Starting with this issue, Lift Up Your Life will begin a series of articles that highlight new, leading research and guidance from top health institutions regarding plant-based cannabidiol, or CBD.
Today, the series begins with guidelines on CBD from the Arthritis Foundation –the foundation’s first-ever publication on the topic. With May being National Arthritis Awareness Month, it is fitting to look for ways to boost research, advocacy, and, most of all, help with pain management.
The absence of universal quality standards and regulations and growing volume of arthritic sufferers’ questions regarding efficacy contributed to the Foundation’s decision to issue its own guidelines needed because people with arthritis are not waiting to treat their pain, according to Cindy McDaniel, the Arthritis Foundation‘s senior vice president of consumer health and impact.
The foundation reports that 79 percent of arthritic individuals surveyed currently use CBD, have used it in the past, or are considering using it as an alternative therapy to help manage arthritis pain.
In regard to CBD, the absence of universal quality standards and regulations and growing volume of arthritic sufferers’ questions regarding efficacy contributed to the Foundation’s decision to issue its own guidelines, detailed here in this issue.
Arthritis pain experts – Daniel Clauw, MD, Mary-Ann Fitzcharles, MD, and Kevin Boehnke, Ph.D. – worked with the Foundation to develop practical guidance that addresses patients’ top questions.
“It’s important that the Arthritis Foundation has taken a stand on CBD,” Dr. Clauw said. “Right now, it appears to be fairly safe and might help certain types of pain. It’s far better to give this guidance, even if preliminary because otherwise, people will have no guidance whatsoever.”
Editor’s Note: For additional information see The CBD Guide: Special Commentary by the Arthritis Foundation