Page 10 - Cannabis for the Management of Pain: Assessment of Safety Study

1242 The Journal of Pain Cannabis for the Management of Pain
improvements in these efficacy measures resulted from and should be extended to allow estimation of
regression to the mean, natural history of disease or longer-term risks.
the effect of being in the study. However, these biases
would apply to both groups, yet still we noted difference Acknowledgments
between groups.
Despite these limitations, this study improves our We gratefully acknowledge the support and contri-
butions of Anna Passariello, Nicole Poitras, and Linda
knowledge about the safety of medical cannabis.
Caution should be exercised in interpreting these results Fergsuon (study coordinators); Ann Robinson (study
for all medical cannabis use as patients in this study used monitor); Randa Zamrini (data manager); Myrna Yazer,
Sylvie Toupin, Ann Rusnov, Charlene Bartha, Marilyn
a standardized, quality-controlled herbal cannabis prod-
uct with a reliable THC potency of 12.5%. Galonski, Selena Roy, Susan Brophy, Joanne Stewart
(study nurses); Thierry Ducruet (statistical support); Pe-
In conclusion, this study suggests that the AEs of
medical cannabis are modest and comparable quanti- ter Fried (neuropsychiatry consultant); Don Boudreau
(pulmonology consultant); Kam Shojania (rheuma-
tatively and qualitatively with prescription cannabi-
noids. The results suggest that cannabis at average tology), and all the patients who made the study
possible.
doses of 2.5 g/d in current cannabis users may be
safe as part of a carefully monitored pain manage- Safety Monitoring Advisory Committee.
Robin O’Brien (chair), Lawrence Joseph, Jock Murray.
ment program when conventional treatments have
been considered medically inappropriate or inade- Adverse Event Adjudication Committee.
quate. However, safety concerns in naive users Mark Ware, Mary Lynch.
cannot be addressed. Moreover, long-term effects
on pulmonary functions and neurocognitive func- Supplementary data
tions beyond 1 year cannot be determined. Further
studies with systematic follow-up are required to Supplementary data related to this article can be
characterize safety issues among new cannabis users found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2015.07.014.

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