Terpenes, as well as aroma and flavor, provide multiple benefits. Today we’re going to talk about the pain relief properties of terpenes; some interesting research has been done lately.
Legalization; The Key for Investigation
Activists and patients have been defending the medicinal properties of cannabis for decades, and now more than ever; the therapeutic potential of cannabis’s compounds is becoming more and more relevant. The reasoning behind this is simple: legal changes are allowing studies and clinical testing to take place, which couldn’t be done before.
This is why we’re always learning more about how cannabinoids and terpenes interact with the body and how they can be beneficial.
THC has always been the main cannabinoids in cannabis, and CBD has become more popular too – terpenes have also recently become more researched thanks to their potential therapeutic properties.
Terpenes, The Pain Killers of the Future
A recent study done in the University of Health Sciences in Arizona, analyzed the capacity that terpenes have to have positive effects on the body, including pain relief. This group of investigators concluded that, while it’s necessary to widen the investigation into these molecules, it’s clear that terpenes are interesting candidates when it comes to medicinal uses thanks to their pain relief properties.
This study was published in the scientific Journal, Pharmacological Reviews, and it emphasizes these aromatic compounds’ potential thanks to their low toxicity and few side effects, focusing on the main terpenes in cannabis.
It turns out the cannabis terpene profile is incredible and unique in nature due to its complexity; while other fruit and veggies contain the same terpenes in cannabis, the main difference is that cannabis has a much higher quantity of these aromatic compounds, which makes for special flavors, aromas and effects.
This study remarks that more research is needed in order to understand as much as possible about the potential of cannabis compounds in the world of medicine, specifically for developing pain relief products.
How Do Terpenes Relieve Pain
Recent studies point towards terpenes having an incredibly important role to play when it comes to the therapeutic properties of cannabis. The effect known as the entourage effect, which is the capacity of cannabis compounds (cannabinoids, terpenes etc) to have an effect on eachother when consumed together, has been subject to debate in the scientific community, and until now only a few studies had been able to test it.
However, recent studies indicate that cannabinoids and terpenes are more efficient together than when they’re administered separately.
These studies confirm that terpenes such as Geraniol, Pinene, Linalool, B-Myrcene, Humulene and Limonene (all found in cannabis) have pain relief and anti-inflammatory properties on the body when interacting with the CB1 receptors in the endocannabinoid system and the A2a adenosine receptor.
The researchers discovered that, when administered in an isolated manner, terpenes imitate the effects produced by cannabinoids, including pain relief. When combined with cannabinoids, the pain relief effect felt is amplifies without increasing side effects.
In order to test this theory, the research team focused on four specific terpenes: humulene, geraniol, linalool and pinene. The procedure consisted of evaluating the effects of each isolated terpene, and then alongside a synthetic cannabinoids to stimulate the endocannabinoid receptors.
Terpenes Can Imitate Cannabinoid Effects on the Body
When phytocannabinoids enter the body, they attach to two types of receptors in our endocannabinoid system; CB1 and CB2. Via lab testing, the researchers were able to discover that the four terpenes previously mentioned also interact with the CB1 receptor, the same way that THC does.
This study, done with rats, discovered that via this CB1 interaction, terpenes were capable of reducing sensitivity to pain. Additionally, researchers observe that, when used alongside synthetic cannabinoids, the effects produced by both (terpenes and cannabinoids) was increased compared to isolated uses.
It was concluded that terpenes are not only efficient for treating pain; they also cannabinoid efficiency!
Terpenes for Increasing Pain Treatment Efficiency
One of the objectives of the study was to investigate possible ways to treat pain, reducing side effects as much as possible. Terpenes are compounds with a high safety profile & can be used to reduce doses of treatments such as opioids and even cannabinoids.
Due to terpenes being used to increase the efficiency of cannabinoids, they could be used to minimize the impact of side effects such as THC or CBD for treating pain, as the dose can be reduced.
How can Terpenes Contribute to Reducing Side Effects of Cannabinoid Treatments?
When a patient has been on a regular dose of cannabinoids (or any other type of drug or medicine), the body creates tolerance over time. This means that the first initial dose loses efficiency and it must be increased to achieve the same effect.
This has a downside; whether it’s conventional medicine or cannabinoids, the side effects increase. While it may be true that cannabinoids are much safer than most pain medications, some patients find the side effects uncomfortable, specially the psychoactivity produced by THC.
Terpenes can be great allies in this sense, as they don’t produce psychoactivity (and its side effects in the right doses are almost non-existent) and they increase the efficiency of cannabinoids. They can be used to increase the effect of the treatment once the patient has reached tolerance levels, without needing to increase the dose of cannabinoids, keeping the side effects at bay.
Cannabis Against the Opiate Epidemic
Thanks to recent findings, some are beginning to discuss the possibility of reducing risk when treating pain by substituting opiate-based medicine or at least reducing their dose.
Over the last few decades (especially in the US) a domino effect has taken place and caused a serious public health issue; the prescription of opiates to treat pain, such as Vicodin, has created dependency in many users. This has caused many people to turn to the black market in order to keep up with their addiction once treatment has ended; street prices of these drugs is incredibly high, and it ends up being cheaper for them to purchase heroin.
This has caused a drug addiction issue that has caused many individuals to look for alternatives to opiates right out of the gate.
The compounds in cannabis seem to be quite a useful tool for this, as it doesn’t generate addiction, it’s effective at reducing pain and has less side effects.
It’s quite probable that we’ll start to see pain relief medications using cannabinoids and terpenes as a healthier alternative when it comes to treating the symptoms of certain illnesses. The future that we’ve been waiting for, for so long, might just be here.
What did you think? Have you ever had any sort of experience related to what we talked about? Let the community know below!
Until next time!
Cali Terpenes
