Veterans are more likely to suffer from chronic pain – and the suicide risk that comes with it – when compared with the general population. In light of the opioid epidemic, finding safe and effective alternative treatments for chronic pain is an important research area when it comes to supporting the health of U.S. veterans. The State of Michigan has now awarded researchers from the University of Michigan a $7.4 million grant to study the effectiveness of cannabidiol (CBD) and medical cannabis products as therapies for managing chronic pain among the veteran population.
The five-year grant from the Veteran Marijuana Research (VMR) grant program will fund a clinical trial that includes two consecutive interventions. The first will assess the effectiveness of commercially-available CBD products on chronic pain symptoms, while the second will provide participants with tailored guidance on how to appropriately use products from licensed dispensaries. Co-principal investigator Kevin Boehnke, PhD, a research investigator in the Department of Anesthesiology and the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, noted that CBD is “very low risk and remarkably safe,” and that the first part of the study will help the researchers understand which types of chronic pain might best respond to CBD products. While many people report positive results from using cannabis or CBD to reduce pain, including as a substitute for other medications such as opioids, established treatment guidelines have yet to be developed for these products.
“Our educational clinical trial will be the first to empirically test guidance proposed by experts on appropriate use of cannabis products for chronic pain,” said co-principal investigator Rachel Bergmans, PhD, who is also a research investigator in the Department of Anesthesiology and Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center. Recruiting a veteran population to participate in the study will also be significant for breaking down research barriers, noted Bergmans.
“The veteran community is underrepresented in research on health interventions. A recently published study [Miller et al 2022] reports in a racially and ethnically diverse sample, the most common barrier was not knowing about research opportunities,” Bergman said. The team plans to establish a community advisory board to partner with veteran groups in the state in order to identify and overcome participation barriers, tailor recruitment approaches, interpret study findings and disseminate research results, she added. The ultimate goal of the study is “to develop practical advice on the scientific literature that could help people with chronic pain thoughtfully approach cannabis products for pain management,” according to Boehnke.
“We are developing an intervention to help empower veterans with chronic pain to maximize benefit and minimize harm from products available in legal dispensaries,” he said.
Amy Bohnert, PhD, MHS, professor of anesthesiology, psychiatry and epidemiology, will also serve as a co-investigator on the research project. Bohnert has also served as co-investigator of Precision Health’s Precision Opioid Prescribing use case and PROMPT study on precision treatment for mental health.
“This project benefits from years of experience, developed across several Precision Health projects, with collecting health data remotely and securely,” Bohnert said. “It will also further the goals of Precision Health by studying which people benefit from which treatments to manage pain and mental health problems.”