Cannabinoids and the new horizons in the treatment of pain phenomenon

Although the use and clinical practice are old around the cannabis plant, medicinal treatment has only recently achieved a prominent place by isolating the most important components of the plant and used as treatment products from the discovery of the endocannabinoid system.

Due to the scarcity of scientific evidence with relevance, we look forward to more publications and safe therapeutic combinations around this topic. Cannabinoid medicine is a reality in the current world context for various treatments, it is time to reflect and seek new treatment options, although many questions remain unanswered or are not ready by the scientific community, such as lack of relevant pain models, evaluation strategies limited by laws, differences between laboratory animals and humans, failures to perform analysis and interpretation of clinical trials, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of each of the cannabinoids, among other factors.

Probably, the most appropriate strategy is to perform reverse translational reasoning, verifying the occurrences with patients in daily clinical practice and, then, proposing pain models and evaluation methods consistent with the problem. On the other hand, we know that clinical decision-making must be based on randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews that drive experts to make decisions¹. The road is long, but it is already being trodden.

I believe that this special issue of the Brazilian Journal of Pain on cannabinoids should have a strong cultural and political impact, in addition to the clinical relevance around “Cannabis” in the current Brazilian scenario, eager for information, contributing to a new reassessment of the current prohibitionist policies developed around the cannabis issue.

This is a huge responsibility, from a proposal made by professor Irimar de Paula Posso to the Sociedade Brasileira para o Estudo da Dor (SBED) Cannabis Committee in the previous administration. That’s how it all started and, from paper, it became a reality. Embracing the cause, our current president Dr. José Oswaldo de Oliveira Jr continued with the efforts to publish one of the most controversial topics of our time. With a hard work of editing by the entire editorial board of SBED, especially by our Editor-in-Chief Dr. Josimari Melo DeSantana and extreme dedication of the authors regarding the themes entrusted to them.

In this supplement, we will provide a reliable source of information and updating for healthcare professionals and researchers in basic and clinical science and to everyone who is interested in the topic.

Carla Leal Pereira

Anesthesiologist with Accreditation in Pain, São Paulo SP, Brazil.

SBED Supervisory Board, FEDELAT Board of Directors.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3322-015X

E-mail : [e-mail]

REFERENCES

• ¹
  DeSantana JM. Are we really translating pain knowledge to clinical practice? BrJP. 2022;5(2):89.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  22 May 2023
• Date of issue
  2023