Those with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) may have found a new method of pain relief in medical marijuana. A study of 50 patients with sickle cell disease at the Adult Sickle Cell Program at Yale New Haven Hospital found that “patients with medical marijuana showed a reduction in median six-month hospital admissions compared with those who did not get medical marijuana.”

Sickle Cell patients are often prescribed high dose prescription narcotics, such as Oxycontin, to relieve their intense pain. This pain often brings them to the hospital, which currently involves more risk than usual due to Covid-19. Patients in the YNHH study may be able better tolerate their pain at home with the help of medical cannabis, according to Susanna Curtis, MD, of Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center.

This study is yet one more example of how medical cannabis can be helpful for patients with pain.

Link to the full article, from HCP Live, here.

Author Matthew Mintz, MD