Tag Archives: cannabis

Cannabis and Age-Related Disease: Clinical Insights Into an Emerging Therapeutic Frontier

August 22, 2025

As the landscape of longevity medicine continues to evolve, there are very few topics as contested as the role of cannabis-based medicinal products in age-related disease management. While the use of cannabis in younger populations has historically raised concerns about neurocognitive effects, recent evidence suggests that older adults may benefit from its unique pharmacologic profile.

For clinicians working at the intersection of aging, chronic disease, and patient quality of life, the potential applications of cannabis-based medicinal products warrant careful exploration.

The Endocannabinoid System and Aging

Central to cannabis’ therapeutic potential is the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS is a network of receptors, ligands, and enzymes that regulate homeostasis across multiple physiologic systems. Aging is associated with dysregulation of the ECS, including reduced CB1 receptor expression and altered signaling pathways. These changes may contribute to increased vulnerability to inflammation, sleep disturbance, chronic pain, and neuropsychiatric symptoms in older adults.

Cannabinoid compounds such as THC and CBD act on these pathways in distinct ways. Evidence suggests that cannabis may restore some of the regulatory balance lost with age in older adults. This is in contrast to younger populations, where ECS disruption from heavy cannabis use can impair cognitive development and long-term brain health.

For longevity-focused practitioners, this age-dependent response highlights the importance of timing, context, and dosing in therapeutic application.

Clinical Applications in Age-Related Disease

Research on cannabis and aging is still in its early stages, but several domains of potential benefit are emerging:

  • Sleep Disorders: Insomnia prevalence rises with age and correlates with poor cardiometabolic outcomes and accelerated cognitive decline. Small-scale trials suggest that cannabinoids may improve sleep latency and quality, potentially serving as adjunctive therapy when traditional pharmacologics are poorly tolerated.
  • Neuropsychiatric Symptoms: Anxiety and depression frequently complicate aging trajectories and chronic illness. Preliminary evidence indicates that CBD, in particular, may mitigate these symptoms without the sedative risks associated with benzodiazepines.
  • Chronic Pain and Inflammation: Musculoskeletal degeneration, neuropathy, and inflammatory arthritis represent leading drivers of diminished healthspan. CBMPs may reduce pain perception and modulate inflammatory pathways, offering a non-opioid alternative for select patients.

Importantly, these therapeutic opportunities must be weighed against the risk of cognitive impairment, falls, and polypharmacy interactions, particularly in frail or multimorbid patients.

Challenges in Evidence and Clinical Adoption

Despite promising signals, the evidence base remains limited. Most studies are small, heterogeneous, and constrained by inconsistent terminology. Terms such as “recreational use,” “heavy use,” or “older adults” lack clinical precision, making it difficult to translate findings into actionable protocols. Standardized dosing frameworks, age-stratified cohorts, and randomized controlled trials are needed to clarify efficacy and safety.

The lack of trial data presents both a barrier and an opportunity for clinicians. Those who integrate cannabis into practice must do so with an emphasis on personalized risk-benefit assessment and meticulous patient monitoring.

Practical Considerations for Longevity Medicine

Physicians interested in integrating cannabis-based medicinal products into longevity practice should approach cautiously but proactively:

  • Patient Selection: Older adults with refractory pain, insomnia, or anxiety who have not responded to standard therapies may represent appropriate candidates for careful cannabis trials.
  • Formulation and Delivery: Non-inhaled forms (e.g., capsules, oils, or microdosed preparations) may reduce respiratory risk and improve dose consistency.
  • Monitoring: Close tracking of cognition, balance, cardiovascular status, and drug-drug interactions is critical, particularly when patients are on polypharmacy regimens.

By embedding cannabis discussions within a broader framework of patient-centered, longevity-focused care, clinicians can navigate this evolving field responsibly.

Looking Ahead

Cannabis is not a panacea for aging. Yet, in the right patients it may offer meaningful improvements in healthspan by addressing sleep, mood, pain, and inflammation which are core domains of longevity medicine. As research deepens, physicians will need to discern where cannabis fits among other emerging therapies and how to integrate its use into evidence-based protocols.

The future of longevity care depends on leveraging every validated tool at our disposal. Cannabis, once dismissed as fringe, may soon take its place as a legitimate adjunct in the fight against age-related decline.

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Cannabis for Pain Management in Sickle Cell Disease Cases

August 6, 2020

Sickle cell disease, a red blood cell disorder that causes cellular deformation resulting in cells similar in shape to sickles, is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States and affects approximately 100,000 Americans. The vulnerable cells have a shorter lifespan than normal cells and thus, there is a decreased amount of oxygen being transported through the body. As these cells tend to clog smaller blood vessels as well, they can result in acute or chronic pain, infection, and serious cardiovascular complications.

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend over-the-counter analgesics for the treatment of mild pain in cases of sickle cell disease. In more severe cases, clinicians often prescribe opioid medications, such as morphine, which come with serious and potentially fatal side effects. As such, there has been a growing number of research efforts into pain management methods for patients with sickle cell disease that mitigate adverse health outcomes.

Previous research has found that cannabis-based interventions can be effective at mitigating chronic pain, inflammation, and other unwanted symptoms. Emerging evidence published in JAMA Network Open explores the potential benefit of cannabis as an intervention for successful and safe pain management. The proof of principle study found that cannabis was a relatively safe intervention and could improve mood levels in patients who experience chronic pain from sickle cell disease.

Cannabis-Based Interventions

The medicinal indications of cannabis – now legal in 33 states – continue to expand as cannabis becomes increasingly popular as an analgesic within the scientific community. In the latest study, using cannabis as an analgesic was found to have the best evidence base compared to that of other interventions; however, authors of the study note that few human studies have explored the use of cannabis as a treatment for chronic pain in the case of chronic health conditions thus far.

Researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized proof of principle study aiming to test the hypothesis that cannabis can be an efficacious pain reliever in adults with sickle cell disease compared with placebo interventions. Participants of the study had all been diagnosed with sickle cell disease and were being treated with opioid analgesics at the time. They were required to have prior experience smoking cannabis to ensure they would administer the medication properly and be able to recognize its effects. Individuals currently using cannabis were asked to discontinue use for a week prior to the initiation of the trial. Out of the 27 total participants, 23 completed the full study and were included in the final analysis.

As part of the study, participants completed two 5-day trips to an inpatient research center – visits were at least 30 days apart – at which they inhaled either vaporized cannabis or vaporized placebo three times per day. Throughout their stay, researchers assessed participants’ pain levels, the interference of pain in a range of daily activities, mood, as well as associated side effects.

Reduced Impact on Mood

The study’s authors report that inhaled, vaporized cannabis did not significantly improve the intensity of pain compared with placebo interventions, however, they found that when participants inhaled cannabis, pain interfered less with their mood. Additionally, the effects were noted without significant adverse side effects implicating the relative safety of the intervention.

Co-author Dr. Kalpna Gupta from the University of California Irvine’s Center for the Study of Cannabis explained in a Medical News Today article: “These trial results show that vaporized cannabis appears to be generally safe. They also suggest that sickle cell patients may be able to mitigate their pain with cannabis — and that cannabis might help society address the public health crisis related to opioids. Of course, we still need larger studies with more participants to give us a better picture of how cannabis could benefit people with chronic pain.”

The latest research paves the way for future studies that are needed to verify these initial findings although, its findings are promising for quality of life improvement in sickle cell disease patients. However, the trial had limitations as a proof of principle design; the cohort was small and larger scale studies are necessary to validate its results. Furthermore, the short treatment duration and follow-up period limits the generalizability of the data as participants only ingested vaporized cannabis three times a day during the study; this may not be reflective of actual use patterns of medicinal cannabis for pain relief. Nonetheless, the latest evidence shows promise for the development of future novel treatments and cannabis-based interventions for chronic pain management and mood improvement.

The Endocannabinoid System and the Modulation of Pain and Inflammation

June 6, 2019

The Endocannabinoid System

The recent discovery of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and its modulatory role in many physiological functions has been very exciting for science. The three major constituents of the ECS include the endocannabinoid signaling molecules; mainly anandamide and 2-AG, G-protein-coupled cannabinoid receptors, and enzymes involved in ligand on-demand synthesis and inactivation.

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