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Analysis: Growing Percentage of Consumers Obtain Cannabis Products From the Legal Marketplace

Waterloo, Canada: Canadian cannabis consumers are steadily transitioning from the unregulated market to the legal market, according to data published in the Harm Reduction Journal.

Investigators affiliated with the University of Waterloo, School of Public Health surveyed over 15,000 cannabis consumers regarding where they obtained their products. Researchers evaluated data for the years 2019 to 2021. (Canada instituted licensed retail sales of cannabis products in October 2018.)

Authors reported that the percentage of respondents legally sourcing their cannabis products increased year over year. Respondents were most likely to purchase cannabis-infused drinks, oils, and capsules from the legal marketplace. About 55 percent of respondents said they obtained cannabis flower exclusively from legally licensed retailers.

In 2019, fewer than half of consumers acknowledged obtaining their cannabis products from legal sources. According to separate consumer survey data published last year, that percentage rose to nearly 70 percent in 2020.

“Legal sourcing of cannabis was greater in 2021 than 2020 for all ten cannabis products [surveyed]. In 2021, the percentage of consumers sourcing all their products legally in the past 12 months ranged from 49 percent of solid concentrate consumers in 2021 to 82 percent of cannabis drink consumers,” investigators reported. “Transitioning consumers of all cannabis products into the regulated market is important for public health and safety. Future studies should continue to examine cannabis product sourcing in Canada over time, as well as ways to displace the illegal market for all cannabis products without also promoting the use of high-potency cannabis products.”

Full text of the study, “Legal sourcing of ten cannabis products in the Canadian cannabis market, 2019-2021: A repeat cross-sectional study,” appears in the Harm Reduction Journal.

Survey: Cannabis Provides Relief, Less Need for Prescription Medications in Nerve Pain Patients

Scranton, PA: Patients suffering from Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, a genetic nerve pain disorder, frequently report that cannabis use mitigates their pain and decreases their need for prescription medications, according to data published in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

A team of investigators affiliated with the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Pennsylvania surveyed 56 patients with CMT.

Over 90 percent of respondents said that cannabis use reduced their average pain by at least half. Eighty percent of respondents reported using fewer opioids following the initiation of cannabis therapy. Sixty-nine percent of study participants reported reducing their use of sleep aids, and 50 percent reported using fewer anxiety/anti-depressants.

“The findings from this survey indicate that patients with CMT report substantial relief of pain symptoms from the use of cannabis,” the authors concluded. “These data support the need for prospective, randomized, controlled trials using standardized dosing protocols to further delineate and optimize the potential use of cannabis to treat pain related to CMT.”

The survey’s findings are consistent with those of numerous other studies documenting that patients frequently use cannabis for pain mitigation and that many patients either reduce or eliminate their consumption of opioids and other medications following the initiation of cannabis therapy.

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). These positive results have been replicated in clinical trials utilizing relatively low doses of cannabis as well as in trials using plant-derived cannabis extracts.

Full text of the study, “Patient reported outcomes using medical cannabis for managing pain in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease,” appears in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Information on cannabis and pain management is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.

Survey: Cannabis Provides Relief, Less Need for Prescription Medications in Nerve Pain Patients

Scranton, PA: Patients suffering from Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, a genetic nerve pain disorder, frequently report that cannabis use mitigates their pain and decreases their need for prescription medications, according to data published in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

A team of investigators affiliated with the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Pennsylvania surveyed 56 patients with CMT.

Over 90 percent of respondents said that cannabis use reduced their average pain by at least half. Eighty percent of respondents reported using fewer opioids following the initiation of cannabis therapy. Sixty-nine percent of study participants reported reducing their use of sleep aids, and 50 percent reported using fewer anxiety/anti-depressants.

“The findings from this survey indicate that patients with CMT report substantial relief of pain symptoms from the use of cannabis,” the authors concluded. “These data support the need for prospective, randomized, controlled trials using standardized dosing protocols to further delineate and optimize the potential use of cannabis to treat pain related to CMT.”

The survey’s findings are consistent with those of numerous other studies documenting that patients frequently use cannabis for pain mitigation and that many patients either reduce or eliminate their consumption of opioids and other medications following the initiation of cannabis therapy.

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). These positive results have been replicated in clinical trials utilizing relatively low doses of cannabis as well as in trials using plant-derived cannabis extracts.

Full text of the study, “Patient reported outcomes using medical cannabis for managing pain in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease,” appears in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Information on cannabis and pain management is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.

Clinical Trial: Topical CBD Treatment Accelerates Healing of ‘Canker Sores’

Bangkok, Thailand: The use of a topical agent containing trace levels of plant-derived CBD reduces ulcer size and promotes healing in subjects with recurrent aphthous ulcers (a/k/a canker sores), according to clinical trial data published in the journal BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies.

A team of Thai researchers compared the use of a topical patch containing 0.1 percent CBD with a placebo in 100 healthy subjects with recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAU). The CBD ointment was applied three times per day for seven days. Ulcer size was measured on days zero, two, five, and seven.

Authors reported that topical CBD “reduced ulcer size and accelerated ulcer healing without side effects.”

They concluded: “This clinical study demonstrated that topical 0.1 percent CBD reduced ulcer size and accelerated ulcer healing without any reported local (signs of allergic and anaphylactic reactions) or systemic (vital sign and blood test alteration) side effects.

Furthermore, in the RCT [randomly controlled trial], topical CBD exerted an anti-inflammatory effect by reducing the erythematous border size in the early stage and decreasing pain intensity in the late stage of RAU. Thus, CBD may be appropriate for RAU patients who choose not to take topical steroids, except for cases where CBD is contraindicated.”

The findings are consistent with those of other trials and case reports finding that the topical application of CBD promotes wound healing in patients with scleroderma, refractory leg ulcers and with the rare skin blistering disease epidermolysis bullosa. The topical application of cannabinoids, and of CBD in particular, has demonstrated benefits in the treatment of a variety of skin-related conditions, including psoriasis, erythema, pruritis, and acne.