CMCR Medical Cannabis Research: Findings and Implications

Program Overview and Research Question

In 1999, a university was commissioned to begin a scientific research program — the Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR) — to "expand the public scientific knowledge on purported usages of marijuana" (Grant, Atkinson, Mattison, and Coates, 2010). The program was conducted by Igor Grant, M.D., J. Hampton Atkinson, M.D., Andrew Mattison, Ph.D., and Thomas J. Coates, Ph.D. Its findings were published on February 11, 2010, by the institution's Health Sciences division. The central question guiding the program was: "Does marijuana have therapeutic value?" (p. 2).

To answer this question, the program approved a total of fifteen studies, including seven clinical trials. At the time of the report's publication in February 2010, five clinical trials had been completed and two remained in progress (p. 2). Five clinical studies were discontinued due to an insufficient patient population for participation in the cancelled trials (p. 15).

The program and studies conducted under it had the benefit of being fully funded and were carried out under the direct supervision of qualified medical professionals. In this regard, the studies should be considered reliable, with the highest levels of clinical methodology having been employed — important qualities in any medical research program.

Study Design, Oversight, and Methodology

The data yielded by the studies underwent CMCR review, and scientists from around the nation were engaged to participate in the review process. Those scientists became members of the Scientific Review Board (SRB), after first being vetted for eligibility by the Research Advisory Panel of California (RAP-C), the Office of Public Health and Science of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This multi-tiered oversight comports with the highest level of professionalism and lends significant credibility to the mission and research objectives. The 2010 report succinctly summarizes the quality of professionalism and the high degree of clinical trial standards maintained, stating:

"In establishing [the] CMCR, the California Legislature enabled the creation of what is now arguably a world-class resource for both state-of-the-art clinical trials on medicinal cannabis and its derivatives, and for developing knowledge on the potential and limitations of cannabinoid therapeutics for selected indications" (p. 16).

The program's clinical studies that were subsequently published or submitted for publication covered the following areas: Cannabis for Treatment of HIV-Related Peripheral Neuropathy; Vaporization as a Smokeless Cannabis Delivery System; Short-Term Effects of Cannabis Therapy on Spasticity in MS; Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Trial of Medicinal Cannabis in Painful HIV Neuropathy; Analgesic Efficacy of Smoked Cannabis; and Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Smoked Cannabis on Neuropathic Pain (p. 2).

Clinical Trial Areas and Key Findings

Separate and distinct patient populations were selected for each study. For example, in the study on Cannabis for Treatment of HIV-Related Peripheral Neuropathy, 55 patients were randomized and 50 of those followed through the complete trial (p. 10). In this particular study, the effects of smoked cannabis compared with those of a placebo were significant: patients receiving cannabis reported a 34% reduction in daily pain, versus 17% among those receiving the placebo.

The outcomes of the completed studies suggest that medical use of marijuana for pain management is warranted. The study concluded that there is an absence of adequate pain-relieving analgesics available to patients in the classifications studied. Findings related to the efficacy of cannabis for the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) indicate that medicinal marijuana represents a viable avenue of treatment for this difficult-to-manage condition and the pain associated with it (p. 16).