A new federally funded study into the effects of cannabis terpenes suggests that the compounds could be “potential therapeutics for chronic neuropathic pain,” finding that an injected dose of the compounds produced a “roughly equal” reduction in pain markers when compared to a smaller dose of morphine. Terpenes also appeared to enhance the efficacy of morphine when given in combination.
While many plants produce terpenes—the terpene pinene, for example, is made not only by cannabis but also pine and cedar trees, oranges and rosemary—the study explains that cannabis is an outlier in its chemical creation. Findings showed that all the tested terpenes seemed to reduce markers of neuropathic pain, while all terpenes except pinene appeared to treat inflammatory pain. Findings showed that all the tested terpenes seemed to reduce markers of neuropathic pain, while all terpenes except pinene appeared to treat inflammatory pain.
Notably, terpenes that were vaporized or administered orally seemed to have little impact on pain. Examination of how the terpenes worked on a mechanistic level suggested that terpenes may play an anti-inflammatory role in addition to interacting directly with some receptors in the nervous system.
