Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Chronic Pain: A Critical Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract

Persistent or Chronic pain (CP) continues to be one of the most challenging health problems in Canada. CP is estimated to affect around 29% of the Canadian population. The impact of CP is enormous, as it leads to a severe decline in the quality of life as well as a startling rise in the incidence of disability. Many approaches including pharmacological, physical and psychological have been proposed for CP treatment. Yet these options have always been associated with either significant side effects or insignificant efficacy on the long run. Notably, many patients, suffering from CP conditions, are now using cannabinoids, even without a prescription. As a result, an exceeding number of patients are making extraordinary claims about how using marijuana have alleviated their pain. But the medical field thus far has not reached the same level of certainty. This situation has framed compelling reasons to explore the true effectiveness of cannabinoids for CP. The purpose of this paper is to critically review methodological quality and outcome measures used by RCTs investigating the effectiveness of cannabinoids to determine the real effect in such trials.