FPM and medicinal cannabis

23 March 2021

The Faculty of Pain Medicine says there needs to be more clinical evidence about the efficacy of medicinal cannabis before use as a treatment for chronic, non-cancer pain.

The faculty’s latest advice to healthcare professionals on medicinal cannabis and pain management has been added to its Choosing Wisely list of five recommendations on tests, treatments and procedures that should be questioned by health professionals and consumers because of their low value. Choosing Wisely recommendations are not prescriptive, but are intended as guidance to start a conversation between doctors and patients about what is appropriate and necessary.

The sixth recommendation released on 23 March for Australian doctors and reported in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age  says:  Do not prescribe currently available cannabinoid products to treat chronic non-cancer pain unless part of a registered clinical trial.

You can read FPM Dean Associate Professor Mick Vagg's article in The Conversation.