Pain
Can cannabis help relieve pain?
Many people swear it works, but the science is still inconclusive.
- Reviewed by Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
Statistics show that the use of cannabis among adults ages 65 and older has increased eightfold in recent years, and as many as 80% of these seniors use it to treat and manage pain. But can it really help?
"Cannabis has been used for medical purposes for thousands of years," says Staci Gruber, director of the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core and the Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) program at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital. "Still, there is much we don’t know about how it works and for what conditions. But pain management is an area where both science and personal anecdotes tend to support its use."
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About the Author
Matthew Solan, Executive Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Howard E. LeWine, MD, Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing
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