Persistent and disabling pain can have numerous and sometimes compounding causes. Pain is not a primary condition or injury, but rather a severe and uncomfortable symptom that varies in frequency, duration, and severity based on the individual. The underlying condition will determine the appropriate curative approach, but may not necessarily manage the pain.
MEDICAL CANNABIS CAN TREAT PAIN SYMPTOMS CAUSED BY:
- Cancer
- AIDS
- Defects or injuries to the back, neck and spinal cord
- Arthritis or other rheumatic and degenerative tissue disorders
- Sickle Cell Anemia
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Severe burns
Cannabis can serve at least two important roles in safe, effective pain management. It can provide relief from the pain itself (either alone or in combination with opioids and other analgesics), and it can control the nausea associated with taking opioid drugs, as well as the nausea, vomiting and dizziness that often accompany severe, prolonged pain.
“As a physician responsible for the care and treatment of those who live in horrible pain, I believe that these patients need, above all else, the broadest possible range of therapeutic options.”
– Robert V. Brody, M.D.
Dr. Brody is Chief of the Pain Consultation Clinic at San Francisco General Hospital. He is a peer reviewer for the Western Journal of Medicine, Journal of General Internal Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics.