nlike with morphine, however, none of the studied terpenes produced a meaningful reward response, the research found, indicating that “terpenes could be effective analgesics with no rewarding or dysphoric side effects.”
Notably, terpenes that were vaporized or administered orally seemed to have little impact on pain. A new federally funded study into the effects of cannabis terpenes suggests that the compounds could be “potential therapeutics for chronic neuropathic pain,” finding that an injected dose of the compounds produced a “roughly equal” reduction in pain markers when compared to a smaller dose of morphine. Terpenes also appeared to enhance the efficacy of morphine when given in combination.
Unlike with morphine, however, none of the studied terpenes produced a meaningful reward response, the research found, indicating that “terpenes could be effective analgesics with no rewarding or dysphoric side effects.”
Notably, terpenes that were vaporized or administered orally seemed to have little impact on pain. Authors note that while primary chemical components in marijuana, like THC and CBD, have been shown in some studies to be effective in managing chronic pain, “their efficacy is generally moderate, and THC is burdened by unwanted psychoactive side effects.”
“These limits have focused attention on other potentially therapeutic components of Cannabis,” they wrote, “including minor cannabinoids, flavonoids, and terpenes.”
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The paper, “Terpenes from Cannabis sativa induce antinociception in a mouse model of chronic neuropathic pain via activation of adenosine A2A receptors,” was published this month in PAIN, the journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain. The 14-author team behind the report includes researchers from the University of Arizona’s Comprehensive Center for Pain and Addiction as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“A question that we’ve been very interested in is could terpenes be used to manage chronic pain?” lead researcher John Streicher, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine in Tucson, said in a press release about the study. “What we found is that terpenes are really good at relieving a specific type of chronic pain with side effects that are low and manageable.”
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