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Cannabis Science, Therapeutics and Policy: Chronic Pain / Cannabis

A guide to resources on cannabis science and therapeutics available through the Harper College Library

Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain is "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage." (International Association for the Study of Pain)

"In people with chronic pain, nerve cells can keep on sending pain signals to the brain even in the absence of injury." (The Global Pain Crisis: What Everyone Needs to Know, Judy Forman, 2017.)

Search Tips

Tip: Try using the advance search option within your chosen database and add "chronic pain" or "pain" to the search terms (Example:  Cannabinoids AND chronic pain)

Note: Marijuana is an Americanized term for cannabis often depicting the legal or illegal aspect of the Cannabis / hemp plant.  Cannabis is a term used more frequently in other countries in reference to its medical/therapeutic attributes.

Another noteworthy tip:  Marijuana (Cannabis) is illegal under Federal Law. Therefore, clinical studies are (research is) limited in the United States.  However, in countries where cannabis (marijuana) is legal, research regarding the therapeutic effect (positive or negative) is conducted and often published.  So, try adding the name of a country where it is legalized for, potentially, additional information. (Example:  Cannabinoids AND chronic pain AND Israel) 

Online Library of HEALTH and PATIENT CARE sources

Examples of Pain Studies

Related Articles

Related Websites

Search Terms

Cannabinoids (CBD)

Cannabinoids AND therapeutic potential (or therapeutic cannabis)

CBD 

Inflammation AND cannabis (Inflammation AND marijuana)

Cannabis and pharmacology

Palliative care 

Types of pain:

  • Nociceptive
  • Inflammatory
  • Dysfunctional
  • Neuropathic

Cannabis delivery systems or Cannabinoid delivery systems

Medical Cannabis 

Medical Marijuana