Indications and administration practices amongst medical cannabis healthcare providers: a cross-sectional survey

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The medical use of cannabis has been legislatively restricted for decades in the US and abroad. In recent years, changing local and national policies have given rise to a community of healthcare providers who may be recommending the medical use of cannabis without the benefit of formal clinical practice guidelines or sufficient training and education. Reducing barriers to clinical research on cannabis products is needed, not only to better understand their risks and benefits, but also to augment the evidence-base for informing clinical practice.

Use of Cannabis to Relieve Pain and Promote Sleep by Customers at an Adult Use Dispensary

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Medical cannabis patients consistently report using cannabis as a substitute for prescription medications; however, little is known about individuals accessing cannabis through adult-use markets. A survey at two retail stores was conducted in Colorado, United States. Between August 2016 and October 2016, store staff asked customers if they wanted to participate and, if so, provided an electronic survey link. Medical use of cannabis for symptom relief was common among adult-use dispensary customers and the majority reported that cannabis decreased their medication use. Adult use cannabis laws may broaden access to cannabis for the purpose of symptom relief.

Care After Chemotherapy: Peripheral Neuropathy, Cannabis for Symptom Control, and Mindfulness

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As cancer therapies improve, patients are living longer. With these improvements in therapy comes a responsibility to optimize patients’ quality of life during cancer therapy and beyond. This report reviews three timely and important topics. The first section reviews the mechanism underlying chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and evaluates the evidence for interventions to prevent and treat peripheral neuropathy. The second section addresses the controversial but effective use of cannabinoids for cancer and chemotherapy symptoms.

Cannabinoids and the expanded endocannabinoid system in neurological disorders

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In this Review, we provide an overview of the endocannabinoid system and the endocannabinoidome before discussing their involvement in and clinical relevance to a variety of neurological disorders, including Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, Huntington disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, stroke, epilepsy and glioblastoma.

Prospects for the Use of Cannabinoids in Oncology and Palliative Care Practice: A Review of the Evidence

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There is an increased interest in the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of symptoms in cancer and palliative care patients. Their multimodal action, in spite of limited efficacy, may make them an attractive alternative, particularly in patients with multiple concomitant symptoms of mild and moderate intensity. There is evidence to indicate cannabis in the treatment of pain, spasticity, seizures, sleep disorders, nausea and vomiting, and Tourette syndrome.

Impact of Medical Cannabis on Patient-Reported Symptoms for Patients With Cancer Enrolled in Minnesota’s Medical Cannabis Program

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Minnesota’s medical cannabis program is unique, in that it routinely collects patient-reported scores on symptoms. This article focuses on changes in symptom severity reported by patients with cancer during their first 4 months of program participation. Patients with cancer enrolled in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program showed significant reduction across all eight symptoms assessed within 4 months of program participation. Medical cannabis was well tolerated, and some patients attained clinically meaningful and lasting levels of improvement.

Patient Counseling Guidelines for the Use of Cannabis for the Treatment of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea/Vomiting and Chronic Pain

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The use of cannabis medications has grown in recent years for the symptomatic relief of chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting (CINV) and chronic pain (cancer-related and non-cancer-related). As states legalize the use of cannabis, it is important for pharmacists and other health care professionals to be aware of how to counsel patients receiving prescriptions for cannabis medications.

Management of Chronic Pain in Adults Living With Sickle Cell Disease in the Era of the Opioid Epidemic: A Qualitative Study

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The hallmark of sickle cell disease (SCD) is vaso-occlusive pain that may be acute and episodic or may progress to chronic, persistent pain with unpredictable and disabling exacerbations. Patients with SCD rely on opioids almost exclusively for acute and chronic pain management. Participants reported that recently their opioid prescriptions had become more restrictive, were more closely monitored, and were increasingly difficult to fill in pharmacies. There was an emerging interest among adult patients in the consideration of the use of alternative therapies, including marijuana, to manage pain.

[Dronabinol in geriatric pain and palliative care patients : A retrospective evaluation of statutory-health-insurance-covered outpatient medical treatment]

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Geriatric patients often suffer from a long history of pain and have a limited life expectancy. Cannabinoid receptor agonists like dronabinol may be an effective, low-risk treatment option for geriatric patients with chronic pain. This study is one of the few analyses of the use of Dronabinol in geriatric patients. We show that cannabis-based drugs (in this case dronabinol) are an effective, low-risk treatment option that should be considered early in therapy. Regarding the indication spectrum, further clinical studies and an approval-free test phase are necessary.

Cannabinoids: A Guide for Use in the World of Gastrointestinal Disease

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Cannabinoids have been known as the primary component of cannabis for decades, but the characterization of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in the 1990s opened the doors for cannabis’ use in modern medicine. The 2 main receptors of this system, cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2, are found on cells of various tissues, with significant expression in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. This article hopes to create an overview of current research on cannabinoids and the ECS, detail the potential advantages and pitfalls of their use in GI diseases, and explore possible future developments in this field.