There was an increased risk of non-serious AEs with cannabinoids compared with placebo .
Conclusions There was moderate evidence to support cannabinoids in treating chronic , non-cancer pain at 2 weeks .
Similar results were observed at later time points , but the confidence in effect is low .
There is little evidence that cannabinoids increase the risk of experiencing serious AEs , although non-serious AEs may be common in the short-term period following use
Background For patients with chronic , non-cancer pain , traditional pain-relieving medications include opioids , which have shown benefits but are associated with increased risks of addiction and adverse effects .
Medical cannabis has emerged as a treatment alternative for managing these patients and there has been a rise in the number of r and omized clinical trials in recent years ; therefore , a systematic review of the evidence was warranted .
Objective To analyze the evidence surrounding the benefits and harms of medical cannabinoids in the treatment of chronic , non-cancer-related pain .
Preliminary assessment of the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a cannabis-based medicine (Sativex) in the treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVES To assess the efficacy of a cannabis-based medicine ( CBM ) in the treatment of  pain due to rheumatoid arthritis ( RA ) . METHODS We compared a CBM ( Sativex ) with placebo in a r and omized , double-blind , parallel group study in 58 patients over 5 weeks of treatment . The CBM was administered by oromucosal spray in the evening and assessment s were made the following morning . Efficacy outcomes assessed were pain on movement , pain at rest , morning stiffness and sleep quality measured by a numerical rating scale , the Short-Form McGill Pain Question naire ( SF-MPQ ) and the DAS28 measure of disease activity . RESULTS Seventy-five patients were screened and 58 met the eligibility criteria . Thirty-one were r and omized to the CBM and 27 to placebo .  Mean ( S.D. ) daily dose achieved in the final treatment week was 5.4 ( 0.84 ) actuations for the CBM and 5.3 ( 1.18 ) for placebo . In comparison with placebo , the CBM produced statistically significant improvements in pain on movement , pain at rest , quality of sleep , DAS28 and the SF-MPQ pain at present component . There was no effect on morning stiffness but baseline scores were low . The large majority of adverse effects were mild or moderate , and there were no adverse effect-related withdrawals or serious adverse effects in the active treatment group . CONCLUSIONS In the first ever controlled trial of a CBM in RA , a significant analgesic effect was observed and disease activity was significantly suppressed following Sativex treatment . Whilst the differences are small and variable across the population , they represent benefits of clinical relevance and show the need for more detailed investigation in this indication
There was an increased risk of non-serious AEs with cannabinoids compared with placebo .
Conclusions There was moderate evidence to support cannabinoids in treating chronic , non-cancer pain at 2 weeks .
Similar results were observed at later time points , but the confidence in effect is low .
There is little evidence that cannabinoids increase the risk of experiencing serious AEs , although non-serious AEs may be common in the short-term period following use
Background For patients with chronic , non-cancer pain , traditional pain-relieving medications include opioids , which have shown benefits but are associated with increased risks of addiction and adverse effects .
Medical cannabis has emerged as a treatment alternative for managing these patients and there has been a rise in the number of r and omized clinical trials in recent years ; therefore , a systematic review of the evidence was warranted .
Objective To analyze the evidence surrounding the benefits and harms of medical cannabinoids in the treatment of chronic , non-cancer-related pain .