A study published in the journal Pain suggests that cannabis terpenes—the compounds responsible for the aroma and taste of plants—provide an alternative for relieving chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain without any side effects. The research found that terpenes were as effective as morphine in reducing chronic neuropathic pain. Additionally, combining terpenes with morphine enhanced pain relief without negative side effects.
The study was led by Dr. John Streicher, a member of the Comprehensive Center for Pain & Addiction and a professor of pharmacology at the College of Medicine – Tucson. Using a mouse model of chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain, which results from nerve damage caused by toxic chemotherapy medications, the researchers tested the pain-relieving effects of individual terpenes and compared them with morphine.
The results showed that each terpene successfully reduced pain sensation to levels near or above the peak effect of morphine. Moreover, when terpenes were combined with morphine, the pain-relieving effects were significantly increased for all five terpene and morphine combinations tested.
Dr. Streicher explained, “We looked at other aspects of the terpenes, such as does this cause reward? Is this going to be addictive? Is it going to make you feel awful? What we found was yes, terpenes do relieve pain, and they also have a pretty good side effect profile.” He added, “This brings up the idea that you could have a combination therapy—an opioid with a high level of terpene—that could actually make the pain relief better while blocking the addiction potential of opioids.”
The paper, titled “Terpenes from Cannabis sativa induce antinociception in a mouse model of chronic neuropathic pain via activation of adenosine A2A receptors,” is the first to examine the side effects of terpenes in their role as potential pain relievers.
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