CANNABINOIDS COMPARED WITH CODEINE FOR PAIN

Cannabinoids -- the active substances in marijuana -- are no more effective
than codeine in providing pain relief, but they are the best method
available for controlling the nausea associated with chemotherapy,
according to two new studies. In both cases, however, the drug's side
effects make them unlikely to be widely used.

Dr. Fiona Campbell of the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, England,
and her colleagues reviewed nine trials, including 200 patients, in which
cannabinoid capsules or injections were compared with codeine. They
reported in the July 7 issue of the British Medical Journal that all but
one of the studies found no major difference in pain control between the
two drugs. The only area where the cannabinoids might be useful, they
concluded, was in controlling chronic non-cancer pain.

Dr. Martin Tramer of University Hospital in Geneva and his colleagues
reviewed 30 trials in which cannabinoids were compared with other drugs for
controlling nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients. They reported in
the same journal that the cannabinoids were more effective than each of the
other drugs and seemed to be preferred by patients.

Both studies, however, found potentially serious side effects associated
with cannabinoids. These included potentially beneficial ones such as
euphoria, sedation or drowsiness. But they also included harmful effects
such as dizziness, depression and hallucinations.