Safety and Efficacy of Medical Cannabis Oil in the Treatment of Patients With Chronic Pain

Chronic Pain Clinical Trial

Official title: Safety and Efficacy of Medical Cannabis Oil in the Treatment of Patients With Chronic Pain: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study, Followed by an Open-Label Extension Phase

Status Recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

Seeking for effective therapeutic strategies, the investigators are proposing to test the effectiveness of different formulations of medical cannabis oil to alleviate chronic pain, which was partially relieved with conventional prescriptions. Furthermore, the investigators would like to assess the effect of different formulations of medical cannabis oil on other symptoms associated to chronic pain like anxiety and depression, as well as insomnia and appetite. Finally, as recently recommended for clinical studies on medical cannabis, the investigators will examine the safety profile of different cannabis formulations focusing on the following elements: a real chronic administration with more than two weeks of treatment, a larger number of patients, and the clinical relevance of medical cannabis oil to change the amount and type of concomitant medications used to control chronic non-cancer and cancer pain.

Clinical Trial Description

This is a 6-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group design trial followed by an open-label extension phase of 12 weeks, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of different formulations of medical cannabis oil to reduce chronic pain intensity.

The study will be conducted at Santé Cannabis Clinic, the only medical cannabinoid therapy clinic, located in Montreal, Quebec. One hundred and sixty consecutive adult patients, male and female, with chronic non-cancer and cancer pain (at least 3 months in duration), with an average weekly pain intensity score greater than 4 on the 11 points NRS, will be prospectively recruited and invited to participate in this trial.

Informed consent will be obtained by a Research Assistant.

After baseline documentation with standardized scales, patients will be randomized to one of 4 parallel groups:

• Group A: THC/CBD ratio 1:1 capsule

• Group B: THC/CBD ratio 1:2 capsule

• Group C: THC/CBD ratio 0.1:2 capsule

• Group D: Placebo capsule Patients will have a dose titration phase during the first week. The dose escalation will allow patients to adapt to the potential adverse effects (AEs) of the medical cannabis.

Follow-up visits will be done after 1 week and 6 weeks of treatment. At the end of the first phase of the study, patients who wish to participate in the open-label extension phase will have the option to continue in the same treatment regimen. For the placebo group, the investigator may propose one of the cannabis oils to the subject if they feel it may potentially provide benefits.

They will take this new treatment for other 12 weeks. For this open-label extension phase the follow-up visits will be done after 4 weeks and 12 weeks of treatment. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Chronic Pain

• NCT number: NCT03337503
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Santé Cannabis
• Contact: Erin Prosk, MSc
• Phone: (514) 419-4131
• Email: erin@santecannabis.ca
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 4
• Start date: January 29, 2018
• Completion date: December 2018