Recent studies do not support the claim that CBD (short for cannabidiol) products can reduce chronic pain, according to a team of researchers from the University of Bath and Oxford, UK. The authors defend the idea that taking these products is a waste of money and can even be harmful. This study was published in The Journal of Pain.
CBD is found naturally in cannabis. It has become a popular alternative medicine to treat patients with chronic pain and it’s available in shops and online in the form of oils, tinctures, vapes, topical creams, edibles and even soft drinks.
However, recent results show that consumers should avoid using these products. “CBD presents consumers with a big problem. It’s touted as a cure for all pain, but there’s a complete lack of quality evidence that it has any positive effects,” said Professor Chris Eccleston, who led the research from the Centre for Pain Research at Bath. “It’s almost as if chronic pain patients don’t matter and that we’re happy for people to trade on hope and despair.”
The team examined published research regarding the use of CBD to treat pain. They found a series of inconsistencies and problems with some of the results, including:
- The use of CBD products with varying amounts of CBD, including lower and higher than advertised.
- The use of CBD products with impurities, some of which are harmful or illegal in some jurisdictions. Some even included THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.
- A failure to confirm any positive effects on pain, with CBD being no better than placebo at relieving pain.
- A link between CBD use and increased rates of serious adverse events, including liver toxicity.
In the UK, the only CBD product that is subject to regulatory approval is medical cannabis. It can be prescribed for people with severe forms of epilepsy, adults with chemotherapy-related nausea, and people with multiple sclerosis. Non-medical CBD is freely available in the UK and many other European countries as long as it doesn’t contain THC. However, commercially available CBD products are not covered by trade standards and are not required to be consistent in content or quality.
About 20% of the adult population lives with chronic pain. These patients are often desperate to find a way to alleviate their symptoms. Not surprisingly, many turn to CBD products despite their high prices and the lack of evidence of their effectiveness or safety. “For too many people with chronic pain, there’s no medicine that manages their pain. Chronic pain can be awful, so people are very motivated to find pain relief by any means. This makes them vulnerable to the wild promises made about CBD,” said Dr Andrew Moore from the University of Oxford.
Healthcare regulators are reluctant to act against claims made by manufacturers of CBD products, because they don’t want to be tangled in a booming market especially when the product on sale is widely regarded as harmless. “What this means is that there are no consumer protections,” added Dr Moore. “And without a countervailing body to keep the CBD sellers in check, it’s unlikely that the false promises being made about the analgesic effects of CBD will slow down in the years ahead.”
Based on these results, the authors are now calling for chronic pain to be taken more seriously, with consumer protection becoming a priority. “Untreated chronic pain is known to seriously damage quality of life, and many people live with pain every day and for the rest of their lives,” concluded Professor Eccleston. “Pain deserves investment in serious science to find serious solutions.”
Moore A, Straube S, Fisher E, Eccleston C. Cannabidiol (CBD) Products for Pain: Ineffective, Expensive, and With Potential Harms. J Pain. 2024 Apr;25(4):833-842. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2023.10.009.