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British Hospitals to Test Use of Cannabis for Post-Operative Pain

By Lindsay F. Wiley [Bio]

August 21, 2003 - The government-funded British Medical Research Council has committed £500,000 for a controversial clinical study to assess the use of cannabis to treat post-operative pain. The trial will proceed despite criticism by eminent pain researchers published in the British Medical Journal in July of 2001.

"It's like alcohol. If you are lucky it makes you feel better, which is slightly different from shifting the pain," said Henry McQuay, professor of pain relief at Oxford's Churchill Hospital.

Anita Holdcroft, who will lead the government-funded clinical study said that the post-operative pain trials she will be conducting are quite different from those reviewed in the British Medical Journal. The previously reviewed studies tested synthetic cannabinoid, whereas the new trials will use a capsule containing a standardized extract of the cannabis plant.

About 400 patients awaiting surgery in at least thirty-six British hospitals will be invited to participate in the study. Researchers are seeking to compare the effects of cannabis tablets against standard pain management drugs.