How does Cannabis heal pain?

What is the mechanism by which Cannabis can ease pain and inflammation?

It has been scientifically declared that Cannabis does greatly contribute to pain relief on a physical level because of the way THC and other Cannabinoids interact with all of our receptors including the vanilloid receptor. Both THC and CBD interact with our vanilloid receptors and this is just one of the ways how Cannabis manifests its pain killing and anti-inflammatory properties. Very little is known about the vanilloid receptor and it is described by scientists as an excitatory ion channel which is expressed by nociceptors so here is the link to the pain receptors which are called nocioreceptors. Capsaicin from the chilli pepper plant is the natural agonist for this receptor which has its own unique pain killing properties but this receptor like our Cannabinoid receptors is also highly lipophilic meaning it has a strong affinity for fats and this is why THC and all the other fat soluble Cannabinoids are naturally attracted to the vanilloid receptor and are able to interact with this receptor and this is where pain healing begins in our bodies. The vanilloid receptor is the gateway to the pain pathway. This biological link between Cannabinoids and the vanilloid receptor as well as the expression of our Cannabinoid receptors on the sensory nerve fibres and adnexal structures in human skin is how Cannabis is able to offer us pain relief.

Once the vanilloid and Cannabinoid receptors are activated by Cannabinoids a brief moment of hyperalgesia or increase to sensitivity to pain is followed by a prolonged period of desensitization and virtually instant reduction of pain in the body. In general there are two basic components of the pain process being the actual signal of pain…getting hurt or injury and the perception of pain itself this is why pain is a subjective experience unique to each individual because everyone’s receptors are wired differently. We can see that both the vanilloid and Cannabinoid receptors have biological similarities which explain why they work so well together in the pain pathway. The chemical action of both receptors presents an initial fleeting moment of pain followed by a long lasting period of desensitisation.

Our pain receptors are called nocioreceptors and they relay information on pain to the brain and these pain receptors exist throughout our entire nervous system. Make no mistake pain is a complex process but we can break it down to the relative activity of nocioreceptor neurons. When they are active, we call this the sensation of pain so their activity which is measured by the number of synapses activated per second and is directly proportional to the amount of pain that we feel. If we can regulate the activity of the pain receptors then we can regulate the pain. Our Cannabinoid receptors found throughout our nervous system are also able to interact with the pain receptors and when the EC system is activated by Cannabis it is able to immediately inhibit the activity of our pain receptors. Some scientists refer to these the opioid and Cannabinoid receptors as ‘friends with benefits’ which proves to us that Cannabis engages multiple receptors involved in the pain pathway.

It is this instant inhibition of the nocioreceptors by the Cannabinoids which is the mechanism by which Cannabis can offer us pain reduction.

We have learnt about the unique feature of our EC system referred to as retrograde transmission and when we look at the analgesic effects of Cannabis it is certain that the entire mechanism by which Cannabis offers pain relief to humans is based on the inhibition of presynaptic neurotransmitters. At any point of injury in the body when neural or non-neural cells in the tissues are injured and damaged there will be a localised upregulation in the expression of our Cannabinoid receptors. So for example if there is a pinched nerve in the neck the body will naturally increase the amount of Cannabinoid receptors in that exact location and the receptors require Cannabinoids to effect healing. The EC system ensures that all damaged cells produce the arachidonic acid derivatives which are our Endocannabinoids Anandamide and 2-AG. This then depletes our natural Endocannabinoid level and the receptors require the additional support of the chemicals found in the Cannabis plant. This is why we need our human companion plant to supplement the EC system.

Our naturally produced Endocannabinoids and Cannabinoids from the Cannabis plant transmit in a different way to any other neurotransmitter. They literally move backwards from the pre-synaptic cell to the post-synaptic cell where all other neurotransmitters move forward from the post to the pre-synaptic cell. This is how Cannabis is able to inhibit the activities of the cell in front of the damaged cell and in the case of pain it inhibits the pain receptors of the cells concerned. The importance of the ability of Cannabinoids to move backwards is that this is how they control the activities of the pre-synaptic cell in other words Cannabinoids can control what happens next at cellular level. The actual mechanism of any healing is really an enigma and so it should not surprise us that our human companion plant works in a very mysterious and profound way through its activities throughout the human body.

Pain is a subjective experience and a lot of patients say that their pain doesn’t actually go away it just becomes easier to manage and everyone has a different story of how Cannabis helps them with their pain. A lot of people claim that they do not feel much difference in the pain but the pain definitely worried them less. It is as if Cannabis is able to distract the pain centre of the mind away from the actual pain. For me personally ii can be honest and say that in many respects it is precisely the ‘being high’  the feeling of  ‘lightness’ meaning the THC which is actually giving me the pain relief so in order to function daily ii do like to be on a bit of buzz.

So many people are in pain today…physical and emotional pain which definitely has an effect on character and behaviour. When people are in pain they tend to lash out at the ones they love as much as they can target perfect strangers. These people desperately need the healing which Cannabis can offer. For so many people Cannabis is able to take their pain away making them feel better within minutes with relief that lasts for hours and our human companion plant can do this for each one of us. It is a combination of the many benefits of Cannabis which contributes to the distraction of aches and pains and based on everything we now know it is my firm belief that THC is the main contributor to all Cannabis healing especially pain.