Medical marijuana has “genuine therapeutic effects for pain management,” and the degree of relief provided by cannabis can be predicted by their specific chemical profile—including not only cannabinoids but also, crucially, terpenoids—according to a newly published study employing machine learning methods.
The researchers claim that the conclusion “provides evidence for compound-specific effects.”
This report was published in Communications Medicine. It states: “These results emphasize the importance of considering all cannabis compounds to develop more effective and precise cannabis-based pain treatments.”
It also furthers the notion that at least some combinations of the many compounds in cannabis work in concert to provide heightened relief—a concept known as the entourage effect.
Authors explained that the main goal of this research was to add to the debate in the field “whether or not cannabis reduces pain, and if it works simply because patients expect it to (placebo effects).” They looked at the chemical composition of products used by 329 patients who were using medical marijuana.
Researchers found that even though the patients did not know which chemicals were in their cannabis, they could still predict the pain reduction of patients. This suggests cannabis is a real pain reliever, beyond what patients expect.
The chemical profile of cannabis, which is unknown to the patient, can provide evidence specific therapeutic effects.
A notable conclusion of the research was that THC and CBD, which are primary cannabinoids, only had a “limited predictive validity” in predicting a pain-relieving product. Alpha-Bisabolol or eucalyptol are two minor compounds that have been identified as key predictors for treatment response.
According to the report, “an unexpected result was that well-known cannabinoids including THC or CBD had surprisingly little impact on the pain relief outcome. This is contrary to what people believed and prior reports.” “While THC and CBD are often highlighted for their therapeutic potential, our analysis revealed other compounds, including α-Bisabolol and eucalyptol, as more influential in the context of pain relief.”
According to the study, “specific combinations” of chemicals are better at reducing pain than single chemical compounds.
The findings of this study show that the use of medical marijuana for treating pain is effective.
The study explains that the complex relationship between cannabis composition, pain relief and previous research based on single compounds has often produced mixed results. The study says that “Our analysis shows therapeutic effects are produced by specific combinations of components working in concert rather than any one component.”
The complexity of the problem [medical cannabis’s] It adds that “the full chemical profile is important when investigating the cannabis therapeutic properties.”
Overall, researchers—a six-person team from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, Israel—said the findings also provide further evidence of medical marijuana’s analgesic properties.
They wrote: “The fact the treatment outcome was predictable from chemical composition is evidence of genuine analgesia, while acknowledging expectation and context effect also contributes to therapeutic outcomes.”
The results of our study provide compelling evidence for the effectiveness of [medical cannabis] Pain relief does not just come from a placebo reaction, it’s also influenced heavily by its chemical composition.”
This new study adds to the growing research that supports marijuana’s use as a pain treatment.
In a recent study in Pharmacy, patients with chronic back pain who have used marijuana regularly for at least a year reported “significantly lower healthcare usage” compared to those not using it. Patients also reported fewer trips to emergency rooms and urgent care clinics.
According to the report, hospitalization rates among patients with chronic pain who have used medical marijuana are also lower. However, this difference is not significant enough statistically.
“Exposure [to cannabis] The report was authored by researchers from the Miami-based cannabis telehealth provider Leafwell in Virginia and George Mason University.
Authors wrote: “This study supports existing research that suggests medical cannabis may be an effective option to treat chronic pain for those with chronic conditions.” This study highlights the potential of not only [quality of life] The use of medical marijuana has not only positive benefits for the patient, but can also have a positive impact on healthcare systems.”
A study conducted earlier in the year revealed that 8 out of 10 medical marijuana users found it useful for managing pain.
This report, published in Cureus magazine in May of this year, was a result of an online survey that was conducted in Pennsylvania in October and December 2024. 129 patients were surveyed. According to the report, it offers “important insight into real-world trends, perceived effectiveness, and cognitive impacts of medical marijuana use by individuals with chronic pain musculoskeletal who regularly utilize cannabis over an extended time period.”
In a release issued at the time, Mohammad Khak (co-author and researcher with the Rothman Opioid Foundation) said that “over 80 percent” of the patients who used medical marijuana found it to be effective in managing their pain.
Past research has suggested that a variety of cannabinoids—including CBD and others—may help ease pain symptoms. A study published in February, for example, found that marijuana and its cannabinoid components may be useful treatments for various types of chronic pain, in some cases helping to reduce the use of other medications
The paper also said select mixtures of cannabinoids—such as cannabichromene (CBC) and cannabigerol (CBG)—could have other benefits, including minimizing undesirable effects like the psychoactivity of THC.
More than 180 distinct cannabinoids, which interact with many different body parts, have been isolated. CBD and THC for instance, have “a broad potential for therapeutic effects due to their many molecular targets, including ion channel, receptors and transporters.”
The authors concluded that “the two most studied and abundant cannabinoids THC and CBD along with a cannabinoid understudied, Cannabigerol, have shown in our labs to reduce neuropathic in animal models.” They recommended further research “into the cannabinoids such as THC, CBD and CBG, should focus on optimal therapeutic dosages and effects of these cannabinoids on the management chronic neuropathic in humans.”
Separate research published earlier this year in the journal Pain found that marijuana was “comparatively more effective than prescription medications” for treating chronic pain after a three-month period, and that many patients reduced their use of opioid painkillers while using cannabis.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School, the National Cancer Institute, and University of Pittsburgh used causal inference to conclude that medical marijuana under supervision was at least as good and possibly better than prescription drugs for treating chronic pain.
A recent federally funded study, meanwhile, found that legalization of marijuana in U.S. states is associated with reduced prescriptions for opioid pain medications among commercially insured adults—indicating a possible substitution effect where patients are choosing to use cannabis instead of prescription drugs to treat pain.
The authors wrote that “these results indicate that the substitution of marijuana for pain medication increases with increased availability of recreational cannabis.” They noted that “there appears to be a slight shift when recreational cannabis is legalized, but that we see better results after users are able to purchase cannabis from recreational dispensaries.”
This paper in Cannabis continues: “The reduction in opioid prescription fills caused by recreational cannabis legalization can prevent patients from being exposed to opioids, resulting in a decline in new opioid abusers, opioid addiction rates, and harms associated with opioids.”
Another recent study also found a decrease in opioid fatal overdoses when marijuana for adults was legalized. That study found a “consistent negative relationship” between legalization and fatal overdoses, with more significant effects in states that legalized cannabis earlier in the opioid crisis. According to the authors, recreational marijuana legalization is “associated with an approximate 3.5 death reduction per 100,000 persons.”
This report stated that “our findings suggest that broader access to recreational marijuana could help combat the opioid epidemic.” The report stated that “previous research shows marijuana can be used to reduce opioid prescriptions and may reduce overdoses.”
This effect is heightened with early implementation [recreational marijuana legalization]This relationship appears to be relatively stable over the years,” said it.
Another recently published report into prescription opioid use in Utah following the state’s legalization of medical marijuana found that the availability of legal cannabis both reduced opioid use by patients with chronic pain and helped drive down prescription overdose deaths statewide. It concluded that the results showed “cannabis plays a significant role in pain management, and in the reduction of opioid consumption.”
Yet another study, published in 2023, linked medical marijuana use to lower pain levels and reduced dependence on opioids and other prescription medications. And another, published by the American Medical Association (AMA) last February, found that chronic pain patients who received medical marijuana for longer than a month saw significant reductions in prescribed opioids.
About one in three chronic pain patients reported using cannabis as a treatment option, according to a 2023 AMA-published report. A majority of those patients said that they substituted cannabis for opioids and other pain medicines.
Other research published that year found that letting people buy CBD legally significantly reduced opioid prescription rates, leading to 6.6 percent to 8.1 percent fewer opioid prescriptions.
A 2022 research paper that analyzed Medicaid data on prescription drugs, meanwhile, found that legalizing marijuana for adult use was associated with “significant reductions” in the use of prescription drugs for the treatment of multiple conditions.
A 2023 report linked state-level medical marijuana legalization to reduced opioid payouts to doctors—another datapoint suggesting that patients use cannabis as an alternative to prescription drugs when given legal access.
Researchers in another study, published last year, looked at opioid prescription and mortality rates in Oregon, finding that nearby access to retail marijuana moderately reduced opioid prescriptions, though they observed no corresponding drop in opioid-related deaths.
Cannabis may also be an effective alternative for opioids to manage pain, according to other recent studies.
A report published recently in the journal BMJ Open, for instance, compared medical marijuana and opioids for chronic non-cancer pain and found that cannabis “may be similarly effective and result in fewer discontinuations than opioids,” potentially offering comparable relief with a lower likelihood of adverse effects.
Separate research published found that more than half (57 percent) of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain said cannabis was more effective than other analgesic medications, while 40 percent reported reducing their use of other painkillers since they began using marijuana.
In Minnesota, meanwhile, a state government report this year on chronic pain patients enrolled in the state’s medical marijuana program said recently that participants “are finding a noticeable change in pain relief” within a few months of starting cannabis treatment.
A large-scale survey of almost 10,000 patients found that nearly one quarter of them who took other drugs to relieve pain reduced their use after trying medical marijuana.
Another new study on the use of medical marijuana by older patients—age 50 and above—concluded that “cannabis seemed to be a safe and effective treatment” for pain and other conditions.
A separate presentation reviewing research on student athletes’ use of cannabis recently found that marijuana “has demonstrated positive findings as an alternative for pain management among NCAA athletes.”
Yet another study found that 40 percent of military veterans suffering from chronic pain reported using marijuana to treat their symptoms.
The majority of participants said that they used cannabis for pain relief, sleep problems, and mobility issues. A large number of veterans said it helped with stress, anxiety, and PTSD. Nearly 98 percent of participants said healthcare professionals should encourage their patients to use natural products.