There are several angles from which we could study medical cannabis. Biological mechanisms and physical responses are two of them. A third is quality of life (QOL). Based on the results of a study I just read about, it seems as though we should be giving more attention to QOL issues. Our research into medical cannabis should not be restricted exclusively to the biological and physical.
Researchers from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine enrolled nearly 400 participants in a survey-based study designed to gain a better understanding of how medical cannabis impacts QOL. All the participants were brand new to medical cannabis. Among them, more than 20 qualifying conditions were represented. However, the majority of the patients were using medical cannabis to treat either chronic pain or anxiety.
In a nutshell, the study revealed a 20% improvement in both pain levels and physical function. A 15% improvement was noted in emotional wellbeing. Clearly, medical cannabis improved the QOL of some of the studied patients. But is that important? Yes.
When Medicine Isn’t Curative
We often view new medical treatments through the lens of their ability to cure. That’s absolutely appropriate. If a new therapy is submitted to the FDA as a curative therapy, regulators want to make sure it actually delivers. A curative therapy that doesn’t really cure is little more than quackery.
But truth be told, the majority of our medical therapies aren’t curative in nature. Instead, they are designed for symptom management. For example, painkillers do not cure disease. They mitigate pain. Blood pressure medications don’t cure the underlying condition. They simply regulate blood pressure.
When medicine is not curative, its efficacy is determined by how well it relieves symptoms. And quite often, a genuine measurement of symptom relief is reflected in quality of life. Let us use osteoarthritis as an example.
Symptom Relief Is Subjective
Osteoarthritis symptom relief is subjective. In other words, there is no lab test for measuring pain. Doctors rely on patient reports about how they feel. A medication deemed efficacious would provide adequate relief. Another medication that does not provide relief would be deemed not efficacious.
Here’s the kicker: when an osteoarthritis patient’s pain is relieved, that person’s QOL improves. That tells me that QOL should be included with pain ratings to determine whether a patient’s medication is working.
In the case of medical cannabis, the previously discussed study showed an overall improvement in QOL. Equally important were the improvements in pain level and emotional wellbeing. As people feel better both physically and emotionally, their QOL increases.
Is It the Best Measurement?
After reading the study and its results, I find myself asking if QOL could be the best measurement of efficacy for some therapies. Chronic pain immediately comes to mind. At Beehive Farmacy in Salt Lake City, Utah, most of the patients coming in to purchase medicines are using medical cannabis for pain. It’s true across Utah as well as the rest of the country.
Beehive Farmacy personnel say that some of their patients speak freely about an improved QOL. They are happy to talk about how certain medications have drastically improved their lives by restoring function and allowing them to get back to some sense of normalcy.
Is that important? Absolutely. And in fact, it’s not something we even think about in terms of some of the most popular prescription medications on the market. We just accept that QOL is a valid measurement of efficacy. That being the case, I see no reason why medical cannabis should be different. QOL still matters to cannabis users.