Hamilton researchers are teaming up with a licensed cannabis producer for a new clinical trial.
McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences will be studying cannabis oil from CannTrust Holdings Inc. as a chronic non-cancer pain treatment.
CannTrust CEO Eric Paul says the anecdotal evidence about the impact of cannabidiol is plentiful but there isn’t necessarily the same amount of clinical research to back it up, making many health care practitioners hesitant to prescribe it.
“Doctors not having that comfort level of understanding the dosing levels, it’s very hard for them to prescribe. So doing full double blind placebo studies is part of the credibility gap that has been missing in the industry.”
Paul says CBDs appear to have anti-inflammatory properties while being free from the psychoactive components related to THC that is also found in cannabis.
“Seemed like a very good opportunity to improve quality of life, reduce the inflammation and in many cases reduce the heavy use of opiates,” he said.
The clinical trial is expected to start this fall.