…There's a slight catch, of course. Researchers at San Francisco General Hospital want to determine whether cannabis can help treat pain associated with sickle-cell disease, a hereditary blood disorder that can cause a number of health problems including severe infections, stroke, and bouts of severe pain. Naturally, in order to conduct this study, test patients are needed, so the hospital's oncologist, Dr. Donald Abrams, and his research team are seeking eligible applicants to participate for the good of science. Yeah, science!
Selected test subjects will visit SF General's clinical research center two separate times, with each visit lasting five days. During their stay, they will inhale cannabis three times a day using a Volcano vaporizer and log any effects they experience and whether they impact their level of pain.
To be considered eligible for the study, applicants must adhere to the following guidelines:
- Be diagnosed with sickle-cell disease
- Be currently taking a stable regimen of pain medications, including an opioid (such as morphine, oxycodone, hydromorphone, etc.) for chronic pain stemming from the disease
- Be able to spend two separate periods of five days and four nights at SF General's clinical research center
- Have smoked cannabis on at least six occasions in their lifetime
- Refrain from using cannabis for one week prior to starting the study
- Not be pregnant or breastfeeding, and agree to use adequate birth control during the study
- Be able to read and speak English
- Not have any severe heart, lung, kidney, or liver problems
- Not currently be using smoked tobacco products
- Not test positive for alcohol or injection drugs
If you meet the above qualifications and are interested in participating, you can call (415) 476-4082, ext. 146. Do it for science! (And for cannabis, obviously. But also for science.)
