I'm posting a link from the November issue of the APF (American Pain Foundation) which describes the results from another small study demonstrating the benefits of smoking cannabis to alleviate neuropathic pain. The authors led by Mark Wallace, an anesthesiology professor at U Cal San Diego mimicked nerve pain using capsaicin and found that an intermediate dose ~4% by weight THC gave a statistically significant reduction in nerve pain vs smoking a placebo. Interesting that a low-dose was ineffective but a high does actually exacerbated the pain.

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/534655/?sc=dwhn

I'm sure this topic has been posted on before but I can't honestly remember where on the forum so I'll include a link to an earlier study from Don Abrams' and colleagues at U Cal San Francisco re: the use of THC to alleviate the PN of HIV/AIDS patients particularly when the PN is caused by or aggravated by a medical regimen that included NRTI's (nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors). I'm sure the earlier post included comments re: the results from Canandian and UK studies on THC and analogues so hopefully many other forum members can make up for my memory lapse.

http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/1667_11275.shtml

I know the topic engenders strong feelings on both sides of the legalization issue as well as possible long-term SE's but I thought it was worth the thread just to bring it to the forum's attention again.

I'll off-line now on my way to Johns Hopkins tomorrow for a Tuesday/Wednesday appt and then back home to say goodbye to colleagues caught up with me in the latest downsizing bloodbath.

I'll post if I have some sort of news from my trip to JH - maybe they can shed some light on a source my idiopathic and refractory pain - something that many, many foum members know all too well.

Alkymst