 11 patients who received a 5mg dose of the drug requested additional pain relief, only 15 of the 30 who received the 10mg dose and 6 of the 24 on the 15mg dose did so.  Side Effects However as the dose increased some patients reported increased side effects such as nausea and increased heart rate. Professor Mervyn Maze from Imperial College London, who also worked on the study, said: "We thought cannabis might be beneficial in helping manage pain following surgery, as previous research indicated cannabinoids help 'top up' the body's natural system for reducing pain sensation. "This research proves it can be effective, with minimal side effects at low doses." GW Pharmaceuticals, a Salisbury-based firm, is developing cannabis-based medicines under licence from the UK government. One of its products, Sativex, has already been licensed in Canada for pain control in people with multiple sclerosis, and trials of the drug's ability to provide pain relief for people with advanced cancer are continuing. Mark Rogerson, a company spokesman, said: "This latest trial is another welcome contribution to the body of evidence that cannabinoids have a role to play in medicine." Source: BBC News (UK Web) Published: June 2, 2006Copyright: 2006 BBC Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Contact: newsonline bbc.co.ukCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #29 posted by whig on June 05, 2006 at 21:10:08 PT
WolfgangWylde
The problem with the pharmaceuticalization of cannabis is that due to the regulatory regime and the front-loaded expense structure of bringing any drug (and we aren't talking about natural cannabis here, make no mistake the pharms are drugs) to the market, it is imperative to prevent and defeat for as long as possible any competition from unlicensed others that can provide the same or similar (or better) relief for the condition(s) the drug is supposed to treat. In other words, if a company wants to recoup their costs and have a blockbuster they have to sell their pills at a higher price than the market should naturally be willing to pay.Cannabis is not only easy to grow, it can be done at home. It can cost nothing at all, if the rain falls and the sun shines then the grass grows. But if it's illegal, then you can't grow it too openly and you can't flood the market and you can't sell it if you don't want to risk going to jail and the drug companies are guaranteed a field to themselves.So that's the story and it's absolutely a shame and a stain on the moral condition of this society.
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Comment #28 posted by mai_bong_city on June 05, 2006 at 07:59:00 PT
you are right WolfgangWylde
i agree with that, i think it is a bad thing motivated of course strictly by greed.
we already have the plant in it's perfect form, the way intended for use i am certain, in my soul.
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Comment #27 posted by WolfgangWylde on June 04, 2006 at 12:01:58 PT
A lot of folks...
...think that the pharmaceuticalization of cannabis is a good thing, and will result in its legalization. Nothing could be further from the truth.
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Comment #26 posted by mai_bong_city on June 03, 2006 at 16:18:05 PT
gracias
FoM and Truth
~*~
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Comment #25 posted by Truth on June 03, 2006 at 14:26:14 PT
yeah
Me, too.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on June 03, 2006 at 11:12:15 PT
mai_bong_city 
I wish you success and a very easy recovery. 
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Comment #23 posted by mai_bong_city on June 03, 2006 at 11:09:29 PT
yes FoM
i had six surgeries prior to my illness taking hold, and i also was able to tolerate demerol back then, which was a blessing....i was told some 14 years ago now that i should not risk general anesthesia anymore, and managed to go through one surgery using a behr block which just numbed the extremity and i was awake during....pain relief after was advil and cannabis. i have a high tolerance for pain at this point, so it's not as much that (as long as i have cannabis) it's the puking (again i'll be alright with cannabis) and the anesthesia that's prime concern...i've got a living will in place in case.
on an interesting side, i wanted to investigate further the FDA, i decided...to see who these guys were, really, and their connections to medicine and pharmaceutical co's......well the acting commissioner, von Eschenbach, is also the director of the national cancer institute and a cancer survivor himself. ironic. in a sad and horrible way.
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on June 03, 2006 at 08:33:22 PT
Truth 
Jerry was special. I love the clip of him rolling a joint in the movie Woodstock.
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Comment #21 posted by Truth on June 03, 2006 at 08:28:17 PT
Jerry
Jer's the man.
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on June 03, 2006 at 08:22:30 PT
Truth 
I didn't know that. I wasn't a Dead Head but I really liked Jerry Garcia. 
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Comment #19 posted by Truth on June 03, 2006 at 08:19:12 PT
also
A strange side note:Vince is the 4th keyboardist of the Grateful Dead to die. They call it the hot seat. (the Keyboard position)
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on June 03, 2006 at 08:18:49 PT
Truth
I'm sorry to read that. I have noticed that people who got involved in hard drugs and stayed involved in hard drugs don't live as long as those who just use Cannabis. 
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Comment #17 posted by Truth on June 03, 2006 at 08:15:28 PT
Vinnie
He was sick. He had emphesima (sp). He still smoked tobacco. He has been very depressed for the last 11 years. On the edge of suicide partly from his addiction to hard drugs but more so over his rejection by the surviving members of the Dead after Jerry's death. It's a sad story. Vince was a wonderful person and a great musician. My heart goes out to his wife.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on June 03, 2006 at 08:00:33 PT
Truth
I didn't know who Vince Welnick was and did a search and he was only 55 and it seems that he took his own life. Was he on hard drugs or was he sick or what happened? Do you know. That's sad. 55 is too young to die.
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Comment #15 posted by Truth on June 03, 2006 at 07:48:30 PT
pain
I learned in "73 when I broke my leg what a great pain reliever cannabis is after surgury. Not only cannabis but music, too, can help a lot.Speaking of pain, we lost another member of the Grateful Dead yesterday.God Bless Vince Welnick
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on June 03, 2006 at 07:41:55 PT
mai_bong_city 
Have you ever had surgery before if you don't mind me asking? Are you allergic to the drugs they use during surgery or for pain management afterwards? I had 5 major surgeries and that is one time that I wanted powerful medicine that knocked me out and knocked out pain. I was a wuss during those times.
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Comment #13 posted by mai_bong_city on June 03, 2006 at 07:39:21 PT
ahhhh.....see?? 'the doctor wasn't cruel enough'
http://reason.com/hod/ms060206.shtmlthe voice of reason, at least - and they're holding their conference in amsterdam this year, too!mbc
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Comment #12 posted by mai_bong_city on June 03, 2006 at 07:09:13 PT
i'm taking this to the surgeon
i'm supposed to have surgery in august, and they're leery, because of my sensitivities (i.e. 'their liability') .... me, i'm not afraid of the sleeping forever much as i am the waking up - i can't have anti-nausea or pain meds other than cannabis. this is pretty clearly stated in the medical records they just received... i'm worried about having to make sure i have cannabis available to get me through it, and the amount of time i'd have to wait to inhale. i am wondering about pre-dosing with significant marinol or if cesamet is around again by then....marinol seemed really to do nothing for me, i could take six pills and i would maybe rest some, sleep - but never came close to the plant effect.
anyway, i'm taking this to the surgeon and telling him flatly the situation is thus - in the best interest of the patient, medically neccessary, and comfort and relief of pain, as hospitals and such are required to deal with, this is what i need and to deny me the quickest possible access to said relief would be a gross violation of my rights....i hate to ever be a bitch, but i've about lost patience in all of this anymore. i've always regarded physicians and surgeons to be of intelligent minds, thinking individuals, caring ones....surely. presented with these kinds of studies and the breast cancer - heck cancer in general, it is a disgusting travesty against humans and people are being denied daily, dying daily. i love that set of study links posted a bit back - i have forwarded it to anyone and everyone, especially doctors and politicians and law enforcement and social workers. it's the best feeling in the world when their jaws drop just by sheer number of diseases and proofs.
this is the end, for the prohibitionists, i know it. but it seems that we're all of us in this country almost numb on so many horrid atrocities and rights violations that i wonder how it will happen, what will finally be the last trumpet blast?
i thought the quote in the sun magazine by Viktor Frankl was appropos - "What is to give light must endure burning."
cannabis has endured burning to give light, we have endured burning to receive it.
peace y'all.
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Comment #11 posted by Toker00 on June 03, 2006 at 06:41:33 PT
charmed quark
You may be right, but I believe with SAFER and other common sense organizations coming about, it will be legalized for recreational use about the same time it is legalized for medical use. The trutH about Cannabis will be it's own salvation. The DEA is NOT invincible. Or maybe I'm just an incurable optimist.Toke.
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Comment #10 posted by charmed quark on June 03, 2006 at 06:03:40 PT
Health benefits will not legalize recreational use
Even though these studies all show that the drug war propaganda against cannaibs is wrong, that doesn't mean it will aid in the legalization of recreational use. It will only promote development of very profitable pharmaceutical formulizations based on cannabinoids.In the end, the real story is that recrational use gets you "high" and the DEA doesn't want any recrational use of any drug ( other than alcohol, which is sort of grandfathered in). It would put the DEA out of business. If the DEA existed during prohibition, alcohol would probably still be illegal.Opiates have many medical uses, and pure opiates are remarkably safe. That doesn't mean they will be legalized for recreational use.BTW - I've read a number of studies that indicate small doses of cannabis combined with a standard dose of an OTC NSAID like Advil achieve a pain reduction equal to a good size dose of codeine.
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Comment #9 posted by MikeC on June 02, 2006 at 21:31:15 PT
freewillks...
I would be ecstatic if you were to be correct. I know it WILL happen...I just don't know when.
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Comment #8 posted by freewillks on June 02, 2006 at 21:05:27 PT
MikeC: 2 to 5 years!
After the midterms are over, and Colorado gets SAFER, MJ will play a major role in the 08 Election. give new pres. 2 years to act. But if Nevada passes tax & reg, then this war is over in 2 years.  
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on June 02, 2006 at 20:37:21 PT
If they don't get rid of prohibition of cannabis
and they don't start making amends right away...Counselors, start writing up those cases!
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on June 02, 2006 at 20:34:02 PT
MikeC
I can't imagine how they will sweep these new studies under the rug. This is really front page news and they just dribble it out here and there. I hope prohibition of cannabis is over. They're looking for a way to save face for themselves and jobs...too. We'll be watching closely to see what kind of wisdom or, sadly...again... voo-doo they handle it with. There is no reason for cannabis to be illegal and every reason for it to be legally available.Can you imagine the people out there who have read this or heard about it and have cancer or know they are genetically likely to have it? You can imagine their fear and resentment and hunger and desire to see if it helps them...or their loved one with cancer.Prohibitionists need to think about how they are going to end this...and they need to think fast. They need to be honest and forthcoming and not doing any paranoid imagining about how bad cannnabis legalization will be. I'm listening for the sound of "the fat Lady" singing. She's gearing up to belt out that last song. And then it's over. The hateful persecution, imprisonment, prosecuting, finings, killings, thievings, and home invasions by officers of the law. That will be so sweet...and peaceful....and good.May it be done quickly.
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Comment #5 posted by MikeC on June 02, 2006 at 20:09:41 PT
Hope...
It's just a matter of time before a class action lawsuit forces the prohibitionists to fold up their tent! I can see the FDA being the first....they are going to HAVE to re-schedule.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on June 02, 2006 at 20:01:35 PT
MikeC
I love it, too, and will be so happy when our prisoners come home and our people are free to use and even enjoy cannabis.
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on June 02, 2006 at 19:52:05 PT
Warning for Cannabis Cigarette packaging.
Warning: Smoking this product may help prevent cancer and brain damage.
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on June 02, 2006 at 19:50:28 PT
It works. No overdose deaths. Ever.
It's cultivatable, indoors or out. It's a magnificent antioxidant. It causes apoptosis to damaged or cancerous cells in the human and animal body.Why are the people prohibited use of this substance?They better start looking at legalization quickly...or there will be lawsuits against the cruelty of government denying it's people the use of this miraculously helpful plant.Give it back to us...the people. Give it back. Give it back right now.End prohibition of cannabis before people start winding up to bring lawsuits against the government, propagandists, advisers, and enforcement.End the prohibition as quickly as you possibly can. Yeah...the cat is finally out of the bag and it isn't going back in. Cannabis is good for many of us...just as we believed it was.If I continue to have to follow the law of prohibition of cannabis and I get sick with one of the illnesses that cannabis helps us resist...It would not be incomprehensible to consider taking it to a court of law and bringing suit not just against the government...but against all prohibitionists and enforcers who would deprive us all of cannabinoids to please some kind of sick desire to keep others from consuming a very beneficial and non-poisonous herb. 
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Comment #1 posted by MikeC on June 02, 2006 at 19:14:38 PT
More fantastic new!
And the beat goes on......and the beat goes on.It won't be long before we can start a pool to predict the day prohibition completely collapses.I love it!
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