Boulder, CO: Cancer patients report sustained improvements in pain intensity, cognition, and sleep quality following the use of cannabis-infused edible products, according to observational study data published in the journal Open Exploration.
Twenty-five subjects participated in the study. Participants engaged in the ad libitum (as needed) use of state-licensed edible cannabis products for two weeks.
“This study is among the first to explore associations of acute and sustained legal market cannabis edible use,” authors reported. “In this study of legal market edible cannabis products in cancer patients, two weeks of ad libitum cannabis use was associated with improvements in pain intensity and interference, sleep quality and subjective cognitive functioning. It is particularly of note that high CBD, not THC, use during this two-week period was associated with steeper improvements in pain intensity and sleep quality. … The findings suggest that studies conducted over longer timeframes with larger samples that allow the capacity to test for moderating effects of product type (e.g., inhaled versus edible), cancer type/stage, and demographic characteristics are an important next step in understanding the potential benefits and harms of cannabis use for palliative care in cancer patients.”
Full text of the study, “Cannabis use in cancer patients: Acute and sustained associations with pain, cognition, and quality of life,” appears in Open Exploration.