title: Re-branding cannabis: the next generation of chronic pain medicine?
abstract: The field of pain medicine is at a crossroads given the epidemic of addiction and overdose deaths from prescription opioids. Cannabis and its active ingredients, cannabinoids, are a much safer therapeutic option. Despite being slowed by legal restrictions and stigma, research continues to show that when used appropriately, cannabis is safe and effective for many forms of chronic pain and other conditions, and has no overdose levels. Current literature indicates many chronic pain patients could be treated with cannabis alone or with lower doses of opioids. To make progress, cannabis needs to be re-branded as a legitimate medicine and rescheduled to a more pharmacologically justifiable class of compounds. This paper discusses the data supporting re-branding and rescheduling of cannabis.
authors.affiliation: St Luke's Rehabilitation Institute, Spokane, WA 99202, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Simone P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Javaher
authors.forename: Michael Hv
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garret
authors.forename: Beatriz H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Carlini
mesh_terms: D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002188:Cannabis; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D064086:Medical Marijuana / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids; D064086:Medical Marijuana; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: cannabis; medical marijuana; pain; palliative care; re-branding