Cannabis studies are portrayed positively in the media regardless of the treatment effect

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We see that cannabis studies are often described positively in the media, regardless of the results of the studies. It is a problem and can affect the expectation of pain relief in cannabis therapy. He says that the more positive effects a treatment is supposed to have, the greater the potential harm can be tolerated Philip GeidenPostdoctoral fellow at Department of Clinical Neuroscienceand Karolinska Institutet and first author of the study.

The study is based on an analysis of published clinical studies in which cannabis was compared to a placebo in the treatment of pain. Change in pain intensity before and after treatment was the study’s primary outcome measure.

The analysis applies to studies published through September 2021. A total of 20 studies with approximately 1,500 subjects were included.

No difference between cannabis and placebo

The results showed that pain intensity decreased significantly after the placebo treatment, with a moderate to significant effect. The researchers also saw no difference in pain reduction between cannabis and placebo, which is consistent with the results of another recently published meta-analysis.

– There is a clear and clinically relevant placebo response in studies of cannabis for pain, says Philip Gaiden.

The KI researchers also investigated whether, in the media and in the research, there is a relationship between how effective treatment shown in cannabis studies and the effect they receive. Influence in the media was measured using so-called Altmetrics, which is a method for evaluating mentions in the media, blogs and social media. Academic impact was measured as quotes by other researchers.

The media coverage analysis included a total of 136 stories from the media and blogs. Reporting was categorized as positive, negative, or neutral, depending on how results were presented regarding the effectiveness of cannabis in treating pain.

Great media attention

It turns out that the cannabis studies got a lot more attention in the media than other published studies. The effect was significant regardless of how high the placebo response was and regardless of the effect of the cannabis treatment. The researchers also saw no relationship between the proportion of positively worded news the study received and the effect of cannabis treatment in that study.

The researchers say that because the research combined trials of varying designs and quality, the results should be interpreted with caution.

The research was funded by the Riksbank’s Jubileumsfond. The researchers state that there are no potential conflicts of interest.

Publishing

“Placebo response and media interest in randomized clinical trials evaluating cannabis-based therapies for pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Philippe Gaiden, Sebastien Plumé, Moa Pontine, Maria Laloney, Jens Faust, Andre Racket, Victor Wadenmark Lundquist, William H. Thompson and Karen Jensen, JAMA Network is openonline November 28, 2022, doi: 10.1001/Jamanetworkopen.2022.43848