Cannabis has 'no effect' on acute pain

[Tom]

Cannabis ... no effect on pain, according to a new ruling /supplied CANNABIS has no role in the treatment of acute pain, contrary to popular belief, according to Australian guidelines designed to improve doctors' and patients' "abysmal" knowledge of pain relief options.

 

Although many experts believe cannabis may help relieve chronic (or long-term) pain, the guidelines launched in Sydney yesterday by federal Health Minister Tony Abbott say solid evidence now shows it has little efficacy with acute pain. Acute pain is defined as pain lasting up to two to three weeks after surgery, trauma or a medical condition such as kidney stones.

 

The previous edition of the guidelines by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and Faculty of Pain Medicine, published in 1999, had no position on the role of cannabis in acute pain.

 

College president Michael Cousins said relief from pain was "a universal human right", but doctors had "abysmal knowledge" of pain treatment and were taught "virtually nothing" about it in medical school. In the entire four-year postgraduate medical course run by Sydney University, just two lectures were devoted to pain management, he said.

 

Partly as a result, less than half of people who experienced pain after surgery, trauma or illness were effectively treated. The new guidelines could lift that to 95 per cent.

 

Treating pain effectively from the start could stop it becoming chronic. Mr Abbott said chronic pain cost the country more than $5 billion a year in lost productivity. Professor Cousins said workers took 36 million sick days because of it.

 

Doctors previously thought pain, while unpleasant, did no permanent harm, but studies now showed it could cause physical damage and slow a patient's recovery by interfering with breathing, and increasing blood pressure and stress on the heart, he said.

Pain could also break down muscle proteins, causing fatigue, delayed recovery and possibly psychological stress.

 

The 346-page document lists paracetamol as an effective treatment for acute pain, but when more is required, a variety of options exist. These include "multimodal treatment" combining very small doses of drugs such as morphine and aspirin, and other drugs such as older tricyclic antidepressants, to target different pain receptors. A small dose of ketamine before surgery can reduce the need for painkillers after operations.

 

Mr Abbott has agreed to consider making pain a vital sign on patient charts, alongside blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and breathing rate.

 

Author:Adam Cresswell

Date:August 24, 2005

Source:www.news.com.au

Copyright:2005 News Limited.

 

according to a new ruling

the guidelines launched in Sydney yesterday by federal Health Minister Tony Abbott say solid evidence now shows it has little efficacy with acute pain.

How in hell does that add up to "solid evidence", his statement is based on a ruling, not research. :thumbdown

Acute pain is defined as pain lasting up to two to three weeks after surgery, trauma or a medical condition such as kidney stones.

What about the chronic pain that some people have to endure for a lifetime, I have met too many med users for anyone to ever convince me that mj doesn't help them with their pain, it also helps enormously with quality of life too.

 

We seriously need to replace many of our politicians at the next election.

 

[everest]

yea thats bollocks hey :scratchin

 

whats the problem .... beats me up .

[bongonaussie]

We seriously need to replace many of our politicians at the next election. 

 

yeah Tom

 

starting with your mate Mr Sheen..

Edited September 2, 2005 by bongonaussie

[Brash]

This definition of acute vs chronic pain is misleading I think. Pain is not so simplistic.

 

For some acute pain cannabis just wont touch the sides while it really helps with other types - in my experience it is not really useful with dental pain, helps only partially with migraines (a migraine without pot and I nearly always throw up, where as pot stops me throwing up but doesn't help the headache).

 

I find cannabis can help deaden the pain of some minor medical procedures. It works well with pancreasatitis (sure I've spelt that wrong) as well as other digestive disorders.

 

I find eating cannabis much more effective than smoking for heavy chronic pain, in my case neuropathy and arthritis.

[Pickle]

No pain killer i have ever had "killed" pain. About all i have got is my senses and/or consciousness reduced and the sad fact is parracetamol is useless. All pain killers do (at least for me) is make the pain bearable and while i can say being a useless pile of shit in a bed is better than hurting, as far as i am concerned being conscious and comfortable is far preferable.

 

It makes me fume this prick can sit there and try to consolidate the legal/governments position on cannabis for pain relief under the guise of helping end pain and suffering and offer us a fucking panadol. Marijuana is already illegal and using it for pain relief can already put you in gaol. WHY KICK US WHEN WE'RE DOWN?

 

By the sound of what he is saying you should have parracetamol after an operation. Well fuck that! After an operation i want 24 hours of pethadine followed by codiene based tablets and plenty of greens. Lets see how you feel about it Tony Abbott when someone cuts you open, digs around inside and sews you up with a needle and thread. I wonder if you have any concept of what pain is you heartless prick.

 

I've never met a doctor or polititian who cared beyond getting the answer they wanted.

[Chev]

As a sufferer of Raynauds Phenomenon and Rhuematism in both hands, that's absolute BULLSHIT! I'd rather have a few cones than be stuck on panadeine forte or another opiate based pharmaceutical product

This definition of acute vs chronic pain is misleading I think. Pain is not so simplistic.

Very true. I know that when I get a migraine, sometimes smoking pot can actually intensify it. It works for some types of pain, but not for all.

Well, you all know what to do at our next election people, VOTE GREEN!