Can Hemp Oil Reduce Chronic Neuropathic Pain?

Many studies have suggested that cannabis is an effective treatment for neuropathic pain. Advocates have been saying it for years. But a new study from the University of New Mexico is one of the most conclusive yet. It found that “full-spectrum” whole-plant hemp oil greatly reduced pain in mice.

In the study, published in the journal Life, the researchers wrote that in some cases, “full-spectrum” extracted hemp oil had the effect of “reducing mechanical pain sensitivity over tenfold.” 

A tenfold reduction in pain is a significant amount of pain reduction. In a news release about the study, researchers noted that hemp oil proved so effective that some mice experienced pain sensitivity on par with control mice who had no pain issues and received no treatment at all.

The University of New Mexico study is the first to measure the therapeutic potential of legal hemp oil with low THC levels. In the news release, co-researcher Dr. Jacob Miguel Vigil, associate professor in the school’s Psychology Department, said that cannabis plants with low levels of THC offer “profound and often immediate relief from symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and depression.”