Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Introduction: Between 2013 and 2019, Illinois limited cannabis access to certified patients enrolled in the Illinois Medical Cannabis Program (IMCP). In 2016, the state instituted a fast-track pathway for terminal patients. The benefits of medicinal cannabis (MC) have clear implications for patients near end-of-life (EOL). However, little is known about how terminal patients engage medical cannabis relative to supportive care. Methods: Anonymous cross-sectional survey data were collected from 342 terminal patients who were already enrolled in (n = 19) or planning to enroll (n = 323) in hospice for EOL care. Logistic regression models compare patients in...

Abstract Introduction Palliative care aims to improve quality of life through optimal symptom control and pain management. Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) have a proven role in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. However, there is a paucity of high-quality evidence with regards to the optimal therapeutic regimen, safety, and effectiveness of CBMPs in palliative care, as existing clinical trials are limited by methodological heterogeneity. The aim of this study is to summarise the outcomes of the initial subgroup of patients from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry who were prescribed CBMPs for a primary indication of palliative care, cancer pain and chemotherapy-induced nausea and...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Context Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life in patients with incurable illness. Medicinal cannabis (MC) has been used in the palliative care setting to address multiple symptoms in patients. Objectives To evaluate the full scope of available literature investigating the effects and potential harms of MC on symptom management and quality of life in palliative care. Methods PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library and clinicaltrials.gov were searched for eligible articles, published between 1960 and September 9, 2021. Quality of the evidence was assessed in accordance with Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations. Risk of bias was assessed using the RoB 2 tool for randomised...

Abstract   Pain and symptom control challenges are common in palliative care, and the search for other therapeutic strategies is ongoing. Unfortunately, patients and their caregivers are receiving little information or support from healthcare providers regarding the increasingly popular cannabinoid-based medicines (CBM).Clinicians, meanwhile, feel understandably perplexed by the discrepancy between the available evidence and the rapid interest in which patients and their families have demonstrated for CBM. There is an urgent need to address the many challenges that are delaying the appropriate integration of CBM into clinical practice,notwithstanding the obvious need for a solid general knowledge of pharmacology, mechanism of action and available clinical...

Abstract Objectives: To determine the relative contributions of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) to patients' self-ratings of efficacy for common palliative care symptoms. Design: This is an electronic record-based retrospective cohort study. Model development used logistic regression with bootstrapped confidence intervals (CIs), with standard errors clustered to account for multiple observations by each patient. Setting: This is a national Canadian patient portal. Participants: A total of 2,431 patients participated. Main Outcome Measures: Self-ratings of efficacy of cannabis, defined as a three-point reduction in neuropathic pain, anorexia, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, insomnia, and post-traumatic flashbacks. Results: We included 26,150 observations between October 1, 2017 and November 28, 2018. Of the six...