The Science Is In: Cannabis Tea Can Treat Chronic Pain

The Science Is In - Marijuana Tea Can Treat Chronic Pain from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

Italian researchers have discovered that consuming cannabis-infused tea for the long term is effective in reducing the pain intensity and alleviating depression in anxiety in patients who have chronic pain, reveals clinical data published in La Clinica Therapeutica.

The Italian researchers examined the effects of long-term cannabis tea use in a group of 338 chronic pain patients. They were given between 5mg and 10mg of THC-infused cannabis tea every day for a year. Out of the 338 patients, 214 of them were successfully able to complete the trial for a whole year without disruption. The authors said: “After 12 months of therapy, pain intensity, pain disability, anxiety, and depression showed substantial improvement.”

The authors concluded the study by saying that “Our research demonstrates that cannabis therapy, as an adjunct to traditional analgesic treatment, reduces pain intensity, improves daily functionality, and allows a reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms. ... Cannabis should be prescribed responsibly by taking into account the comprehensive pain history of the patients, obtaining informed consent after discussing the risks and benefits of treatment, and administering periodic follow-up of the treatment efficacy."

Another recent study from 2017, also conducted by Italian researchers found similar findings when examining the effects of cannabis tea on on chronic pain patients. The study, which was published in the Journal of Pain Research, involved over 600 patients over the age of 60.

Only a few patients decided to discontinue the treatment, but none of the participants reported any side effects. The study says, “The treatment seems to be effective and safe in the majority of patients.”

Making Your Own Cannabis Tea

Cannabis tea is an excellent alternative to medicating for patients who prefer not to smoke, especially in older patients with respiratory conditions or those who want to prevent it.

Making your own cannabis tea at home is easy. However, the THC levels in each cup will vary depending on the strain you choose to use. If you use one gram of cannabis with around 10% THC, you can produce tea that has around 100mg of THC. And like with all other kinds of tea, the strength and potency will depend on the amount of time you let it steep.

Drinking cannabis tea will take around 30 to 90 minutes for the full effects of it to be felt. Again, this would depend on your metabolism, body mass, and tolerance. The first time you medicate with cannabis tea, make sure to be in a safe and comfortable place – ideally at home, so that you can get a good idea of how long it would take for the effects to set in.

The reason why cannabis tea is so beneficial for chronic pain is because its effects last for much longer than smoking would, providing maximum relief. Patients can typically feel the effects of cannabis tea for 4 up to 8 hours without having to medicate again. You can make cannabis tea from various parts of the cannabis plant, although the buds would produce the strongest effect, and stems would produce the weakest effect.

Here’s a recipe for making a potent cannabis tea ideal for chronic pain patients using cannabis buds:

Ingredients (per cup of tea):

½ gram cannabis buds

½ teaspoon unsalted butter

400ml water

Optional: tea bag in your chosen flavor; honey, milk, or sugar to sweeten

Instructions:

Grind the cannabis buds finely. Remove the stems and set aside if you want to make a cup of milder tea made from stems.

Put the ground buds in a bowl; add the butter and mix thoroughly using the back of a spoon. Your goal is to coat all the buds with butter.

Place the water on a stovetop pot on medium heat, and bring it to a simmer. Spoon in the cannabis butter mixture, even scraping the bowl if needed so that none goes to waste. Allow the water to simmer then brew the tea for 30 minutes and let it boil (to activate the THCA into THC) as you continue to stir. If you prefer non-psychoactive cannabis tea, just avoid letting the water reach a boil.

Remove the pot from the stove, and let it rest. Once it’s cooled, pour it through a strainer and enjoy.

The Science Is In - Marijuana Tea Can Treat Chronic Pain from CannabisNet on Vimeo.