Pain relief with medical cannabis: Sardinia at the forefront

Sardinia at the forefront from a regulatory point of view in the use of therapeutic cannabis especially in pain therapy and in particular in fibromyalgia: this was discussed at a conference that opened this morning at the Double tree hotel in Olbia.

A use now tested, starting from Cagliari, but which still finds a lot of resistance in general practitioners especially in northern Sardinia.

The picture of the current regional context was illustrated by Dr. Tomaso Cocco, specialist in Anesthesia and Resuscitation and pain therapy at the Binaghi hospital in Cagliari and pioneer in the use of therapeutic cannabis on the island. From 2015 to today, 1173 patients have been followed up, 175 active renewals to date, of which 152 for fibromyalgia, followed by neurological and oncological pathologies. The average duration of therapy is 2.4 years and, explained Cocco during the congress, it must be adapted according to the patient's response and the type of pathology.

Neurologist Alessandra Giua , a specialist at the John Paul II hospital in Olbia, spoke of her experience in the Neurology department of the Gallura hospital which began a few years with a case of very serious migraine effectively treated and illustrated some clinical cases. The cases that can be treated with therapeutic cannabis at the expense of the national health service are defined by legislation and find application in particular in the treatment of pain both in neurological pathologies and in cancer patients, a pain that no longer responds to commonly used drugs.

And it is always the law that establishes the management rules of the drug that exists both in the pharmaceutical industrial production and in the galenic preparation, the one mainly used in the form of a liquid preparation to be administered with a dropper. Among the pharmacists who brought their experience Giuseppe Gutierrez , 32 years old, fourth generation of a historic dynasty of Sassari pharmacists and specialized in galenic preparations which he considers "an invaluable heritage".

There are more than 200 patients who use the preparation in drops of the therapeutic cannabis of the Sassari pharmacy. "The law - explains Gutierrez - imposes a strict protocol and very high quality standards that we must respect". During the meeting, the opinion polls of the Clinn Network company that organized the event will be illustrated.