Episode 4
Cannabis and Neuropathic Pain-Wayne Carter, PhD
The Cannabis Boomer Podcast is for baby boomers and all adults who are interested in the science of cannabis. Key words for the podcast, in general ,are: baby boomers, cannabis, boomers, marijuana, THC, CBD, health, wellness, science, and aging.
For this particular episode, key words are: cannabis, pain management, marijuana, THC, CBD, and neuropathic pain.
Dr. Wayne Carter, a clinical toxicology researcher, discusses his recent review on the efficacy of cannabis-based medicines for treating neuropathic pain. The review, published in Biomolecules, analyzed 22 studies and found significant pain reduction in 15 of them. While acknowledging the limitations of randomized controlled trials, Dr. Carter emphasizes the potential of cannabis as a pain treatment, particularly for those unresponsive to traditional medications.
Transcript
The Cannabis Boomer Podcast is for baby boomers and all adults who are interested in the science of cannabis. Key words for the podcast, in general, are: baby boomers, cannabis, boomers, marijuana, THC, CBD, health, wellness, science, and aging.
For this particular episode, key words are: cannabis, pain management, marijuana, THC, CBD, and neuropathic pain.
[:Dr. Carter completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Southampton and was a post-doctoral research scientist at Cambridge University, the Imperial College of London, the University of California, and Oxford University. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Dr. Carter and colleagues just published a timely review in the journal Biomolecules entitled: Are Cannabis-Based Medicines a Useful Treatment for Neuropathic Pain?-A Systematic Review.
[: [:So, one of the agents that can mitigate that are general sort of plant chemicals, phytochemicals, but also we focused in this case specifically on, cannabinoids and their potential benefit. But in this case, focusing on treatment for neuropathic pain. So it's a sort of general area of our collective interests, and, yeah, expertise.
[: [:So in this review, what we wanted to do is to consider what is the clinical, trial, related results, for the beneficial use of cannabinoids?
[: [: [: [:And unfortunately, generally within the scientific field, we have this pressure of looking for significant changes and sometimes not seeing a change is an important result as well. So those results are important because they add to the body of evidence as to whether some results are going to be positive.
In other words, there could be cohorts of patients that cannabinoids, can have a benefit for, but there could also be, cohorts of patients with certain diseases or conditions that might not be responsive to those medications.
[: [:Because as with any drug, it may have a beneficial window, but too much of the drug can be toxic. And that's true for, for any drug. So being able to find the right window, which is, sometimes quite an individual thing can be of benefit. but as you say, generally in the more broader population, for those people that are mokers or users of cannabis, then they may have a sort of more broader, chronic usage. And these are some of the limitations of ther andomized control trials is that they don't have the longitudinal analysis that some people might have on an individual basis.
[: [: [: [: [: [: [: [: [:You can always find us on Instagram and X under at Cannabis Boomer. People who choose to use cannabis need to be aware of what they consume. This podcast is intended to make users better informed about cannabis and its effects. The information shared on this podcast is meant as current opinion in science and should not be considered medical advice.
