Pennsylvania residents using medical cannabis to treat anxiety, chronic pain and other conditions saw improvements in their general health, emotional well-being, physical functioning and other quality-of-life measures over a three-month period, according to a study undertaken by researchers from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and funded by Organic Remedies, a Cumberland County medical-cannabis provider.
Researchers recruited nearly 400 adults from four dispensaries in the Harrisburg and Pittsburgh areas and followed them for three months to see how they fared.
Researchers reported what they described as “clinically meaningful change” for the better, with the biggest gains coming among younger patients, according to the researchers.
The patients were mostly white, and about two-thirds were women, limiting the ability to generalize from the results, the researchers noted.
Still, they described their study as one of the largest of its kind in the U.S. — one that followed medical cannabis users over a defined period of time.
The study provides “evidence to support greater access to, and coverage of, medical cannabis treatments,” according to a statement from lead author Michelle Lent, a professor at the osteopathic college and director of psychosocial research for its medical marijuana research program.
Researchers are continuing to follow the patients to gauge longer-term results.
Organic Remedies had no role in the research design or data analysis, according to a disclaimer in the study, published this month in the Journal of Cannabis Research.
The background: Pennsylvania law authorizes a limited number of research partnerships between medical cannabis companies and academic partners, such as the one between Organic Remedies and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
The goal of such partnerships is to sharpen understanding about the medical effectiveness of medical cannabis.
Other entities conducting research include Penn State College of Medicine, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
