Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at using cannabis to treat chronic pain, a lawsuit over the odor of cannabis, coating dentures with CBD to fight dental disease and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis and Pain Management
There may be hopeful news for the estimated 100 million Americans who suffer from chronic pain. A recent review of existing research suggests cannabis and its cannabinoid components may be useful treatments for various types of chronic pain. In some cases it may even help to reduce the use of other medications.
The review was conducted by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and published in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
According to Ben Adlin, reporting for Marijuana Moment, chronic pain is one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care. In their paper, the research team held, “Chronic neuropathic pain, chronic musculoskeletal pain (back pain), and neurogenic syndromes (migraines) can be debilitating and resistant to treatment.” Unfortunately, they contend, “Current treatment approaches are inadequate, producing minimal to no relief from pain in many cases or are accompanied by limiting side effects.”
After their research, the team came to the position that, “Cannabinoids can help suppress chronic pain by interacting with cannabinoid receptors in the central nervous system, PNS [peripheral nervous system], and the generalized ECS [endocannabinoid system].”
In his article, Adlin notes that the report concludes that a selection of cannabis compounds, with various effects on chemical receptors in the body, can have a pain-relieving effect. It also recommends further research into the possible analgesic properties of less-common cannabinoids such as cannabichromene (CBC) and cannabigerol (CBG).
The research team also wrote in their paper, “Most modern research has focused on the phytocannabinoids produced by the plant which have been found to help minimize chronic neuropathic pain and mitigate other disorders including seizure conditions (e.g., Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes) and spasticity in [multiple sclerosis]. This review has provided scientific evidence supporting the use of cannabis as an adjuvant in the treatment of chronic pain which could also lead to pain reduction to the point of minimizing other pharmacological treatments.”
Additionally, they concluded that cannabinoids, “can be used in combination to lessen the undesirable side effects or increase the analgesic effects of prescription medications. An example of this is the use of CBD to attenuate the psychoactive effects produced by THC.”
The paper, “The Pharmacology of Cannabinoids in Chronic Pain,” was published in the January 2025 issue of the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
To learn more, we urge you to read Ben Adlin’s insightful reporting in the March 10, 2025 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/marijuana-offers-hope-for-treating-chronic-pain-and-reducing-use-of-other-medications-new-study-shows/?
To read an abstract of the study, click on the following link.
https://karger.com/mca/article/8/1/31/920366/The-Pharmacology-of-Cannabinoids-in-Chronic-Pain
Medical Cannabis News and Notes
Brazilian researchers have found that the use of medical cannabis oil provided symptomatic improvements in patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
That’s the word from Frank Schuler, reporting for the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC). His article appears on the organization’s website.
In his article, Schuler notes that according to a case report published in the Brazilian Journal of Biology, the daily administration of plant-derived cannabis extracts containing THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids was associated with significant improvements in a patient with late-stage Parkinson’s disease. It’s estimated that 8.5 million individuals worldwide live with this condition.
In the case report, Brazilian investigators documented clinical improvements in a 77-year-old PD patient following his use of cannabis oil. The patient consumed up to five drops of cannabis oil twice daily for three months.
Schuler reports that the study’s authors observed symptomatic improvements within one week of cannabis therapy and that the patient’s symptoms continued to improve throughout the trial period. This resulted in a reduction in his use of prescription medicines.
Wrote the authors of the case report, “This case reports a significant improvement in both motor and non-motor functions in a patient with advanced PD following the administration [of] a full-spectrum CBD-rich oil containing THC and other phytocannabinoids. These compelling results suggest that cannabis oil may offer a valuable and effective therapeutic option for individuals with Parkinson’s disease.”
Schuler points out that information on cannabis and Parkinson’s disease is available from NORML’s publication, “Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.”
To learn more, we suggest reading Frank Schuler’s article, which was posted on the ICBC website on February 23, 2025.
https://internationalcbc.com/cannabis-provides-improvements-in-brazilian-parkinsons-disease-patients/?
The case report that he describes, “Cannabis oil in treating Parkinson’s disease: Improvement of motor and non-motor symptoms: A case report” appears in the Brazilian Journal of Biology. To read an abstract of the study, click on the following link.
https://www.scielo.br/j/bjb/a/nqQFzz3NtnydWM8KWdfYyWz/?
Cannabis Corner
Not everyone enjoys the aroma of cannabis. Some folks don’t like it. In fact, some folks really, really don’t like it. And some folks will even go to court to try to have it eliminated.
Such is the case in the Carpinteria Valley of California, an area near Santa Barbara, where a California Superior Court judge ruled recently that neighbors of a cannabis greenhouse operation can collectively seek damages for what is described in court documents as a “sewer-like” odor of cannabis wafting onto their properties.
So says TG Branfalt, reporting in an article for Ganjapreneur on a story that appeared in the Santa Barbara Independent. According to Branfalt, the class action ruling certifies the “class” or “community of interest” in the case as property owners within a one-mile radius of Valley Crest Farms, a cannabis greenhouse operation in the Carpinteria Valley.
Branfalt notes in his article that the primary demand of the plaintiffs is for the greenhouses to be equipped with carbon filtration systems, or “scrubbers,” an odor-control technology that has proven to get rid of odors before they can emit through the greenhouse roof.
To be eligible to be part of any lawsuit, the property owners must have purchased their homes before January 19, 2016. To claim damages, he notes, they must be able to show how the cannabis cultivation operation has affected their property values and the “enjoyment of their property.”
Branfalt writes that the property owners seek relief from what they describe as the “awful smells and noxious odors and chemicals that they are being assaulted with on a daily basis in their homes.” The plaintiffs allege that the cannabis odor has lowered their property values, driven away their tenants, reduced their business incomes, and interfered with “the quiet use and enjoyment of their property.”
It’s estimated there may be as many as 100 homes within the 1-mile radius.
As usual, TG Branfalt’s reporting is clear and concise. To learn more you can read his article in the March 10, 2025 issue of Ganjapreneur.com.
CBD and Dental Health
CBD-coated dentures may help mature consumers and others take a bite out of dental bacteria. That’s a key takeaway from a study that recently appeared in the journal Molecules.
According to Ben Adlin, who covered the story for Marijuana Moment, a research team at Western University in Ontario, Canada, reported that bonding CBD to dentures demonstrates “potential for antibiotic-free denture coatings, reducing dental biofilms and plaque formation, and improving oral health outcomes.”
Adlin noted in his article that researchers incorporated the CBD into a type of plastic known as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), which the paper explains is “the primary material for dentures due to its favorable physical and aesthetic qualities.” The research team then tested for antimicrobial activity against three types of bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae.
In his article, Adlin writes that the CBD denture coatings had “significant bactericidal effects” against so-called Gram-positive bacteria. Gram-positive bacteria, which includes Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Corynebacterium, Clostridium, and Listeria, can cause a range of infections, from food poisoning to serious respiratory diseases.
However, the researchers said that in terms of its impact on Gram-negative bacteria—which are typically more resistant to antibiotics—the CBD coating had mixed results. Gram-negative bacteria can cause many serious infections, such as pneumonia, meningitis, bloodstream infections, and urinary tract infections.
According to Adlin, the CBD coating was ineffective against free-floating, so-called “planktonic” Gram-negative bacteria but effectively eliminated communities of bacteria known as biofilms. Biofilms are described as complex communities of microorganisms, including bacteria, that adhere to surfaces and form a protective, self-produced matrix, while planktonic bacteria are free-floating individual cells that are not attached to a surface and move independently through a liquid environment.
Wrote the researchers, “In summary, biofilm studies showed PMMA/CBD coatings were effective in eradicating all the pathogens on their surface.”
The researchers believe future research should examine why the CBD coating was ineffective against planktonic bacteria but successfully eradicated biofilms of the same bacteria.
Another area in need of further study, they wrote, is how to craft coatings that can release antibiofilm agents over time in a controlled, sustained manner. Wrote the authors,“This sustained release will maintain effective concentrations of the CBD over an extended period, maximizing their ability to disrupt biofilms and eliminate bacteria within them.”
The article appeared in the February, 2025 issue of Molecules. The issue was dedicated to the antibacterial applications of what were referred to as “intelligent polymer materials.”
To learn more, we urge you to read the article by Ben Adlin that appeared in the March 7, 2025 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
To read an abstract of the study, click on the following link.
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/30/4/943
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
