Marijuana Helps Cancer Patients Think More Clearly And Manage Pain, Study Using Cannabis From Dispensaries Find
Consistent marijuana use is associated with improved cognition and reduced pain among cancer patients and people receiving chemotherapy, according to a new study. While cannabis produces intoxicating effects, and that initial “high” can temporarily impair cognition, patients who used marijuana products from state-licensed dispensaries over two weeks started reporting clearer thinking, the study from the University of Colorado found. All study participants said that they slept better and experienced lower amounts of pain associated with their cancer symptoms or chemotherapy side effects.
Patients were asked to pick a product from a dispensary for the study. Then researchers would drive to each subject’s home in a mobile laboratory van (nicknamed the “cannavan”) to carry out physical and cognitive tests before and after the person consumed the cannabis. Pain levels dropped within an hour of use, but patients said they felt the intoxicating high that impaired cognition. That acute effect was eventually supplanted by mental clarity over time, the researchers observed during two-week follow-ups. Objective measures of cognition, such as reaction time, also improved after long-term use.
The study is notable because patients took various edible cannabis products they individually picked out at Colorado dispensaries. That included infused tinctures, baked goods, gummies, and other cannabis edibles with varying cannabinoid profiles. Because marijuana remains federally prohibited, most studies in the U.S. rely on either pharmaceutical-grade cannabis medicines like dronabinol or standardized marijuana grown at a federally authorized source, which tends to be low-THC and lacking in other cannabinoids.
The biggest takeaway from this study is that there are benefits to examining the effects of marijuana available in a growing number of state markets. The fact that cannabis has significant therapeutic potential for cancer patients isn’t breaking news but reaffirms a significant advantage that cannabis offers in the medical world.
