Research studies, summarized and reviewed by Dr. Benjamin Caplan, MD¹ (Page 4)

Researchers studied healthy adults who use cannabis now and then. Each person took several small amounts of a plant-derived calming compound, cannabidiol, along with a sugar-free oil placebo, on different days, and had blood drawn over several hours.

Researchers in Toronto studied adults who use cannabis regularly and hold driver's licences. Each person sat in a driving simulator after smoking cannabis of different strengths, or a dummy product with no active ingredient, on separate days.

A group of adults with long-lasting lower back pain that has a nerve-related component took part in a study. They were given a daily supplement made from a natural body fat molecule, packaged in a form designed to be absorbed better, or a dummy pill, for eight weeks alongside their usual care.

This study looked at people who have a condition that slowly takes away their ability to find and use words, along with a family member or close friend who helps them communicate. All of them took part in a personalized speech therapy program that focused on the everyday communication goals they chose for themselves, such as talking with family or using the phone. The researchers then checked how well each person met those personal goals afterward and a year later.

This study looked at 52 military veterans who had been sick since the 1991 Gulf War with long-lasting tiredness, low mood, pain and memory problems. Half took a daily capsule of a natural fat-based compound called oleoylethanolamide, and half took a look-alike dummy capsule, for about ten weeks, after which everyone could take the real capsule for five more weeks.

Clinicians should consider the diversity of cannabinoids and dosing regimens when evaluating treatment options for patients.

This study followed 241 adults with long-standing lower back pain that had not improved with usual treatments such as prescription painkillers, nerve medicines, antidepressants, anti-inflammatory tablets and physiotherapy. Each person started a medical cannabis treatment that was mostly smoked, and their progress was tracked once a year for five years.

This is a plan for a study of adults with sickle cell disease who have long-lasting pain. Participants are randomly assigned to take a prescription synthetic form of the main active ingredient in cannabis (called dronabinol) or an inactive pill for eight weeks, and neither they nor the researchers know which one they receive.

This study looked at adults with post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that can follow frightening events. Participants took either a experimental medicine or a dummy pill for four weeks, then had brain scans while doing a task involving emotional images and words.

Researchers in Australia studied 57 adults with obesity. Half took a supplement containing a natural fat-derived compound, and half took a harmless filler capsule, for three months, with neither the participants nor the researchers knowing who got which.