In Summary

​Researchers have recently found that the antinociceptive effects of ∆-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) differ depending on the age of the subject. While examining the effects of THC on the nociceptive receptors of rats it was found that the THC was not as effective of a pain reliever in adolescent rats as it was in adult rats. It was determined that although adolescent and adult rats metabolize the cannabinoid differently it is not the cause of the differences in THC’s effect on nociception. Further research is needed to determine the mechanism that underlies the difference in age-dependent effects. 
This article brings to light the issues of dosing between age and gender. Clinical trials often occur in a population of healthy young men and are rarely dosed specifically for women. By noting the differences in effect and metabolism of drugs depending on sex and age clinical trials need to be broadened to accurately dose drugs for all users. Although the featured study was conducted in mouse models it provides evidence that the effects of cannabis are age-dependent and should be a serious consideration for researchers moving forward with the development of cannabis-based therapies. 

In Summary

A recent meta-analysis has found that cannabis is an effective treatment for those dealing with chronic pain. Researchers analyzed studies that compared cannabinoid-based therapies to placebos, concluding that those therapies served as an effective replacement or adjunctive therapy for more common pain relievers, such as opioids. Some studies included in the analysis disqualified the effectiveness of cannabinoids due to the psychoactive effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) but the featured piece suggests future work should aim to synthesize cannabinoids that highlight cannabis’s analgesic effects while minimizing any psychoactive effects. Future research needs to discover more about the endocannabinoid mechanism within the body before this can occur. 
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The authors take care to emphasize the need for alternative pain therapies for opioids that are safer and more economically responsible. Currently, pain-related costs from patients, caretakers, and healthcare facilities continue to grow beyond $600-billion annually, as more people grow dependent on opioids. Cannabis is much more cost-effective, and even if it does not entirely replace opioid therapies and is simply an adjunct therapy, it has the potential to greatly reduce the amount of opioid prescribed and lower the necessary dose. Opioids are highly addictive whereas cannabis has a much better safety profile, yet cannabis is still deemed medically irrelevant by the federal government. More research needs to be conducted to reduce the chance of addiction, the opioid crisis in general, and reduce the economic burden of pain-related costs in the United States.