Fibromyalgia: New cannabis based medications can provide relief to people with the chronic pain

A company, Cannabis Science, involved in the development of cannabis based therapeutics has recently introduced two new medications for pain relief in people with fibromyalgia and diabetic neuropathy nerve pain.

The two new pharmaceutical pain killers will function as transdermal adhesive patches that will deliver a certain dose of medication into the bloodstream by absorption through patient’s skin.

This delivery method has several benefits over other medication delivery methods including oral, topical, intravenous, intramuscular and others. Transdermal delivery method has potential to accelerate the healing of an injured part of the body. Apart from this, it provides excellent control over the dose administered to the patient.

Cannabinoids – a component of cannabis- have an extensive history of medical applications since ages. Recently, a number of scientific studies are establishing their medicinal effects.

These patches consists of cannabinoids (CBD) extract that slowly enters the bloodstream and penetrates a patient’s central nervous system to provide pain relief. CBD is known for its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. As CBD has no known psychoactive effects, it provides effective treatment for many types of pain, particularly inflammatory pain. Few studies have shown that CBD is superior to traditional medication when treating inflammatory pain.

CBD - a component of cannabis- is known for its anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties

The CBD patches will provide a more controlled release of medication through using a porous membrane to let medication be absorbed gradually by the skin. 

“While we strive to increase our land capacity for growth and facilities to produce our own product to supply our scientists with proprietary materials to make these formulations, we are also busy researching more potential needs for Cannabis related medical applications and developing the methods for delivery of these medications,” Raymond C. Dabney, Cannabis Science CEO said in a press release.

“As more states nationwide [in the U.S.] legislate for the legalization of cannabis and cannabis-derived medications, we here at Cannabis Science are focused on developing pharmaceutical formulations and applications to supply the huge growing demand expected over the coming few years,” Dabney stated.

According to estimates, 2-8% of US population suffers from fibromyalgia. Patients with the condition experience widespread chronic pain and heightened pain response to pressure.