Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pain and Cannabis Markets

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Life in Pain

  • 371 Accesses

Abstract

On 14 March 2014 CNBC stock market TV commentator Jim Cramer was crazily excited about a rapid rise in the stock price of GW Pharmaceuticals after positive phase III test results for cannabinoid drug Epidiolex (cannabidiol). He observed that the stock price rise was not due to the potential for its use in child epilepsy (what the phase III trials were for), but due to the potential introduction of GW Pharmaceuticals into the pain relief market as a replacement for oxycodone. The market response was clear, pain management was a growth industry. In 2015 the global pain management market for pharmaceuticals was estimated at $36.6bn. Growth is noted particularly in the ageing population (cancer pain), increased incidence in obesity (driving musculoskeletal problems) and in changing attitudes to pain management after the oxycodone epidemic. This chapter maps out the rising fortunes of the cannabis pain relief market. Through looking at the rise of cannabis industries and the various ways governments across the globe are trying to extract capital through licensing and taxation, the neuromatrix extends from the individual into a discussion of how the state can extract economic value from pain. Through modulations in the perceived value of pain, private companies, governments and financial systems are readying themselves for a new commodification of pain.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abrams, D. I. (2018). The therapeutic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: An update from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report. European Journal of Internal medicine, 49, 7–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, L., Minozzi, S., Mitrova, Z., Parmelli, E., Saulle, R., Cruciani, R., et al. (2017). Systematic review of safeness and therapeutic efficacy of cannabis in patients with multiple sclerosis, neuropathic pain, and in oncological patients treated with chemotherapy. Epidemiologia e prevenzione, 41(5–6), 279–293.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Bankers Association. (2019). Letter to Senators Cory Gardner and Elizabeth Warren, April 3, 2019. Washington DC. https://www.gardner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/gardner-warren-reintroduce-states-act-with-broad-bipartisan-support.

  • Anson, P. (2016). Results of cannabis drug study cause market frenzy. Pain News Network. March 14, 2016. https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2016/3/14/dxd3a9ewzsxeozexqf4sukixz4iicv.

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2017). National drug strategy household survey 2016: Detailed findings. Drug Statistics series no. 31. Cat. no. PHE 214. Canberra: AIHW.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aviram, J., & Samuelly-Leichtag, G. (2017). Efficacy of cannabis-based medicines for pain management: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Pain Physician, 20(6), E755–E796.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bachhuber, M. A., Saloner, B., Cunningham, C. O., & Barry, C. L. (2014). Medicinal cannabis laws and opioid analgesic overdose mortality in the United States 1999–2010. JAMA Internal Medicine, 174(10), 1673–1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banerjee, A., & Mullainathan, S. (2010). The shape of temptation: Implications for the economic lives of the poor. NBER Working Paper No. 15973. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research. https://economics.mit.edu/files/5575.

  • Bergson, H. (2002/1896). Images and bodies. In Key writings (pp. 103–150). London: Bloomsbury Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boehnke, L. F., Litinas, E., & Clauw, D. J. (2016). Medical cannabis use is associated with decreased opiate medication use in a retrospective cross-sectional survey of patients with chronic pain. The Journal Pain, 17, 739–744.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boehnke, K. F., Scott, J. R., Litinas, E., Sisley, S., Williams, D. A., & Clauw, D. J. (2019). Pills to pot: Observational analyses of cannabis substitution among medical cannabis users with chronic pain. The Journal of Pain, 20(7), 830–841.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, A. C., & Bradford, W. D. (2017). Medical marijuana laws may be associated with a decline in the number of prescriptions for medicaid enrollees. Health Affairs (Millwood), 36, 945–951.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, A. C., Bradford, W. D., Abraham, A., & Adams, G. B. (2018). Association between the us state medical cannabis laws and opioid prescribing in the medicare part D population. JAMA Internal Medicine, 178(5), 667–673.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braidotti, R. (2008). Affirmation, pain and empowerment. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 14(3), 7–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • California State Legislature. (2016). The medicinal and adult-use cannabis regulation and safety Act (MAUCRSA). https://cannabis.ca.gov/cannabis-legislation/.

  • Caulkins, J. (2017). Recognizing and regulating cannabis as a temptation good. International Journal of Drug Policy, 42, 50–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caulkins, J., Kilmer, B., Kleiman., M. A. R., MacCoun, R. J., Midgette, G., Oglesby et al. (2015). Considering marijuana legalization: Insights for vermont and other jurisdictions. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, RR-864. www.rand.org/t/RR864.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, K. (2012). Cramer: Rise in pill abuse means you should buy this stock. Stock, CNBC July 17, 2012. https://www.cnbc.com/id/48211369.

  • Clare, N. (2019). Composing the social factory: An autonomist urban geography of buenos aires. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 19(2), 255–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Compton, W. M., Han, B., Jones, C. M., Blanco, C., & Hughes, A. (2016). Marijuana use and use disorders in adults in the USA, 2002–14: Analysis of annual cross-sectional surveys. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3, 954–964.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, A. K., Bonar, E. E., Ilgen, M. A., Walton, M. A., Perron, B. E., & Chermack, S. T. (2016). Factors associated with having a medical marijuana card among veterans with recent substance use in VA outpatient treatment. Addictive Behaviors, 63, 132–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deleuze, G. (1991). Empiricism and subjectivity: An essay on Hume’s theory of human nature (Constantin V. Boundas, Trans.). New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deleuze, G. (1992). Postscript on the societies of control. October, 59, 3–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987/1980). A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia (Brian Massumi, Trans.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deshpande, A., Mailis-Gagnon, A., Zoheiry, N., & Lakha, S. F. (2015). Efficacy and adverse effects of medical marijuana for chronic noncancer pain: Systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Canadian Family Physician, 61(8), e372–e381.

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Forti, M., Quattrone, D., Freeman, T. P., Tripoli, G., Gayer-Anderson, C., Quigley, H., et al. (2019). The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (EU-GEI): A multicentre case-control study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6, 427–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dilley, J. A., Hitchcock, L., McGroder, N., Greto, L. A., & Richardson, S. M. (2017). Community-level policy responses to state marijuana legalization in Washington State. International Journal of Drug Policy, 42, 102–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, D. K., & Popova, A. (2016). Cash transfers and temptation goods. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 65(2), 189–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzcharles, M. A., & Eisenberg, E. (2018). Medical cannabis: A forward vision for the clinician. European Journal of Pain, 22(3), 485–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gage, S. H. (2019). Cannabis and psychosis: Triangulating the evidence. Lancet Psychiatry, 6, 364–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grbic, J., Goddard, P., & Ryder, D. (2017). Observations of the role of science in the United States medical cannabis state policies: Lessons learnt. International Journal of Drug Policy, 42, 109–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grohmann, A., & Sakha, S. (2015). The effect of peer observation on the consumption of temptation goods: Experimental evidence. Paper presented at the 30th Annual Congress of the European Economic Association. University of Mannheim August 26, 2015. https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=EEAMannheim2015&paper_id=920.

  • Haroutounian, S., Ratz, Y., Ginosar, Y., Furmanov, K., Saifi, F., Meidan, R., et al. (2016). The effect of medicinal cannabis on pain and quality-of-life outcomes in chronic pain: A prospective open-label study. Clinical Journal of Pain, 32, 1036–1043.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasin, D. S. (2018). US Epidemiology of Cannabis use and associated problems. Neuropsychopharmacology, 43(1), 195–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Häuser, W., Petzke, F., & Fitzcharles, M. A. (2018). Efficacy, tolerability and safety of cannabis-based medicines for chronic pain management—An overview of systematic reviews. European Journal of Pain, 22(3), 455–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hui, Y. (2015). Modulation after control. New Formations: A Journal of Culture/Theory/Politics, 84–85, 74–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Imbert F (2016) Cramer: Pharma company finds oxycodone replacement. Yahoo Finance, 15 March, 2016. https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/cramer-pharma-company-finds-oxycodone-162710845.html.

  • Iversen, K., & Maalsen, S. (2019). Social control in the networked city: Datafied dividuals, disciplined individuals and powers of assembly. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 19(2), 331–349.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J., & Saad, L. (2018). Americans’ views on marijuana legalisation. Gallup poll social series: Crime-final topline. Princeton: Gallup news Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilmer, B. (2017). Considering cannabis legalization in Canada: Prices, Taxes, and International Implications. CT-481. Testimony presented before the House of Commons of Canada Standing Committee on Health on September 14, 2017. https://www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/CT481.html.

  • Kim, J. H., Santaella-Tenorio, J., Mauro, C., Wrobel, J., Cerda, M., Keyes, K. M., et al. (2016). State medical marijuana laws and the prevalence of opioids detected among fatally injured drivers. American Journal of Public Health, 106, 2032–2037.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladouceur, R. (2015). Prescribing marijuana for chronic pain. Canadian Family Physician, 61(8), 658.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lintzeris, N., Driels, J., Elias, N., Arnold, J. C., McGregor, I. S., & Allsop, D. J. (2018). Medicinal cannabis in Australia, 2016: The Cannabis as Medicine Survey (CAMS-16). Medical Journal of Australia, 209(5), 211–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lötsch, J., Weyer-Menkhoff, I., & Tegeder, I. (2018). Current evidence of cannabinoid-based analgesia obtained in preclinical and human experimental settings. European Journal of Pain, 22(3), 471–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, P., & Walsh, Z. (2017). Medical cannabis access, use, and substitution for prescription opioids and other substances: A survey of authorized medical cannabis patients. International Journal of Drug Policy, 42, 30–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, P., Walsh, Z., Crosby, K., Callaway, R., Belle-Isle, L., Kay, R., et al. (2016). Substituting cannabis for prescription drugs, alcohol and other substances among medical cannabis patients: The impact of contextual factors. Drug and Alcohol Review, 35, 326–333.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutge, E. E., Gray, A., Siegfried, N. (2013). The medical use of cannabis for reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with HIV/AIDS. Cochrane Database System Reviews, 30(4), CD005175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massumi, B. (2015). The power at the end of the economy. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Massumi, B. (2017). The principle of unrest: Activist philosophy in the expanded field. London: Open Humanities Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Massumi, B. (2018). 99 theses on the revaluation of value. A postcapitalist manifesto. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Massumi, B., & McKim, J. (2009). Micropolitics: Exploring ethico-aesthetics. An interview with Brian Massumi, 15 August 2008. Inflexions: A Journal for Research-Creation, 3, 183–275. http://www.inflexions.org/n3_Of-Microperception-and-Micropolitics-An-Interview-with-Brian-Massumi.pdf.

  • Massumi, B., & Zournazi, M. (2006). Interview with Brian Massumi > Theorist > Montreal http://www.assembly-international.net/Interviews/html/brian%20massumi.html.

  • McGinty, E. E., Samples, H., Bandara, S. N., Saloner, B., Bachhuber, M. A., & Barry, C. L. (2016). The emerging public discourse on state legalization of marijuana for recreational use in the US: Analysis of news media coverage, 2010–2014. Preventive Medicine, 90, 114–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGinty, E. E., Niederdeppe, J., Heley, K., & Barry, C. L. (2017). Public perceptions of arguments supporting and opposing recreational marijuana legalization. Preventive Medicine, 99, 80–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miech, R. A., Schulenberg, J. E., Johnston, L. D., Bachman, J. G., O’Malley, P. M., & Patrick, M. E. (2018). National adolescent drug trends in 2018. Monitoring the Future. Ann Arbor: MI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mücke, M., Phillips, T., Radbruch, L., Petzke, F., & Häuser, W. (2018). Cannabis-based medicines for chronic neuropathic pain in adults. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 3, CD012182.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. (2018). Health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: Current state of evidence and recommendations for research. Washington: National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2017/health-effects-of-cannabis-and-cannabinoids.aspx.

  • Nunberg, H., Kilmer, B., Pacula, RL., & Burgdorf, J. (2011). An analysis of applicants presenting to a medical marijuana specialty practice in California. Journal of Drug Policy Analysis, 4(1), pii: 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oregon Liquor Control Commission. (2019). 2019 Recreational marijuana supply and demand legislative. Report. OLCC: Portland. https://marijuana.oregon.gov.

  • Palazzo, D. P. (2014). The “Social Factory” In Postwar italian radical thought from operaismo to autonomia. CUNY Academic Works. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/262/.

  • Piper, B. J., Beals, M. L., Abess, A. T., Nichols, S. D., Martin, M. W., Cobb, C. M., et al. (2017). Chronic pain patients’ perspectives of medical cannabis. Pain, 158, 1373–1379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell, D., Pacula, R. L., & Jacobson, M. J. (2018). Do medical marijuana laws reduce addictions and deaths related to pain killers? Health Economics, 58, 29–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reiman, A. (2009). Cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs. Harm Reduction Journal, 6, 35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reinarman, C., Nunberg, H., Lanthier, F., & Heddleston, T. (2011). Who are medical marijuana patients? Population characteristics from nine California assessment clinics. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 43, 128–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, N. (2005). Neurochemical selves. Society, 41(1), 46–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rouvroy, A. (2012). The end(s) of critique: Data behaviourism vs. due process. In M. Hildebrandt & E. De Vries (Eds.), Privacy, due process and the computational turn. Philosophers of Law Meet Philosophers of Technology. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shi, Y. (2017). Medical marijuana policies and hospitalizations related to marijuana and opioid pain reliever. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 173, 144–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simondon, G. (2005). L’individuation à la lumière des notions de forme et d’information. Grenoble: Jerome Million.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spinoza, B. (1994). A spinoza reader: The ethics and other works. (Edwin M. Curley, Trans.). Princeton and Chichester: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2017). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 17-5044, NSDUH Series H-52). Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/.

  • Swift, W., Gates, P., & Dillon, P. (2005). Survey of Australians using cannabis for medical purposes. Harm Reduction Journal, 2, 18–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sznitman, S. R., & Bretteville-Jensen, A. L. (2015). Public opinion and medical cannabis policies: Examining the role of underlying beliefs and national medical cannabis policies. Harm Reduction Journal, 12, 46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thrift, N. (2004a). Intensities of feeling. Geografiska Annaler, 86B, 57–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thrift, N. (2004b). Movement-space. Economy and Society, 33, 582–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thrift, N. (2009) Pass it on: Towards a political economy of propensity. In M. Candea (Ed.), The social after gabriel tarde: Debates and assessments (pp. 248–270). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vardi, N. (2016). Marijuana stock soars 130% after study shows its drug reduced seizures. Forbes, March 14, 2016. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2016/03/14/marijuana-stock-soars-130-after-study-shows-its-drug-reduced-seizures/?utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix&ref=yfp#710818265315.

  • Walsh, Z., Callaway, R., Belle-Isle, L., Capler, R., Kay, R., Luca, P., et al. (2013). Cannabis for therapeutic purposes: Patient characteristics, access, and reasons for use. International Journal of Drug Policy, 24, 511–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walter, C., Oertel, B. G., Felden, L., Kell, C. A., Noth, U., Vermehren, J., et al. (2016). Brain mapping-based model of delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol effects on connectivity in the pain matrix. Neuropsychopharmacology, 41, 1659–1669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ware, M., Adams, H., & Guy, G. (2005). The medicinal use of cannabis in the UK: Results of a nationwide survey. International Journal of Clinical Practice, 59, 291–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaller, N., Toplelz, A., Frater, S., Yates, G., & Lally, M. (2015). Profiles of medicinal cannabis patients attending compassion centers in Rhode Island. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 47, 18–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuboff, S. (2019). The age of surveillance capitalism: The fight for a human future at the frontier of power. London: Public Affairs Hachette Book Company.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

    John L. Fitzgerald

Authors
  1. John L. Fitzgerald
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John L. Fitzgerald .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Fitzgerald, J.L. (2020). Pain and Cannabis Markets. In: Life in Pain. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5640-6_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5640-6_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-5639-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-5640-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation