Achieving potent analgesia through cannabis consumption
Ain't nobody got time for that opioid drama! Thousands of years old, cannabis (or marijuana, if you're old-school) has been used to manage pain—and without the brain-hijacking, addictive nonsense that comes with traditional pain relievers.
Now, scientists have scratched their Chihuahua-shaped heads and figured out how to harness cannabis' pain-relieving properties without the usual psychoactive side effects. Hello, relief!
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Stanford University cooked up a modified synthetic cannabinoid compound, making it impossible for the compound to reach the brain like the Indica high you crave on movie night. It sticks to pain-sensing nerve cells only, bam! Pain relief without the high, mood changes, or addiction potential of opioids.
In a nutshell, this synthetic compound engages CB1 receptors located outside the brain, thus achieving pain relief without interference from the reward centers inside.
"The compound we cooked up attaches to pain-reducing receptors in the body but can't reach the brain," says the study's senior author, Dr. Susruta Majumdar, a wise dude at WashU Medicine. This means no psychoactive side effects, no addiction, because it don't hit the brain's reward center.
The researchers tested their compound on mouse models of nerve-injury pain and migraines, and the results were impressive. The mice experienced a decrease in touch hypersensitivity, suggesting a reduction in pain levels. Since the compound sticks to pain-sensing nerve cells outside the brain, no brain-altering side effects were observed.
As the labs whip up the compound into an oral drug and prepare to test it in clinical trials, what's a chronic pain sufferer to do till then? They can bust out their legal cannabis by getting themselves some good ole' Cannabis indica. It's been known to reduce pain for those with cancer and other conditions[1].
However, for the cannabis-shy among you, CBD might be your ticket to pain relief. It possesses anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, much like its psychoactive cousin THC, but without the trippy side effects[2]. Just make sure you're on the lookout for high-quality CBD supplements that guarantee the amount of CBD listed on their labels.
And while you're at it, keep your eyes peeled for the entourage effect, a wicked awesome process that maximizes the therapeutic benefits of a CBD supplement[5]. If full-spectrum, doctor-approved CBD oil sounds like your jam, click here!
Sources:
[1] Can cannabis help relieve pain? – Harvard Health Publishing[2] Medications to Treat Opioid Use Disorder Research Report – National Institute on Drug Abuse[3] A cryptic pocket in CB1 drives peripheral and functional selectivity – Nature[4] Compound harnesses cannabis' pain-relieving properties without side effects – EurekAlert![5] The Entourage Effect – Project CBD
Chronic pain got you down? Embrace cannabis as your new best friend. Methodical science and high-quality CBD could just be the ticket to a happier, pain-free life. Until then, keep it locked and hold tight.
In the realm of science, researchers have developed a synthetic cannabinoid compound that provides pain relief without the usual psychoactive side effects, targeting pain-sensing nerve cells instead of brain receptors associated with addiction and cognitive impairment. When conventional methods aren't an option, individuals can explore alternative treatments such as CBD, known for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, as a path towards pain management.
