A new compound that provides the pain-relieving properties of cannabis without the mind-altering effects can serve as an effective alternative to opioids for pain relief, according to researchers who developed the compound that mimics a natural molecule found in the cannabis plant.
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Stanford University found the compound harnesses the pain-relieving properties of cannabis without causing addiction in mice.
“There is an urgent need to develop non-addictive treatments for chronic pain, and that’s been a major focus of my lab for the past 15 years,” said lead author Susruta Majumdar, Ph.D of Washington University School of Medicine.
“The custom-designed compound we created attaches to pain-reducing receptors in the body but by design, it can’t reach the brain. This means the compound …
