Made up of over 7,000 pain specialists from 125 countries, the IASP is the primary organization for pain specialists in the world.
As the availability of cannabis increased thanks to legalization efforts, the IASP recognized the need to assess the risks and benefits of using it to treat pain.
In 2018, the organization assembled a task force to focus on the topic of cannabis and pain.
The IASP took a detailed, methodical approach to their work especially given the prevalence of anecdotal evidence that claims cannabis can help patients deal with pain.
Scheman says the IASP sought to learn everything that’s been reviewed with relation to cannabis and pain.
“They looked at a number of different areas because they wanted to know the basic science and clinical pharmacology of cannabis,” Dr.
Scheman points out, is that when they looked at the evidence from clinical trials, they concluded the data that was available was of insufficient quality.
Also called the “placebo effect,” it refers to the rate of participants in a study that see an improvement in their condition even though they received the placebo, not the tested medication or treatment.
While dozens of states have legalized cannabis for medical use, far fewer have legalized it for recreational use.
Scheman says, there’s a difference between the cannabis that is studied in a laboratory and the cannabis you might buy at a dispensary in one of the states where it’s legal.
“There haven’t been a lot of studies done, most are of poor quality and they don’t give us clear results.
Other risks noted by research suggest there could be a negative connection between cannabis and mental health conditions as well as cannabis and episodes of psychosis.
For the IASP, the research continues into how cannabis and cannabinoids could potentially help patients manage pain.
“That means that the data and science have to say, to the best of our knowledge, this information is true and accurate and this is what we need to do to best treat people.
For now, even as the use of cannabis, particularly for medical reasons, becomes more accepted socially, the scientific evidence remains inconclusive.