PAIN
Does cannabis actually relieve pain — or is something else going on?
Research suggests cannabis and placebo provide similar pain relief, but that may not be the whole story.
December 8, 2022
By Julie Corliss, Executive Editor, Harvard Heart Letter..
If you’ve tried one of the various formulations of medical cannabis (marijuana) in hopes of easing your chronic pain, you’re far from alone. Treating pain is by far the most common reason offered by the many millions of Americans who use products that contain cannabinoids, the main active components in marijuana.
However, there’s good evidence that a cannabis placebo — a substance designed to mimic the real thing in appearance, smell, taste, and feel — provides very similar pain relief as a cannabis-based product, according to a new review in JAMA Network Open. But why?
source
