Got aches and pains?
Do you use cannabis?
Want to make $20?
A new study being done out of the University of Victoria on patients over 45 years old who are suffering from pain is looking for a few hundred participants. The survey basically takes about 1 ½ hours and is done entirely online after a quick intake process is completed.
With more patients considering cannabis now that it is legal, Morgan Schaeffer, a PhD Student at the University of Victoria, is keen to further the research. “Older adults are at greater risk of developing chronic pain and pain-related conditions, making them a key demographic who may wish to explore medical cannabis for pain treatment. Unfortunately, there is an overall lack of clinical research studies exploring the effectiveness of medical cannabis for pain in older adults. There is also mixed evidence regarding whether long-term cannabis use in older adults may affect cognitive abilities like memory.”
Of course this is far from the first study of its kind. As Schaeffer notes, “A 2022 survey of Canadian older adults found that pain was the most common reason for seeking medical cannabis (Tumati et al., 2022). The majority of older adults in the study reported improvements in pain (72.7%), mood (52.8%), and sleep (64.5%), with dry mouth, drowsiness, and dizziness being the most common adverse side effects.”
He is also building off other research that looks into some of the problems medical cannabis users experience with health-care professionals. “Additionally, a qualitative study performed by researchers at the University of Alberta (Dahlke et al. 2024) found that while medical cannabis has become more normalized among Canadian older adults, there is still stigma surrounding its use. They found that many older adults who use medical cannabis reluctant to inform their healthcare providers for fear of stigmatizing beliefs, underscoring the importance of educating Canadian healthcare providers on the medicinal uses of cannabis.”
Now the shift is from patients using cannabis in general to exactly what forms they use. This is important because there are many strains and many ways to make medicines from cannabis. “Research studies, such as ours, that explore the effects of cannabis on a variety of health outcomes in older adults (physical, psychological, cognitive), will help patients and healthcare providers make informed decisions about medical cannabis products in this population.”
We are delighted to be able to assist Schaeffer with this important work. Most current research on cannabis appears to be focused on the potential negative impacts of its use, so it is nice to see something generated in the opposite direction.
By Ted Smith
