Cannabis use is associated with sustained reductions in analgesia and improvements in glycaemic control in patients suffering from diabetic neuropathy, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Biomedicines. Researchers assessed the adjunctive use of inhaled cannabis in a cohort of 50 patients suffering from treatment-resistant diabetic neuropathy. Study participants inhaled standardised, medical-grade cannabis flower (20% THC | 1% CBD) for five years.
Patients reported significant decreases in their pain scores, as well reductions in their use of opioids and other prescription analgesics, over the span of the study. Specifically, participants decreased their morphine-equivalent doses by more than 90%, their gabapentin doses by 97%, duloxetine by 93% and pregabalin by 79% without developing rebound pain. Patients’ pain severity decreased from a mean of nine to two on a numerical rating scale.
“The present longitudinal observational study demonstrates the potential long-term benefits of inhaled cannabis as an adjunctive therapy for painful diabetic neuropathy” the study’s authors concluded. “Over a 5-year follow-up period, patients exhibited significant reductions in pain severity, pain interference and neuropathic symptoms, alongside marked improvements in pain relief. These symptomatic improvements were accompanied by enhanced glycaemic control (HbA1c reduced from 9.77% to 7.79%) substantial tapering of concurrent analgesics and no major adverse events attributable to cannabis. … Inhaled cannabis is both safe and effective for treating refractory painful DN [diabetic neuropathy] because it provides pain relief as well as metabolic advantages and allows for reduced medication use”.
18 November, 2025