Dagga as treatment for pain may be anecdotal
A US study finds ‘insufficient evidence’ to draw conclusions about its use for pain, but SA expert says it offers ‘great medical benefits’
People using dagga to treat chronic pain are relying more on anecdotal accounts than scientific evidence‚ a new study suggests.US researchers reviewed 27 chronic pain trials to find out whether treating adults with cannabis preparations benefited or harmed them and found "low strength evidence" that they alleviate nerve pain.They found "insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about the use of medical marijuana for other types of pain" after doing the review‚ published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.Up to half of South Africans live in pain every day‚ says Prof Romy Parker‚ the director of the chronic pain management unit at the University of Cape Town’s department of anaesthesia and perio-perative medicine.Also the president of Pain SA‚ Parker says: "Pain is a big problem in SA. Up to 74% of women with HIV are living with pain. We have a six-month waiting list at our unit at Groote Schuur Hospital."In the US‚ medical marijuana is legal in 28 states and 80% of people who source...
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