{"id":8107,"date":"2018-03-02T18:44:13","date_gmt":"2018-03-02T18:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/?p=12024"},"modified":"2018-03-02T18:44:13","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T18:44:13","slug":"pa-rothman-institute-in-philly-will-study-medical-marijuana-for-pain-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/pa-rothman-institute-in-philly-will-study-medical-marijuana-for-pain-relief\/","title":{"rendered":"PA: Rothman Institute In Philly Will Study Medical Marijuana For Pain Relief"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/pa-rothman-institute-in-philly-will-study-medical-marijuana-for-pain-relief\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p>The Rothman Institute at Jefferson, one of the nation\u2019s largest orthopedic practices, announced Thursday it would collaborate on a study to investigate the benefits of medical marijuana for patients suffering from chronic and acute pain.<\/p>\n<p>Rothman will work with Franklin BioScience, a Colorado-based cannabis grower and retailer. Franklin BioScience expects to open a medical marijuana dispensary in late-March called Beyond Hello in Bristol Township, Bucks County.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a link between access to cannabis and reduced opioid overdoses,\u201d said physician Ari Greis, a Rothman pain management specialist who will oversee the research. \u201cWe\u2019re all being cautiously optimistic that it could be helpful to some of our patients. Because we\u2019re leaders in orthopedic medicine, we feel this is an opportunity we can\u2019t pass up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The announcement comes just after the state\u2019s medical marijuana program officially launched last week with the first legal sales of cannabis occurring at six dispensaries. Dozens more \u2014 which only will sell concentrates, vape pens, tinctures, and pills \u2014 are expected to open within the next several months.<\/p>\n<p>More than 17,000 patients have registered to participate in Pennsylvania\u2019s marijuana program. About 4,000 of those have been certified by a physician. The agency says about 380 physicians are approved to write recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>The Rothman project will explore whether medical marijuana can be an effective alternative to opioids for pain management.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers plan to enroll patients with lower back and leg pain brought on by sciatica, or compression of spinal nerves. Greis said he received approval for the observational study two weeks ago from Jefferson\u2019s Institutional Review Board. The research will be funded by Franklin Bioscience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSciatica is an unbelievably common problem and people try to avoid surgery for it,\u201d Greis said. Opioids are a common treatment. Until the study design is complete, it\u2019s unclear how long the study will be conducted or how many patients will be involved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have an obvious opioid crisis that is affecting our communities, and despite everyone\u2019s awareness of the problem there hasn\u2019t been a really obvious way to deal with it,\u201d Greis said. \u201cA lot of patients have tried so many things \u2014 various medications, physical therapies, injections, and surgeries \u2014 with little relief. Now we have a new option. And it warrants looking into.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Some physicians at Rothman are so convinced of the potential of cannabis to supplant or complement opioids that they have invested in Franklin Bioscience, Greis said.<\/p>\n<p>For the moment, Greis is the only Rothman physician approved by the state Department of Health to certify patients to participate in the state medical marijuana program. Because he can certify patients, Greis is barred by the state from investing in any cannabis business.<\/p>\n<p>Bob Pease is the president of Pennsylvania operations for\u00a0 Franklin BioScience. He said the company \u2014 and the national marijuana industry \u2014\u00a0 is bullish on the Keystone State.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPennsylvania could be the center of medical cannabis research for the country, given the way the state program is setting up,\u201d Pease said. \u201cBecause of the resources around Big Pharma, biotech, the medical and the scientific communities, we think that it\u2019s created an interesting dynamic for marijuana research. That\u2019s why we\u2019re having a big push there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rothman isn\u2019t the first medical center in the region to set out to research marijuana. Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia announced in December it would pair with an Australian biopharmaceutical company to study the effects of cannabis on children with autism.<\/p>\n<p>Franklin BioScience has the option to open two additional dispensaries in the state. Pease said the company has \u201ca good lead\u201d on a Philadelphia location. In December, it announced it would pair with the University of the Sciences in West Philadelphia to develop a cannabis education program for pharmacists, physicians, and students planning on entering the health professions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Rothman Institute at Jefferson, one of the nation\u2019s largest orthopedic practices, announced Thursday it would collaborate on a study&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/420-news\/medical-marijuana-news\/pa-rothman-institute-philly-will-study-medical-marijuana-pain-relief\/\" class=\"read-more\">[Read More]<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1614,9,1,3],"tags":[4182],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8107"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}