Etheridge Foundation Announces Grant to MIND Program
The Etheridge Foundation is excited to announce a $25,000 grant to Dr. Staci Gruber’s Marijuana Investigations for Neuroscientific Discovery (MIND) Program at McLean Hospital.
The primary goal of the funded project is to clarify the impact of a novel high-cannabidiol (CBD) product on pain, related symptomatology, and conventional medication use – particularly opioids.
Examining the effects of this custom-formulated, full-spectrum, ultra-high CBD product in patients with chronic pain aligns with the Etheridge Foundation’s goals in helping to prevent opioid dependence and abuse.
Dr. Gruber is the Director of the MIND Program and the Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core at McLean Hospital’s Brain Imaging Center, and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Her research has generated major contributions to the field of medical cannabis science.
“I am so honored and absolutely thrilled that the Etheridge Foundation has chosen to support our work,” said Dr. Gruber. “This project, which will use a custom formulated product to help address symptoms associated with chronic pain, is a critical next step in helping to move the field forward and especially important given the current opioid epidemic.”
More than 50 million – 1 in 5 – adults in the US suffer from chronic pain, a 2019 analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain “are among the most common reasons adults seek medical care and are associated with decreased quality of life, opioid dependence, and poor mental health,” according to the CDC.
“Opioid prescriptions for pain have opened the door to opioid use disorder (OUD) for many people,” said Etheridge Foundation Executive Director Anna Symonds.
She continued, “Research also doesn’t show any evidence that opioids are an effective treatment for chronic pain, while they greatly increase potential harms.”
Data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shows that 25% to 40% of patients on long-term opioid therapy (more than 90 days) have an opioid use disorder, and the VA itself says that “opioids are no longer recommended for the treatment of most patients with chronic pain.”
A recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found “conclusive or substantial evidence that cannabis or cannabinoids are effective” for chronic pain.
“Developing more effective, less-risky treatments for pain is a crucial intervention to help prevent many people from developing OUD,” said Symonds.
“We believe that access to powerful but gentle plant-based therapies, such as the one this study is examining, is key to people expanding their quality of life while managing pain.”
The Etheridge Foundation is thrilled to support Dr. Gruber’s important research on improving the quality of life and helping prevent opioid addiction for people with chronic pain.
