Cancer Pain + Palliative Care

When we think of pain relief, I sure hope you think of cannabis. More importantly, I want to show you “how”. I want to show you that finding pain relief doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go to the moon (lol) before you find relief. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Check this out.

Cannabinoids affect us all differently, especially THC. THC has some pros and cons, as with many plant extracts or herbs. If you have consumed too much THC you may know exactly what I am talking about when I mean negative side effects. A few negative side effects of THC (when ingested in a dose too high for you) includes paranoia, anxiety, increased heart rate, etc., but I want to show you how to use THC to your benefit in a controlled setting, so we can avoid those things. THC in low doses is very therapeutic!

I want to show you how to take advantage of the pain-relieving properties of THC by searching for what is known as the lowest therapeutic dose. What this means is that we can ingest small amounts of THC and increase until we find relief so we can avoid the potentially negative side effects of THC. Having products like our oil or gummies where they are measured per dose, will help us to pay attention to dosing so we can find what dose we like.

Following these dosing guidelines allows us to also apply the pain-relieving properties in real life. The purpose of this blog was to discuss cancer pain and how we can use cannabinoids like CBD and THC to relieve pain and improve end stage quality of life. When I think of cannabis, I think of the many uses to which we can apply these natural plant compounds so we can relieve human suffering, including palliative care.

The British medical journal (BMJ), a peer reviewed medical journal, stated that cannabis is considered a safe and effective complementary treatment for pain relief in cancer patients (1). What the study concluded is that there were certain doses that were shown to be effective for cancer pain relief and some that were not. According to BMJ, CBD or THC dominant strains were not as effective for cancer pain relief as those doses that had equal amounts of CBD and THC (1).

Although that may be the case, I would always recommend starting out low and increasing the dose as needed. I wouldn’t say jump directly into our 10mg CBD/10mg THC gummies. Some of our customers with chronic pain find relief using our Full Spectrum 2500mg CBD Oil. This bottle has about 84mg of CBD per dose and about 2mg of THC. This dose is popular for chronic pain, but this doesn’t mean this dose will work for you. You may be like some of the participants in that particular study that benefits from CBD and THC being present in equal ratios (1:1) to better manage pain levels. This 1:1 dose can be found in our Delta-9 THC Gummies 10mg CBD/10mg THC gummies.

One good thing about CBD is that it can downregulate THC effects (good thing; helps to keep THC in check). When we keep them in equal ratios, we have a good opportunity to avoid the negative of side effects of THC (paranoia, anxiety, increased heart rate, etc.) while taking advantage of the benefits that THC has to offer (pain relief).

Using cannabis as an alternative to manage cancer pain was shown to have multiple benefits in addition to pain management, including a reduction in opioid dependence, anti-inflammatory effects, muscle relaxation, mood improvement, anxiety reduction, nausea and appetite stimulation, improved sleep, neuroprotective effects, and fewer side effects compared to conventional medications (2).

One natural plant that has so much to offer, even when discussing cancer pain and palliative care.

One plant with seemingly endless potential. Now that’s what I call medicine.

Bee Well,

Brandon Farless

*This information is for education purposes only. I am simply sharing information pertaining to these particular studies. No medical advice or claims are being made on my behalf.

References

Aprikian, S., Kasvis, P., Vigano, M., Hachem, Y., Canac-Marquis, M., & Vigano, A. (2023, December 1).Medical cannabis is effective for cancer-related pain: Quebec Cannabis Registry Results. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. https://spcare.bmj.com/content/13/e3/e1285

2- Sexton, M., Garcia, J. M., Jatoi, A., Clark, C. S., & Wallace, M. S. (2021). The Management of Cancer Symptoms and Treatment-Induced Side Effects With Cannabis or Cannabinoids. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs, 2021(58), 86–98. https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgab011