Pain is a complex sensory response that our bodies make to signal the brain of possible damage to the tissues of our body. We’ve studied how to mitigate pain for centuries, and for years, a lot of studies have suggested that a substance within the cannabis plant is effective against it.

A new study from the University of New Mexico discovered that extracting cannabis oil and using it as a topical solution, or ingesting it, can free a person from one of the most debilitating pain known to man—neuropathic pain. But what exactly is a neuropathic pain and how can we be sure that the infamous cannabis plant is now truly on our side?

A Brief Overview of Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain is pain brought by disease or damage to the somatosensory nervous system. It may often be associated with allodynia, a bizarre pain coming from usually non-painful stimuli. It can also manifest as dysesthesia, an unpleasant, abnormal sense of touch that’s often presented as pain, but may also be an inappropriate, but not disquieting, sensation. According to healthline.com, a 2014 study estimates that as many as 10% of the American population experience some type of neuropathic pain.

Lab Studies Bringing Pain Relieving Benefits into Light

Researchers of the study, which was published on mdpi.com titled “The Therapeutic Effectiveness of Full Spectrum Hemp Oil Using a Chronic Neuropathic Pain Model”, noted that cannabis or CBD (Cannabidiol) oil was so effective, numerous lab mice were able to experience pain sensitivity similar to those of the control mice that had no pain issues and didn’t receive any form of treatment.

Reducing pain, of any kind, by tenfold is a feat that not a lot of medicines can do, and the study was the first to really measure CBD oil’s therapeutic potential. This certainly encourages companies that are extracting cannabis oil to provide better pain-relieving oils for those in need.

Positive Mental Health Effects

Our mental state is intertwined with our somatosensory system, which can either lessen or worsen the pain we feel. Dr Jacob Miguel Vigil, associate professor in The University of New Mexico states that “profound and often immediate relief from symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and depression” are all felt by patients when extracting oil from cannabis plants with minuscule levels of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol). Another researcher from the study, Jegason P. Diviant, said that cannabis plants have various therapeutic constituents, all of which are believed to make analgesic responses in the body that soothes the patient’s pain.