|
Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
|
|
UK: Cannabinoids Compared With Codeine For Pain
Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Medical Writer Los Angeles Times (CA)
Monday 09 Jul 2001 Cannabinoids -- the active substances in marijuana -- are no more effective than codeine in providing pain relief, but they are the best method available for controlling the nausea associated with chemotherapy, according to two new studies. In both cases, however, the drug's side effects make them unlikely to be widely used. Dr. Fiona Campbell of the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, England, and her colleagues reviewed nine trials, including 200 patients, in which cannabinoid capsules or injections were compared with codeine. They reported in the July 7 issue of the British Medical Journal that all but one of the studies found no major difference in pain control between the two drugs. The only area where the cannabinoids might be useful, they concluded, was in controlling chronic non-cancer pain. Dr. Martin Tramer of University Hospital in Geneva and his colleagues reviewed 30 trials in which cannabinoids were compared with other drugs for controlling nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients. They reported in the same journal that the cannabinoids were more effective than each of the other drugs and seemed to be preferred by patients. Both studies, however, found potentially serious side effects associated with cannabinoids. These included potentially beneficial ones such as euphoria, sedation or drowsiness. But they also included harmful effects such as dizziness, depression and hallucinations.
After you have finished reading this article you can click here to go back.
|
This page was created by the Cannabis Campaigners' Guide.
Feel free to link to this page!