EVOLUTION OF THE USE OF CANNABIS IN THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Chronic pain can be considered as a symptom that lasts from 3 to 6 months, or that exceeds the normal healing time of an injury, affecting approximately 100 million people in the United States. Complementary therapies have been growing in Brazil and around the world in the treatment of chronic pain, in this premise arises the use of Cannabis sativa, an Asian plant brought to Brazil in the colonial era. OBJECTIVE: To describe the evolution of the use of Cannabis (its active ingredients - tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) in chronic pain in Brazil, through an integrative review. METHOD: Integrative Review that was carried out in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses (PRISMA) statement, 2020 adapted to the Integrative Review. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Cannabis has been used since ancient times for medical and recreational research, Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are active ingredients of cannabis that modulate the symptoms of users of this herbal medicine. These compounds act to reduce nociception and the frequency of symptoms through the endocannabinoid system. Among the articles found, most are systematic reviews, and there is a need for more clinical studies on the effects of medicinal Cannabis in Humans. CONCLUSION: In this study, it can be observed that despite studies Although clinical trials have shown the effectiveness of cannabinoids in the management of various pain syndromes, international guidelines have already incorporated the use of this cannabinoid phytotherapeutic, but as a treatment for complementary therapies, still coming up against the laws on cultivation for medicinal purposes, which increases the price for those who need it and makes it difficult to carry out multicenter clinical trials. Most clinical studies have small samples and unclear results.