UNM Links Marijuana Legalization and Decrease in Opioid Use

Researchers at the University of New Mexico did some digging to determine if there is a connection between legal access to marijuana and a reduction in opioid use.

Where marijuana is legally accessible, the study indicates that significant reductions in opioid use are noted. Since these findings were published, it has been announced that the first human clinical trial of this topic will take place in Puerto Rico. The strain that will be used is called CTL-X. The strain is designed specifically to target pain.

The clinical trial will be conducted by Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd, the research sector for Veritas Pharma Inc. Two phases of the clinical trial will be conducted. The first phase will include just two doses of the strain in just five people. The second phase of the clinical trial will be double-blind testing CTL-X against a placebo to determine the effectiveness and response to different levels of acute pain. The second phase will include 16 participants.

Veritas Pharma Inc. CEO Lui Franciosi, parent company for Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd., said, “We are pleased to see Cannevert’s lead strain for pain is finally heading into human trials. It’s important to us to move quickly into this next phase of providing clinical proof of cannabis’ effectiveness, this after our chemical and animal assays delivered favorable results. FDI is a reputable group of clinicians and clinical trialists with a long history of evaluating treatments for major pharmaceutical companies. The Puerto Ricans are becoming world leaders in investigating and selling cGMP medical cannabis and their insights will be valuable. We aim to provide physicians and patients with scientifically tested and clinically proven cannabis therapies targeting pain. In the next year, Veritas’s goal is to have a branded analgesic strain in which its dose and method of administration are standardized to actively compete with over-the-counter analgesics as well as potentially reducing or eliminating opioid use in the acute and chronic pain markets.”